She didn't need guts
A few weeks ago, I shared about a 16-minute documentary, Ten Meter Tower. I know you didn’t watch it, OK? You should watch it. I mean, read this email first but then click on the link at the bottom to watch.
ANYWHO, the filmmakers set up an experiment where they asked random people to jump off a… ten meter tower, into a pool. (Ten meters = 33 feet).
They filmed those random people at the top of the tower, struggling with indecision about whether to jump. Nothing would happen if they decided not to jump. They got paid either way for participating in the film.
....
About halfway in, a woman stands alone on the diving platform. Actually she is bending over, hands on her knees, breath ragged with fear.
She stands up resolutely, and walks to the edge. Then, just as resolutely, she retreats.
“No!” she says. She walks to the edge again. Again she retreats.
With her fists balled up by her sides, she spits, “No. I don’t have the guts!”
<img src="http://static1.squarespace.com/static/6603f21fd97c7914d466c100/662a25182067a541eec7f311/662a25562067a541eec80839/1714038102725/i-dont-have-the-guts.jpg?format=original" alt="i-dont-have-the-guts.jpg" />
She returns to the ladder to climb back down. She pauses for 5 seconds on the top step in total silence.
Then she’s back on the diving platform. She bends over again, hands on knees, breath ragged. She stands. She inhales deeply and exhales.
She opens her eyes, walks to the edge, and takes that. One. Extra. Step.
That one extra step that separates walking to the edge from jumping off the platform. That one extra step that separates not doing it from doing it.
Maybe she didn’t have guts. But, that’s the point.
SHE DIDN’T NEED GUTS.
She needed to take one extra step. And she did.
…
We don’t have to be ready. We don’t have to be “done” wrestling with our demons. We don’t have to be a gutsy person, or any other type of person. So what do we need in order to take that step?
The more I ask my fellow womxn entrepreneurs, "Why don't you write?", the more I notice their absolute terror around publishing.
Fear stands in the way of taking the next step, and that fear is real and it's powerful.
I know because I just got the cover design of my book back from my designer yesterday and I KNOW the fear. It took me almost an entire day to bring myself to open the PDF proof.
A cover makes the book so permanent! So un-take-back-able.
But then I remember, I don’t need guts. I just need to take the next step.
I have used my own process to clarify exactly what that next step is. I have defined what I want to be known within my industry, and I know how this book will help me claim that space.
I know what the next step is, and so I can take the next step.
Maggie
PS: Yes, the book, the book! The book is coming out very soon! Like as soon as I can bring myself to carefully read through it and make sure it looks good! So just a few weeks from now.
If you already know you’d like help with clarifying what you want to be known for so you can take your next step, you can book a 1-hour strategy session with me. Just hit reply and I will send you the link.
PPS: Watch the movie.