Your Best Life Begins in Imperfect Conditions (Beginner’s Pluck Blog Tour)

Do you ever feel paralyzed by a sickening fear that it’s too late for you to find a passion or pursue a new course in life? Do you ever think, “If only ___________ (some bizarrely-perfect combination of events) would happen, THEN I could ______________ (insert your unicorn, pie-in-the-sky dream here).

Welcome to my world.

I failed the “Perfect Conditions for Life” playbook over a decade ago when I decided to quit college in my (almost) junior year. Till then, I was a rule-following pastor’s kid who got good grades, knew all the “supposed to’s” and equally avoided failure and coleslaw.

But the cocktail of college debt, career ambivalence and a long distance boyfriend led me back home to get married at age 21. Before we knew it, we had two kids and plans to adopt our third, and my life quickly became caught up in the whirlwind that is motherhood.

I love my kids and never regret choosing a family, but a desire to do more began to push its way through the laundry piles and Legos and mushed cheerios. At a snail crawl, I began to dream beyond the four walls of motherhood.

At first I dabbled in blogging, then cautiously self-published two books and started speaking at moms groups and my church.

Speaking gave me unexpected vision to imagine myself in roles and situations I never had before: Maybe I could overcome the church culture for women I’d grown up with and possibly be a pastor; or I could travel to a variety of groups to share my message and connect with new people. (Oh rapture for my extroverted soul.)

But people said I had to “know my niche” or at least my passion and market myself as an expert. Would I stumble upon The Passion Store and find one purpose that fit perfectly? That sounds worse than bathing suit shopping. Could I call myself an expert at anything with no degree or formal job to speak of since my illustrious career as a journalist, non-profit director, NANNY.

I’d messed up the timeline, right? I gave up the perfect conditions over a decade ago when I abandoned logic and didn’t get a degree. Pastors and speakers don’t launch careers in their 30s, I thought. I’m 98% sure there are authors that published best selling books as they exited the womb. I’m too far behind.

If only I had DREAMED BIGGER when I was in my 20s. If only someone ELSE had seen my latent speaking potential as a teen and given me a parachute and a push out the airplane. If only my greatest accomplishments of the past decade didn’t include speed diapering and inhaling impressive quantities of peanut butter.

*Sit in this moment to breathe a long sigh over our collective “if only’s”.*

If only I had a book like “Beginner’s Pluck” by Liz Forkin Bohannon years ago.

In her winsome and witty way, Liz speaks to the core obstacles that keep my over-thinking self stuck and fearful. Instead of joining the well meaning chorus of people telling us to “find our passion” and “dream big,” Liz tells us that we’re average, we aren’t meant to find a perfect passion, and we should actually start dreaming small.

Maybe that sound offensive or alarming, but it reminds me a lot of what Jesus says: Be a servant to all. (Mark 9:35) Even little things you do in my Name matter. (Mark 9:41) The tiny gift of the widow was of great value. (Mark 12:41-43) Whether we start with many or few talents, our job is simply to invest what we’ve been given. (Matthew 25:14-30)

In a painfully personal but liberating chapter, Liz writes like a surgeon operating to remove my tumor of fear over never “finding” my purpose:

“We cling to this narrative of ‘finding’ because it is self-soothing and gives us permission to be passive, and we fall asleep to the world and to the work that is right in front of us.

We can blame our lack of direction and purpose on The Universe and Other Vague External Factors in stead of taking responsibility for our own lives and moving forward with courage and intentionality.

When we believe our passion and purpose is waiting to be found, we wait instead of create.“

Beginners Pluck (pg 47), by Liz Forkin Bohannon

Ouch, and thank you.

Liz releases me from the need to get permission from others or find some ambiguous validation from the systems or culture around me. I can do the next thing in front of me and keep moving, asking questions and chasing curiosity and God’s heart all the while.

I don’t want to spend my whole life waiting instead of creating.

Maybe conditions are perfect for the Flight of the Conchords or your friend who created a thriving coffee shop, or that guy who quit his day job to become a full time speaker.

Or maybe, like Liz, they had the determination to believe in taking risk, stepping up a ladder of small dreams, and build their passion instead of waiting for it to magically appear.

I hope you’ll read “Beginner’s Pluck” if you’re still not sure what you want to be when you “grow up”; if you’re paralyzed by fear of not dreaming big enough or never finding your perfect passion; and if you think its too late to start anything new.

Liz will only try to guide you as someone who has taken some awkward side turns, messy missteps, and painful heartache on the journey. But her own courage and the passion she BUILT will infuse you with a fresh belief that YOU are a beautiful gift to the world.

And, WARNING: she just may instill you with a little pluck to take your own gloriously messy baby steps forward into a life of doing instead of waiting.

Visit http://beginnerspluck.com to get your copy of Beginner’s Pluck today!

BONUS: Preorder BEFORE OCTOBER 1st and RECEIVE a FREE AUDIO BOOK and SSEKO BRAVE BRACELET.

I’d love to hear from YOU!

WHAT is holding YOU back from stepping out? What is ONE STEP you can take today towards a SMALL DREAM even if conditions don’t feel perfect?