Image from http://www.ardecfunding.com/images/plaintiff.jpg.

As I mentioned last week, I’ve been offered and have accepted a paid writing position. (By the way, today is the final day of the Community Experiment. Any results to report? Email or comment to let me know!) I’m extremely excited about this opportunity, and I absolutely cannot wait until the administrative boxes have all been checked and I can get started with the actual writing. It feels so good to know that I’ll be getting paid to do something I love!

Even though getting paid to write has been a goal of mine for YEARS, I might not have been as excited about this opportunity if it had arisen a year ago. As a matter of fact, I might have walked away from it. Why on earth, you may rightly ask, would I have been anything less than thrilled about a paid writing opportunity? What possible reason would I have had for ignoring it or turning it down?
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Welcome back to my new Wednesday feature, the Question of the Week. Please feel free to use this question as the topic of a blog post, for personal journaling, or simply for self-discovery.

This week’s question is Right now, in this moment, what is the biggest obstacle standing in the way of your dreams?

My dream is to be able to write full-time. I still haven’t worked out whether that means writing novels or blogs or articles or nonfiction, but I know without a doubt that I want to be able to write. And I am writing. I’m even getting paid for it. But I can’t bring myself to quit my day job. The reason (a/k/a the giant effing obstacle)? Fear.

I’m afraid that I won’t have enough money, which is absolutely ridiculous. My husband does well enough that he’d be comfortable with me quitting work to stay home with kids, so we clearly have enough money for me to quit and make a real go at a writing career. But I grew up in a home where there was never enough money, where crushing debt was a fact of life, where lay-offs turned my family upside-down. The thought of quitting a really well-paid job for a possible non-paid job is absolutely terrifying.

I’m also afraid that I’ll fail. What if no one wants to publish my book (or read my articles)? What if I’m a terrible writer and no one has the heart to tell me? What if I don’t have the self-disciple to keep at it? What if I just give up and quit? What if I let everyone down?

I’m working on overcoming these fears, but it’s no easy task.

What about you? What’s your biggest obstacle?

Image from http://www.eteamz.com/fcrogue/images/goals.jpg.

There’s a ton of great literature out there on how to set goals. The SMART technique tells us that goals should be Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Timely. Other sources advise that goals should be phrased as positive statements (”I will eat healthy foods” vs. “I will quit eating junk food”), and pretty much everyone suggests that we write down our goals to formalize them. This is all great advice, but you could develop and write out the SMARTest goal imaginable and still be missing a very important step: choosing a goal that inspires passion.
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I saw this hilarious meme and, although I wasn’t tagged, I really wanted to join in…

1. YOUR ROCK STAR NAME: (first pet & current car)
Shasta Contour

2.YOUR GANGSTA NAME: (fave ice cream flavor, favorite cookie)
Caramel Sugar

3. YOUR “FLY Guy/Girl” NAME: (first initial of first name, first three letters of your last name)
J-Sch (not that good, but with my maiden name & one less letter, it’s J-Ho… holla!!)

4. YOUR DETECTIVE NAME: (favorite color, favorite animal)
Detective Redcat

5. YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME: (middle name, city where you were born)
Nan Kingsport (Well, technically my current middle name is my maiden name, so I went with my birth middle name. Still horrible.)

6. YOUR STAR WARS NAME: (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 letters of your first)
Schje. Wha???

7. SUPERHERO NAME: (”The” + 2nd favorite color, favorite drink)
The Black Cosmo

8. NASCAR NAME: (the first names of your grandfathers)
Everett Stanley

9. STRIPPER NAME: ( the name of your favorite perfume/cologne/scent, favorite candy)
Samsara Snickers (hahahahahahaha!)

10.WITNESS PROTECTION NAME: (mother’s & father’s middle names )
Lou Mark. (Yes, my mother’s middle name is Lou. Don’t ask.)

11. TV WEATHER ANCHOR NAME: (Your 5th grade teacher’s last name, a major city that starts with the same letter)
Brickey Boston

12. SPY NAME/BOND GIRL: (your favorite season/holiday, flower)
Autumn Rose

13. CARTOON NAME: (favorite fruit, article of clothing you’re wearing right now + “ie” or “y”)
Cherry Nightie

14. HIPPY NAME: (What you ate for breakfast, your favorite tree)
Cheerio Dogwood

15. YOUR ROCKSTAR TOUR NAME: (”The” + Your fave hobby/craft, fave weather element + “Tour”)
The Writing Storm Tour

Let me know if you post this meme–I’d love to see it!

Last week’s Question of the Week addressed the idea of the “forever job”, by which I mean a job that is aligned with your purpose and is a perfect fit for you, now and always. When I answered the question, I noted that–while I’m not convinced that there’s a “forever job” out there for me–I do believe that I have a “forever purpose”, a single message that I’m here to express in this life. Put simply, my message is “You can do it!”–or more accurately, “WE can do it!” (After all, I want to help me too!)

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