Do you have a gift you want to share with the World? Maybe deep down inside you love to sing or to pole dance or to fly kites or make gluten free cookies, or make sand art- but you feel ridiculous in believing that you might be able to make money doing that, or you simply feel embarrassed and ‘not good enough’.

If that is you- If you feel almost crippled by fear, doubt and shame then I can relate. Here is what I have learnt that I truly believe is the key to all this and that I believe will help you out if you are stuck in a self-doubt rut:

The fear/doubt/shame doesn’t go away, you simply claim back your power from it.

The thing that has held you back from following your drama career, from losing that extra weight or from writing your book … isn’t going to magically disappear. No matter how much work you do on your ‘stuff’ no matter how many books you read or classes you take that visceral, intangible, nauseus feeling that holds you back will probably be around in some shape or form until you die. Sorry to be so blunt.

So, what’s the deal? Why would we have these creative talents and gifts and then have a cloud that eclipses our creativity so completely and prevents us from getting our gifts out?

Well, the only explanation I feel is that we are meant to experience the resistance to strengthen us. We need to look at it as if we are in training- so when your fears come up- instead of listening to them as FACT, it might be more helpful to realize, “whoah, I am on the cusp of something here…. If I can just show up despite this niggling insecurity and do what I know I need to do to make this happen for myself …then I know I will be at a whole new level and it will feel great.” It’s like Gay Hendricks says “fear is excitement, without the breath.”

But how do you go beyond the fear? OK, let’s say that you have written a book. It’s ‘OK’ in your eyes, but as much as you try to perfect it no matter what you do you can’t help but feel unsure or find fault with it. What might be going on somewhere inside you is that you’ll be ridiculed, rejected or shown up as a fraud if you allow your work to be shared- and to take the risk of that feels too much to bear. Now bring cash into the equation and you have a whole hornet’s nest.

Yet, you long to be paid as a writer and make your living sharing what you love most- creating words that inspire, inform, delight your reader. So how to get around this?

The first step is you must share your work with at least a few trusted friends who can give you honest feedback. After that, and maybe a tweak or two it’s time to share your work with a wider and wider audience and decide to value your creativity by putting a value upon it and self-publishing or persisting until you get a deal with a publisher. Now, I know that this feels terrifying- but remember what we said- that is a good sign! Don’t confuse that fear with being FACT- it’s not.

You are going to feel ‘un-ready’ and a bit afraid but this feeling of vulnerability is normal. The point is you have to show up and share in order for the magic to happen. The magic might be that your work makes a difference, helps someone you’ve never met in a place you have never been in a way you couldn’t have known. It might be that your book is so well-loved it gets turned into a movie and before you know it you are walking down the read carpet with bulbs flashing from the paps! It might be that you get the satisfaction of seeing your words in print in the bookstore, or getting a rave review on the blogosphere. You just never know.

But for all those things to happen you have to get over your resistance, accept it as part of the journey and take bold, freak-yourself-out action on your own behalf… Don’t wait until the fear has gone before you get busy! Act in spite of the fear, because you will pass away before it does- and then it really will be too late.

So, in short- get busy sharing or get busy dying.

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