Shifting Gears To Get Back On Track After Dealing With Writers Block

This will be a short post (I hope). 

I started this blog back in November of last year. I started my own business in January 2011. And for a while, I was able to manage my business and the blog as well as my hopes and aspirations of inspiring people, generating income and creating compelling content when all of the sudden it happened. Fear crashed into me like a tidal wave and I began to shift my focus from creative writing to the panic ridden action of treading water. 

 

I abandoned my blog due to frustration and writers block and began generating proposals without a clear vision with regard to my ideal client. I began abandoning my own strategy and advice for visibility and let my brand become less of a priority to me. I took all the meetings I could even if my gut said, "This is not a part of your vision." My focus became fear and I wore fear every single day as if it were a perfume.

What were my fears? Fear of failure. Fear of losing money. Fear of remaining stagnant and not growing.  So I did what anyone else in my situation may have done, I grabbed onto the steering wheel, revved up the engine and shifted gears.

Shifting gears is not necessarily a bad thing. We need to be able to move forward at different speeds. The only challenge is when we are in fifth gear going full speed ahead with no destination in sight. As a result of feeding my "fear fuel", there have been some good things that have happened (the glass is always half full in my book). I've been able to diversify the types of projects I am working on and my client roster has grown to now include:

Give to Get Jobs

Financially Wise Women http://www.financiallywisewomen.com

As well as a new beauty site which unites women in conversation and beauty products called  Is That Odd

I've also learned that my creative channels are extremely important to me. Never again will I go without blogging, dancing or acting. A lot of times, when I explain to people what it is that I do, they're often as confused as me, how's that for some brutal honesty. I never sought out to be a singing, dancing, comedic business development person who can tell you about your Alexa rank and keywords while doing the moonwalk--it just happened, it's just who I am and there is a title for it: Entrepreneur. 

An entrepreneur is a person who has possession of a new enterprise, venture or idea and is accountable for the inherent risks and the outcome. 

And I am learning that a part managing risks and outcomes is being able to downshift gears and find peace, while doing the moonwalk and talking blog strategy. When we only have one speed, there's no room for silence, stillness and the other presence of mind that allows for us to be creative. As business people, artists, teachers, financial analysts, Jaclyn of All Trades, it's important to be creative so that we can uncover solutions. Creativity refers to the phenomenon whereby a person creates something new (a product, a solution, a work of art etc.) that has some kind of value.

So, the moral of my blog post here is you just have to do it. Do something. Move from a place of inaction and step forward, or take a step back. I am slowing down the Jaclyn Mullen Media ship so that I can keep my eyes on the land ahead, be it the skyscrapers of Manhattan or the palm trees of Los Angeles. 

But enough about me, how about you? How has this past six months been going? Are you moving in the direction that you would like or is there some sort of obstacle on your path holding you back from your true desires? Are you making enough time to eat right, exercise and inspire yourself? 

In my case, taking a step back allowed me to banish my writers block and publish this blog post today. While I have been proud of many previous posts, I have to say this one takes the cake. Not because it's "so compelling" nor because it's my best writing yet. This post means I took a step forward to get back on track while facing my fears and pursuing what matters to me. It isn't perfect, but it is progress and that's what counts.

"Remember that fear always lurks behind perfectionism. Confronting your fears and allowing yourself the right to be human can, paradoxically, make you a far happier and more productive person." Dr. David M. Burns