Hey ,

Before the email, I have a small ask. Can you help me out real quick? It'll take less 1 minute. Just reply to this email, and let me know if you found it useful, helpful, valuable at all. Just a simple "I liked it," or "waste of my time" works. You can add more if you'd like, but any response helps! Thank you.

Now, onto todays email.

Quick question.

Do you recognize this acronym - IDEKWTFTS? 

You’ve actually said the phrase if you’ve ever contemplated making a bold move like starting a business or beginning a weight loss transformation.  You muttered the line when the IKEA box spills dowels and particle board throughout your living room. You definitely said it when you sat down to write an essay in school.  Or the first time you changed a diaper. And of course there was that one time….

With my wife working the graveyard shift, that crying baby was my responsibility.  Plan A was very clear, simple, and precise.  But as our 16 month old daughter refused to stop on her own, I needed a new plan.  Stumbling through the house, I enter the nursery and immediately take three steps back.  The smell hit me so hard I had to check the door to make sure nobody replaced the bedroom with a port-o-potty from the nearby construction site.  Not a freshly serviced blue box, but a midsummer sun-warmed-at-the-asparagus-festival sweat lodge of a port-o-potty.  Alternating between confusion and repulsion, I had to go in.

Turning on the lights, I was greeted by a giggling child.  The crying was replaced by a huge smile as we made eye contact.  She was so proud to show me her art.  A modern piece for sure, more Jackson Pollock than Van Gogh.  The finger painting began on her crib and sheets.  In search of a larger canvas she moved on to the walls and eventually her own arms and cheeks.  Becuase there was no paint in her room, she opted for a different medium: warm, fresh poop.

Struggling to process the job I had been assigned, my only thoughts were that same phrase from the aforementioned acronym. 

I Don’t Even Know Where The Fuck To Start.

The fog of deep sleep was ripped away as I performed mental gymnastics, but it was no use.  There was nobody else to do the job, no manual to read or youtube instructional video to watch.  I was forced into action.  Someone had to clean up the crib, the baby, the baby’s pajamas, the sheets, and the wall.  Bathing my daughter, packing up the car and burning the whole place to the ground felt like the best option.  But after remembering that my wife would probably want to sleep in a bed when she got home, I needed a new plan.  

Choosing not to call my mom and try to convince her to come over, the only other option I had was to start.  I just had to start.

Working my way through I wiped down and then bathed my daughter.  While she went back to sleep in the pack-and-play, I exhausted a freshly opened tub of clorox wipes.  And then another. The sheets went in the laundry, and the pajamas in the outside trash.  Within 30 minutes, the harrowing adventure was over and I was in the shower, nearly breaking the knob as the shower couldn’t get hot enough to cleanse my hands, memory and soul.  And then I was back in bed, chuckling as I drifted off for a few hours of sleep before my 4:45 am alarm would start my day.

This isn’t about parenting, or poop, or acronyms.  It’s about being forced into action.  

Taking the first step.  

Starting something overwhelming.  

Sticking with something that’s proven more difficult than anticipated.

And what about you?

What is the thing that you want to do, but are hesitating to start?

Maybe you're waiting for clarity on the first step. Maybe it seems like such a big project, the idea of starting is intimidating. Or maybe you're just being a lazy ass.

Stop waiting, and start acting. The steps will reveal themselves once you show faith through action.

Be great,

Danny Lehr

P.S. OK, now it's your turn. Reply and let me know if this was helpful at all.