#200 – Whose story are you buying?

You've heard it before: what can't be measured can't be managed – or improved. The question is, who's measuring and what standards are they using?

If you want to write a book, for example, and try to find a publisher, the first thing they'll ask is, "do you have a 'platform'?" And "how many followers do you have?"

Of course. If a publisher is going to spend money making your book a reality, they'll want some kind of assurance of a return on their investment – how many copies are you able to sell to your existing readers?

It's not that the publisher has a Ghost of Undervaluing – they're stingy because the publishing world is hard like that.

Unfortunately, their lack of confidence in you as a writer makes your GoU poke holes in your confidence. You start to believe their story and ask yourself, that's right – how many followers do I have?

That's the wrong question.

To me, the right question is, who will I become if/when I write this book?

Creating is, first, a selfish act. It starts within you and then grows outward – you want to share it with others (once you learn to keep the GoU in check).

The creative process is therefore a process of self-inquiry: What will I learn in the process?

You'll learn about the subject/art/medium/craft, and about yourself. You'll become an expert in discerning the voices in your head that tell you to drop it:

• it's too difficult, says the Ghost of Idea Deflection
• it takes too much time, says the Ghost of Time Indifference
• you're going to suffer a lot, says the Ghost of Physical Ailments
• others have said/done/written it before (and way better), says the GoU
• who cares about you, anyway, says the Ghost of Isolation, and of course,
• who do you think you are, says the ever-present, omnipotent Ego.

But if you press on, you'll discover a true change inside yourself. Even the tiniest wins over your Ego and the Ghosts make you stronger and more decisive. More you.

And once you're truly you, you'll be ready to ask,

What are you called to create?

Love,

Carolina