I am intimately familiar with fear. We have been at odds for years and it wasn’t until I read The FireStarter Sessions by Danielle LaPorte that I began to develope a different relationship with fear.

Fear, like love, joy, etc., is one of our many emotions that lets us know important things about the world around us. Fear is what prompts us to be cautious, warning us of impending danger.

In Fire Starter, Danielle discusses our traveling down the road of life in our car with our many emotions as fellow passengers on the journey. She stated that while we should acknowledge fear’s misgivings, address any rational concerns that it brings to the table, we should never ever let it drive the car or control the sound system.

Unfortunately, I have let fear drive for a very long time. But around 2012, I started trying to do things that scared me. And in 2016, I applied to be a guest on Modern Mrs. Darcy’s podcast, What Should I Read Next. My main fear being what would happen if I got accepted? But I figured that my chances were slim-to-none so the victory, for me, was pressing the submit button on the application.

Anne, who I have rhapsodized about extensively on this blog, including in an entire post, Re:Modern Mrs. Darcy, is the guru of my reading life, especially when it pertains to fiction. Her book, I’d Rather Be Reading, spawned a month-long series of posts entitled This Bookman: Meditations and Miscellany.

Last month, I received an email from Brenna, one of the producer’s of the podcast, asking me if I still wanted to be a guest. I cried because I was so happy. And then I cried because I was so afraid. What if I sound like an idiot? What if I am unable to articulate myself properly? What if you disagree, or worse misunderstand, what I am trying to say?

But I emailed back and with fear, said “yes, I would be honored to be on the show.” From there, everything moved fast. Because of my apprehension, (what fear was trying to tell/warn me about), I took a look at my books and examined why I liked the ones I did. Brenna was awesome and we did a technical call where she explained everything that was going to happen, even reviewing my books, giving me a chance to discuss them, kind of like a practice run. That set some of my jitters aside. Within two weeks we recorded the episode and it is now live. I’d be honored if you care to give it a listen.

This experience was one of the literary highlights of my life and I had so much fun discussing books with Anne. I am so glad that I moved forward, with fear.

What do you need to do, with fear?

And I do realize, it’s Tuesday, but I could not wait til Friday to share! And if you know anyone who wants to discuss books, let me know. I am available. LOL.

Also, here’s a link to the Rocket City Mom Virtual Book Club referenced in the episode. Join us.

enjoy life…