A Closeted-Creative’s Doodling to Published Story
Imagine for a moment if you stopped getting ready to get ready to do that thing that you say you want to do in your life.
Have you done that on some small or large scale..?
Held yourself back, done all the other stuff in order to finally, one day, do that thing you feel called to do?
I know I sure have.
From busy work to overthink, it’s a pandemic more vicious than the one we are currently surrounded by. The claws of this dis-ease come from within… from how we see life, think about ourselves, feel about our situation.
And that reminds me of Sally, an absolute dream of a coaching client of mine.
Sally loved to doodle.
Maybe you did too, back in school, when we actually went to school, sat at one of those uncomfortable contraptions called a desk and had our pad and pen at the ready to take notes.
Or doodled in the margins as you stifled a yawn of utter boredom.
Some teachers… death by monotone… and I can say that as a former teacher!
In fact, I remember this time I took out my teacher voice while in a high-end mastermind of Russell Brunson’s, co-founder of a lot of amazing things, and a successful author of three books now…
I scared the heebie-jeebies out of him and everyone in the room, apparently.
He told me so! Oops! But that’s a tale for another time.
Let’s go back to Sally and her doodling.
Sally became an amazing girl-Friday, or right-hand to a CEO of a Fortune 500 company. She never thought of herself as a creative.
She wore snazzy clothes, red-bottomed heels – you know the brand! And had a divine condo with a view of the cityscape while acting as the gatekeeper to a very powerful man.
And part of her loved it.
The constant pressure of being an Executive Assistant to a man who was on-the-go constantly. She all but ran his professional and personal life, from keeping his schedule, filtering calls and emails, to buying the birthday presents for his three daughters – one of whom called her Auntie Sal.
She was a fixture in this life, in the lives of his employees, associates, and family.
A real-life Donna, you know the redhead from the TV Show Suits… OMG, If you’ve never watched it, do. It’s binge-worthy and delicious.
But Donna, I mean Sally! She found herself missing the doodles of her past and wondering why she felt so empty all of a sudden. When her mom passed, she found boxes of journals and notebooks…
And all her doodling. And some of it was actually really good.
But what had her stopping in her tracks were the stories she’d penned beside those doodles. Tales she’d totally forgotten about. Words of overcoming pain, loss, a misstep and spreading cheer.
The stories she’d written for children but had never shared with a soul.
Today, Sally’s stories line the bookcases of families around the world and can be found on in bookstores prominently displayed.
Today, Sally’s doodles bring smiles, giggles and delight to children, to families, because she tapped back into a passion she’s put on hold thinking she needed to get ready to do such a thing as write, before she could actually do it for real.
Like so many, Sally took a path she was supposed to take because creatives, well, can they even make bank?
Sally is a client I simply adore and she recently shared with me words I’ll remember for life…
"To regret is a waste of time. To start, when hit, that takes true grit."
I love those words and that Sally is impacting children with this kind of message.
Be still my former-teacher heart.
Being able to do my own form of doodling, that I love…
Write my words and enable others to do just that through coaching is what has allowed me to create a most delicious life of my own.
And I want that for you.
If it’s time you stop getting ready to get ready and do the thing you feel so called to do, reach out and book a JOYful Clarity Coaching Call with me today.
Imagine what you may gain by getting crystal clear on what brings you JOY today.
Photo Credit: David Pennington @dtpennington
