So, as some of you may know, I released my third book in the Is This Seat Taken? trilogy late last year. In the spirit of full transparency, it was with a healthy combination of passion, excitement and fear that I did this. This book, in particular, was extremely vulnerable and soul-bearing. And it had been more than a year of hard work, tumultuous personal tragic losses, and, quite frankly, frustration. Writing a book, at any time, is not for the faint of heart. In fact, given where we are now in our world, little in our lives is for the faint of heart. Let’s get real: life as we once knew it has CHANGED dramatically. And truthfully, I don’t think it will ever go totally back to normal.

It can be scary. Times are uncertain. Our future is uncertain.

So what did I learn from this last publishing experience and the last 5 months, which I believe have many parallel lessons? Well, I could cathartically write a book on the COVID experience (maybe I will!) – and the similarities this has with even the smallest challenges in our lives.

I’d like to share the single keen awareness I learned, which may prove insightful, stimulating or maybe even encouraging to those of you facing similarly challenging situations and need COURAGE to push through them. And yes, those situations will vary. They could be uncertain entrepreneurial roles, corporate leadership positions, home-schooling our children, facing the loss of parents, or simply living life during this unprecedented time.

Here’s the ‘ah-ha’:

Passion trumps fear. Perseverance is the #1 lesson I learned when writing my books and in this abnormal environment, especially as I am ‘re-inventing’ myself for the umpteenth time to move fully into the ‘virtual arena’.

The fact of the matter is that we all have dreams and typically what paralyzes us is fear.

Yet, I believe fear can also be a catalyst.

Let’s take the book example. I’ve always wanted to write, ever since I was a little girl. Thus, I did – starting when I was a child. A book was the dream. I believe, in order for dreams to come true, we have to put in place a plan fueled by discipline and move stubbornly forward in faith. In my case, the fear of rejection, failure and all the other types of risk associated with this dream fell second to the passion. Sure, I was still sweating with trepidation, yet the fact is that I jumped out of the plane, hoping the parachute would open! And it did!

So in a nutshell, PASSION was the key for me. Without that, these books would never have seen the light of day. And the same is true for every single aspect in our lives – including the new normal we are living.

Our PASSION and DESIRE must be stronger than the INERTIA which wants to keep us paralyzed.

Sure, we may still be scared, yet courage is doing what we are afraid to do. Yes, DOING IT SCARY and trusting and BELIEVING it will be as it will be. That can be bigger and better than our wildest dreams. And at the end of the day, we know WE create our future. We own it, and doing it scared may be required to push through that knot hole. It’s very much like Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz, battling through the scary forest (and those flying monkeys!) yet what was at the end of her rainbow? It was what she passionately desired which trumped her fear.

We can absolutely create the same in our lives, the choice is ours.