I thought it would be so difficult until I did one thing! I burned my ship! Okay, you are probably saying, Gynger, what are you talking about? So, I will tell you. Let me start by telling you a story. If you are a history buff like me, you may already know the story of how Alexander the Great, conquered Persia. Alexander and his men were far from home and on enemy soil. They were out numbered and it appeared the odds were not in their favor. So Alexander deliberately burned his boats and told his men that the only way they were getting off the island and back home was to beat the Persian. He had literally committed them death or to victory. That story has always resonated with me.
I got committed to my own goals and destroyed every avenue of escape except one, the avenue which lead to me conquering my fear of success. Let me go back two years. I was living my life in Atlanta. I had a great job which had ceased to be rewarding but, it paid me well, I had my home, my family was nearby to help me if I needed it, I had friends who were fun, eclectic and loved to dream big. I was very comfortable on my self made yacht. I was safe and secure. I had all of these "things" but I wasn't moving in my life. The boat I was on was beautiful and pleasing to the eye but it was sitting in the water, while other people in their smaller boats, whizzed by me. Yes, I had friends who had anchored themselves next to me, but essentially we were all in the same types of boats.
An opportunity came my way to leave my hometown of Atlanta and move to Florida. The spirit told me it was time to move and at that moment, even though I didn't realize it at the time, I had struck a match and set the first fire on my boat. Fast forward two years and here I sit in the life boat which was once attached to that beautiful yacht. I am proud to report, that boat burned and sank down into the depths of the the sea of mediocrity... without me on it. What I needed was to get away from my comfort zone and prove that I could make it on my own, that I was in charge of my success or failure.
I was surrounded by people who didn't know the old me, so they didn't take it easy on me. They expected success from me and took me at my word. If I said I was going to write a book, they fully expected it to happen and kept checking in on it's progress. Offering me tools and tips to be a success. With my back against the wall and my reputation balled up in my fists, I came out swinging. Doing the things I never thought I would be able to do. Realizing a dream I thought I wanted with all I had within me, only to realize I had been too afraid to go for it all those years. I didn't tell my family or my old friends what I was going to do until I had signed my first contract, and even then I waited a week in case the publisher changed their minds :-) I realize now that in the past, I shared too much, too soon. In 2012, I lived on a steady diet of The Seven Habits of Highly Effective people, Think and Grow Rich and The Power of Positive Thinking. I found encouraging Facebook pages and blogs and I woke up with prayers and daily affirmations on my lips. I burned the ships of complacency, and comfort and escaped in the life boat of reliance on God, motivation and meditation.
~Gynger Fyer
The Romance Arsonist
Proudly burning boats since 2010
Very inspiring! Change scares the crud out of me, but maybe one day I'll be up for burning my own boat...or at least tentatively stepping off of it, still hanging onto the life preserver with a death grip while I try to step onto a different boat and not lose my balance and fall into the shark infested icy water...you get the point. change scares me!
ReplyDeleteShirelle, change can be scary no doubt about it. I think we sometimes get to comfortable though and for get that we are meant to constantly learn and evolve. If we don't like something about ourselves for our lives, we can change it or our attitudes towards it. Thats The beauty of waking up each day. We get a chance to start over again.
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