If You Couldn’t Fail…

What stops you from putting your dreams into action?

There are so many instances when I’ve spoken to people with amazing ideas and ambitions which they are simply not acting upon. They have the ideas, enthusiasm but none of the drive to take them out of their minds and create something solid.

I myself have found the same stumbling block. I had been wanting to teach classes online for three years before I had the gumption to launch Capturing Childhood with Kat last year. Three years. Three years of thinking, planning, talking and dreaming but very little doing.

So what was stopping me? Or more importantly, what finally pushed me to take a leap?

It was being in a situation where I felt I had nothing left to lose. I was in the position of near desperation and when all of the easy options were unavailable the only place to turn was my dreams. So I took the plunge.

In short: I couldn’t fail.

It took me until my family and home were in jeopardy to make the leap I had been dreaming of. The fear of failing which I had allowed to hold me prisoner in my own mind was suddenly gone. I was no longer worried about anything but taking our awesome courses out into the world for people to enjoy.

You know the rest of that story; I am so proud of what we have achieved and how our students have responded to our classes and workshops.

This idea has been on my mind a lot in recent weeks. I was working with a incredibly talented woman recently and talking about what she was going to do when launching her freelance career. I made a suggestion and she replied, “Am I allowed to do that?” a statement which surprised both of us. Was she waiting for permission to go ahead and use her talents?

With the realisation that she could indeed do what she wanted, no permission required, she went out and told people what she had on offer. Want to know something? No one laughed her out of town; they said yes.

If you couldn’t fail, what would you do?

Are those dreams locked in our heads because we’re afraid of failing? Is it some deep-seated idea that we are somehow not worthy of achieving our ambitions? What is really stopping us from taking that first step towards a new venture?

If there were no chance of failing,  what would you be doing? What is it you are dreaming of? What is standing in your way? Is there anything more than your own fear? Is the barrier real or imagined? Do you need permission?

Ask yourself the question: If I couldn’t fail, what would I do? Then take a deep breath and go do it.