Today, at 5:20 pm AEST I will hit the launch button on my website. By the time you read this, that moment will have passed, and the action I am so excited about will have happened and had zero impact on the world.
But it will make a huge impact in my world. Because I’ll have achieved something, launched something, published something that I created. And that on its own is a big achievement for me.
Accepting the Blessings of the Gods
One question you may ask is why I launched my website at 5:20 pm on a Monday afternoon, a day where I did in fact have to go to work. Valid question so here’s the answer.
If you’ve read through my (aspiring) Best-Selling Author post at the top of my front page, you’ll have seen a lengthy paragraph listing all the jobs I’ve ever held. One of them is astrologer. Now, my time as an astrologer was less a job and more a small business (and calling), but for the sake of brevity I call it a job. I also noted that it’s one of only two jobs in my life so far that I have loved.
Once you’ve been an astrologer, you’re always an astrologer. I’m not talking about the daily column you read in your newspaper, which promises every second day that you’ll win money or meet someone tall, dark and handsome. I’m talking about astrology as a personal growth and timing tool. Because astrology excels at both those things.
Every month I listen to a podcast where three esteemed astrologers discuss what’s happening in the sky for the month ahead. And as part of that podcast they give out an electional chart, which is the day, date and time where any blessings from the sky are at their peak for that month. I had already decided that I would launch my website before 31 August, so I left it up to Kelly, Chris and Austin to determine when that would happen. And in eastern Australia, the best chart for August 2018 was on the 27th at 5:20 pm. So here I am.
That the current interplay of planets sits beautifully across my birth chart is a bonus. Or not. I don’t believe these things happen by accident. I am a Jungian at heart. I believe in synchronicity and I trust my inner guidance system. And my inner guidance system has steered me toward launching my site when the Sun glided across my house of publishing, the Moon through my house of communication and Pluto and Saturn pressured me to throw off my masks and be authentic.
So here I am.
Keep It Simple, Sweetheart (K.I.S.S.)
Over the last couple of weeks I’ve worked through a series of concepts for this site. While I have always known that the blog would lie at the heart, at least until I launch a book, I had several other ideas, particularly relating to my background in psychology. I also want to help other writers by sharing products, courses, books and other information I’ve used and found helpful. Then there is my commitment to authenticity, inspiration and kindness that drive my journey to becoming an author. I wanted to write about that too.
I then went through a phase where I wanted to build a tribe of like-minded people on their own journeys of transformation. That idea stuck with me for a while. We could all act as each other’s cheer leaders, encouraging and inspiring each other in our creative endeavours.
Then there is the mailing list. All the experts tell you that the best way to build your mailing list is to offer something of value for free in return for their email address. Great advice. I then had countless ideas of what to offer, but no time to create them before the launch date. This was getting silly.
Another issue was whether to monetise my blog. Do I want to? If so, how? And when?
Social media is another important area. I know I need to have professional social media profiles, but how many? Was there value in learning any of the social media platforms that I wasn’t already familiar with? And if so when was I going to find time to post to them all?
Questions, questions! And I was getting no answers. All I was getting was more overwhelmed.
So I pulled back from it all and cast my mind forward six months. I closed my eyes and imagined how my site would look. I cast around the content to determine what I’d kept, what I’d trashed, and what message I’d delivered.
And the answer was clear.
I am an aspiring author first, blogger second and everything else comes a distant third. I love to blog, heck I love to write, but my great love, the one that gets me out of bed each morning and rocks me sleep each night, is story. Whether they’re the ones I’m writing, the ones I’m reading by other authors, or the ones I’m watching at the movies or on TV, story is the beginning, middle and end for me. Once I realised that, everything else just fell away. I would write about my writing, about my journey, and if I helped anyone along the way, then that was a bonus.
So I pared everything back, stuck with my original vision, and if the rest comes later, then fine, I’ll add them as I go. Or not. Either way, it doesn’t matter. Provided I stay true to myself, and keep it simple, my message will shine through.
Big Hairy Audacious Goals
Sometimes we have big, brilliant, grandiose ideas. There’s nothing wrong with a B-HAG (Big Hairy Audacious Goal). But no matter what your big idea is, or how outrageous your goal may be, start where you are, take a step, re-evaluate, take another step, then repeat the cycle.
There’s a common saying amongst writers that writing a book is a lot like driving cross country at night. You can only see 10 or 15 metres ahead but you can make it all the way from Sydney to Perth (or New York to LA) that way. And often life in general is like that. As long as you don’t take a random detour, you’ll eventually end up where you’re headed, even though you may only see a few feet ahead of you the whole time given time.
Never take your eye off the goal. Be mindful of where you are and what you’re doing, but never lose sight of where you’re going. In this world of information overload it is so easy to get distracted. We waste time on social media, we look at our friend’s lives and say “why can’t I have that holiday/family/relationship/lifestyle?” We are bombarded with advertising, and if you’re like me and love learning, there’s always a shiny new course on offer or a new book launching that promises to change your life.
Don’t fall for it. Stay on target. And always Keep It Simple, Sweetheart.
