Am I the only one who struggles with patience? I get these big projects and goals in my head and I can’t reach them fast enough or get them done soon enough. I buy my tomato plants already grown, or skip it all together and hit the best Farmer’s Market stand. I want to be a master painter at the wine painting parties I go to (believe me, the wine helps!). Immediate gratification! Now! Now! Now! Seriously, sometimes I feel like a demanding toddler. ( I don’t treat others this way, just so you know! It’s just myself!) Patiently impatient, is what I hear in hitting my goals. Be strict on the goal, but flexible with how you get there.

But sometimes, most times actually, it’s the patience part that allows me to grow and keep moving forward (at least, I’m counting on this). And it takes someone else pushing me beyond the standards I’ve set for myself. I’ve learned to get uncomfortable by verbalizing my goals.

Early in business, Freddy and I told everyone we’d open our own office, even when the numbers and the odds of it happening were stacked against us at the time. It made me feel vulnerable, by putting our butts on the line, but anytime we wanted to quit, when things weren’t going according to our plans, we couldn’t. We’d told too many people. Word was out there. We didn’t want people to doubt us or tell us, “I told you it wouldn’t work.” We got our office open, a year later than the date we proclaimed, but it happened (almost 18 years ago already)!

So, here I am, exposing my goals again and feeling vulnerable. I want to publish books that matter. Books that shed light on things that are important and becoming forgotten (I’m kind of a history nerd these days). And again, I need someone to make me better and push me.

I got my manuscript back and it is not the perfectly-polished piece I remembered when writing it! LOL! But, I’ve exposed myself to a few great editors who are challenging me and have made some really important suggestions (yep, almost every page!) that I believe will make this book better! PATIENCE CALLIE!!!!

So, here I am, making many adjustments and doing more research regarding World War II battles, how to write better battle scenes etc. etc. I’ve built so much more respect for authors! It’s one thing to read, but man, it’s a whole other thing to write effectively, which is where editing comes in! I’ve decided editors are the anesthetists of publishing! So important and no matter what they make income-wise, underpaid!

So, who are you exposing your goals to? Is there a mentor or coach or someone in your life who is pushing you? It could be spiritually, physically, career-wise. I’ve read you are an average of the top 10 people you hang with. If you want to become more spiritual, hang around with more people who can influence this. If you want to be more successful in business, hang around with ethical and successful business entrepreneurs and make yourself vulnerable, uncomfortable. I’ve found that anytime I get uncomfortable, I grow.

So, put yourself out there! It might take longer to hit your goals than you want, but it’s part of the plan. It’s part of the inspiration for others. It’s inspiring to me to hear of people who don’t hit their goals easily and if they do, they’re too small! I love cheering for the underdog! I love hearing stories of people who beat the odds through hard work and perseverance. Be that person to someone. Be the light. Be the one to show them you can overcome by not giving up:) Even if it’s just one person who becomes inspired, one person can do HUGE things for the greater good:) That makes it worth it.