Take That Risk

As I write I’ve just pressed the button on buying flights to New York in September. Oh my goodness. I feel a bit sick. I’m sure for some people this isn’t a big thing, but for me, this feels like a really big thing. I’m flying out for 4 days in September to attend Marie Forleo’s book launch, for her new book ‘Everything is Figureoutable’.

You might be thinking, why is she writing about this, it’s no biggie splurging on a trip to New York, people do it all the time! But for me this wasn’t about doing something for myself, or ‘treating’ myself as you might think, but it felt like something I needed to do in response to the ‘nudge’ I felt in my heart.

So, some context for you - I am a bit of a home bird, quite a wimp really and not known for my adventures (although I did live in Bangladesh for 3 months!), I HATE flying. Also, the cost. Running your own business, and trying to grow a business requires lots of money and doesn’t necessarily make you loads of money at the start, so for us, we’ve been living quite simply for the last few years because of this, and while I got flights for £250 return, that’s still a lot of money to me and not a decision I made lightly. (Plus point is, I have a best friend and a sister who live in The Bronx and New Jersey, respectively so I have no accommodation costs, and is partly the reason I even contemplated the trip. )

Now I love Marie Forleo, since discovering her earlier in the year, I’ve listened to probably most of her back catalogue of podcasts and tv shows and I’ve signed up to do her creative copy writing course, and it’s ACE. I just love everything about this woman, she is humble, hardworking, practical, ambitious and I just connect with her style of teaching and have gained so much from all the content she puts out into the world. I use her mantra ‘Everything is figureoutable’ in my head when I’m facing challenges, and I can specifically recall excerpts from interviews she’s done that come back to me again and again and are such an encouragement and useful resource in my business journey! So the pull to attend her book launch event was strong, but it felt like more than that, it felt like the universe (or God or whatever name you like to put here) was challenging me to take a leap, and see what happened?

Now I’ve been reading lots about the Law of Attraction ( Jen Sincero’s book is a great non weird intro to this theory) and it’s principles pop up wherever I go, and it really makes sense to me. The energy you put out into the world reflects what gets given back to you, in short. Thankfulness, hope and a positive, resilient spirit can see you right through most situations. It’s really made me reconsider my approach to risk taking and living life in general, I take a much more spiritual view on things now and a much more positive view on life and the opportunities it offers. I feel like we have this chance to be playful and ambitious and dream and challenge the universe to meet us there and see what happens. And things won’t always work out the way you planned, but sometimes they might (my studio turning up felt like a massive gift from the universe!) but you’ll for sure enjoy the journey and live with that kind of expectant flutter of nerves at what might be about to happen. I just love the idea of this playful approach to life, rather than one where we’re weighed down with fear and worry! So after hearing about the event, I just felt this challenge to get there, and it felt really scary, and like the easy thing was to ignore it and say it wasn’t possible.

So I looked at the dates and nearly had a get out excuse, I had just booked to do an event the Saturday and Sunday before the Monday of the book launch, oh well I thought, I must have been mistaken, it can’t have been the universe telling me to go. But I couldn’t shake it. I started to explore it more, almost reluctantly, probably hoping for an easy way out. But there they were, flights that would get me in to New York for 9am. No excuses. Was I going to go for it? Was I going to leap? Take a risk? I felt a lump in my throat, I can feel it now while I’m typing!

Do you recognise this feeling? Being nudged to do something? Not always something big, maybe speaking to someone, smiling, giving something to someone, calling a friend out of the blue? We’re spiritual beings aren’t we?

And now I’ve made this decision, I’m excited and it feels good! I’m still really quite scared but excited! Because I’ve listened to my heart, and not smothered it or said, ‘not today, maybe next year’. I’ve said yes to the adventurous spirit within me and taken a chance on what might happen, putting myself in the path of opportunity and raising my frequency to be the type of person that expects good things to happen to them. I want to be that type of person, and saying yes to a trip to New York when actually that’s quite difficult financially, logistically and I hate flying!!!! was for me listening to my spirit, going with a nudge and not smothering my inner adventurer.

You know i may JUST go to New York and have an amazing time, spend time with some brilliant people and come home refreshed and inspired and that would have been worth it. What if me doing this was just so that I could encourage you to take a risk, make a decision and act on a scary nudge? Then that would have been totally worth it! Who knows why I was nudged and why I’m going? I know it’s not about the end result, but about being changed, and enjoying the journey of adventure.

BUT I could go to New York and I could be sat next to someone at this book launch event who alters the course of my business forever. Who knows?! Point being we will never be able to make black and white judgements about whether it was worth doing something, or whether responding to a nudge was worth it. It’s got to be about a lifestyle of saying yes to nudges, and an attitude of openness, thankfulness and hope, full stop. Despite what happens.

And I already feel like this decision has changed me, because already I feel like I’ve changed my frequency for when the next nudge comes along, like ‘go and speak to that person over there’ and that person turns out to change your life, you know, you just never know! I feel like I’m much more likely to act on spiritual hunches now I’ve made this big YES decision. And who knows what kind of doors having this kind of spirit will open?

I know one of my gifts to the world is encouragement. I’m just a natural encourager. And it brings me life to do it. So here’s your encouragement. Take a leap, take that risk, see it as a long term investment and see what happens!!!!! (I mean there are still some tickets left for the event in NY, just sayin :))