Courage means being scared to death…and saddling up anyway. ~ John Wayne
Courage doesn’t always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, “I will try again tomorrow”. ~ Mary Anne Radmacher
These two quotes were used by two of my lovely yoga teacher training pals, Vivian and Courtney, during their practicums on our last day of class. They have stuck with me this past week, and I thought of them often as I considered what I will do now that we have completed our 200 hour training. My friend, Amanda, reminded me of them again when she wrote a blog post this week about prayers and challenges and courage. Amanda shouts out dreams in her post in her articulate, poetic voice, and that voice inspired me to shout my dreams, too.
Dreams have their greatest power once articulated publicly. So here goes my professional dream: “By my 35th birthday next year, I want to earn at least half of my income from my own business.” And look, I didn’t self-destruct by making that proclamation; I actually brought it a little closer into being.
At the start of her teaching career, my yoga teacher, Johanna, worked so hard building her business though she completely avoided making a website, a key piece of her marketing plan. Later, she realized she had some pent-up fear about putting herself out into the world in such a public manner. Once she released the fear, she built the site (which is beautiful!) and she has a thriving career now. She saddled up when she was scared to death, and it paid off in spades.
I took a cue from Jo and built my website for my business, Compass Yoga, in a few days. I could have labored over it some more before flipping the switch, scrutinizing every word. I could have hired a copy writer, a professional web designer, and a graphic designer, delaying the launch and spending a lot of money in the process. Instead, I just used what I know how to do from my own blog, bought a domain for $14.97, wrote all of the copy myself, and stepped on the gas. It’s totally me, mistakes and all. As Dr. Seuss would say, I had to get on my way.
Thank you Jo, John Wayne, Mary Anne Radmacher, Vivian, Courtney, and Amanda, for inspiring me this week to just close my eyes and jump and shout from the hilltops how I want my career to unfold. I’m scared to death and it feels great!
Take a look at the Compass Yoga site and let me know what you think!
Christa Avampato 