The more I write, the easier it gets to ship a piece every day. But unfortunately, it also becomes easier to get too “safe” and fall into the trap of writing something that isn’t truly worth sharing at all.
But then there are pieces that remind me of what it truly means to write something worth sharing.
When I wrote yesterday’s piece about unconscious bias, I second-guessed writing it at all, second-guessed several lines within it, and even re-recorded the piece on Anchor several times.
“I’m basically saying that sometimes I become aware of my unconscious bias and feel like an accidental, unwilling racist.”
That was my genuine fear and worry. And I was (am) embarrassed.
Inevitably, when I ship an email that I’m afraid to ship, it receives the best response.
If you’re afraid to ship or share something, it’s because you are making yourself vulnerable. That’s hard and it’s also rare. It resonates well because we all have that fear. But most people don’t push through it.
For every piece that I’ve shared that puts me in a vulnerable position, there are probably several others I didn’t get up the nerve.
So I’m not saying that everything you create needs to give you a heart attack, but if you do feel that visceral fear of sharing something you’ve created, press the “send” button. The world needs more honesty.