The Courage to Go Forth

"I remembered that the real world was wide, and that a varied field of hopes and  fears, of sensations and excitements, awaited those who had courage to go forth into its expanse."                                               Charlotte Bronte, from Jane Eyre

Over the initial weeks in real estate, I will admit to moments of uncertainty. My new direction sometimes felt a step too far. But this feeling was not new to me. I had experienced it twice before in my life.

The first was in 2006. Everything in life was leading me in the direction of a long-held dream - to open a retail shop. And yet, as I took the many steps required to get the business up and running, I frequently found myself struggling with one foot which tended to drag back to my comfortable, known world.

Until the day that a random sign in a shop explained why I was dragging.

The sign said “What would you do if you had no fear?”

It was fear that held me back. With that new understanding, I found the courage to push forward and complete the journey, creating a beautiful store that I will forever be proud of.

The fear resurfaced a number of years later as I completed the book I had been working on for eight years. The decision to publish (vs just sharing with my family and friends) was a weighty one. Publishing put 'me' out there, not just the woman I had written about.

But I had gone too far with the book to hold back. I pushed the fear aside and sent it to print. This book has taken me on journeys I could never have imagined and introduced me to people I would not have otherwise met.

Six years later, I am still signing books for people who have just discovered the story. My imagination could never have equaled the reality that has come about by publishing.

The human condition is to want what is safe. The unknown can be a frightening place but it is in unearthing the unknown that we discover our strengths; our gifts; our abilities. My experience in creating and running my store and publishing a book instilled the courage in me to take on real estate.

What would you do if you had no fear?