The Day To Day

Photo by: Jessi Van Dyke after delivering beds
to a poor family in the city of Cristo Rey

Blogging for Beautiful Feet has been a joyous learning experience in both creativity and responsibility.  Traveling with a laptop through third world conditions, finding time to blog without being too antisocial with our contacts, and sorting through countless inspiring stories and thoughts to highlight the ones that best connect to my readers, are only a few examples of the jobs I have had the honor of growing in.  But perhaps the responsibility that has matured me the greatest is the essential task of staying committed.  Some of the most common advice that I have received for writing over the years is also that which would seem the most obvious: “If you want to be a good writer, then write, and write a lot!” But just because advice appears obvious, does not mean it is simple to follow.   

Writing, like any other form of art, cannot be significantly matured and mastered by waiting for moments of inspiration to get you going.  I would compare it to driving a manual car or a motorcycle: anyone can drive when the vehicle is in high gear; it is getting started that stalls you out.  Dedication is deciding to continuously turn the key, no matter how many stalls and stutters it may bring. Updating a blog every other day (more or less) has turned my writing into an obligation, and I could not be more grateful, because efficiency is often a byproduct of routine.  Inspiring others to go after their dreams is one of my greatest passions and desires, but if we choose to only live by the ongoing words and actions of inspiring people and do not begin to make personal forward movement, practice and growth towards our own desires, we make people out to be no more than crutches and fall and fail when they are not around. 

It is time to set goals.

I have heard it said that, “If you write a page a day, in a year you’ll have a 365 page novel,” The mindset behind these words is one that believes in the power of setting simple and relevant goals that bring about huge achievements over time.  I challenge you to put this mindset to the test.  Take your passions and put goals behind them.  Write out your dreams, and take one step at a time until you arrive (or expand the dream).  It is an amazing thing to feel inspired, but inspiration works far better as a progression tool than it does a starter key.