Wild Woman of Queens: Notes on Urban Creativity from across the East River.

Election Day c 2008 Sandra Lee Schubert

Big, Bigger, Biggest

The summer is almost over. I suck at summer. One step out into the heat and humidity of a New York City summer and I'm back in the house faster then you can say air conditioning. There is so much to do here in NYC and I am absolutely stopped in my tracks by its heat.

My resistance can be epic. The tortured artist model has nothing on me. The personal development books have picked my pockets, stuffed my bookcases and my brain, but have done nothing for my life. Is it their fault or the fault of my own psyche? I'm thinking the only one at fault here is me. Let me tell you what I learned this week.

My biggest advantage, and greatest pleasure, is interviewing wonderful guests each week on my radio show. I get to speak to interesting people doing great things. This past week I spoke to Greg S. Reid who was recruited by the Napoleon Hill Foundation to recreate the original concept of Hill's great book, Think and Grow Rich.

Greg took this on as an incredible adventure; selling his home and car to fund the project. He was talking about hanging out with the people who are doing big things. When he wanted to learn how to write a best selling book he spoke to the people who had best sellers. Greg did not play small- he went for it a large way. At some point I revealed my own limiting belief system when I revealed it on my show to him. My thought was to make the idea of dumping all your dead ending friends in one swoop more palatable was to work your way up the success ladder by a slow dump along the way. You could add a friend who was slightly ahead of you and comfortably build your path to success. Oh, boy don't ever play small with someone who plays big. Greg told the audience he would not support my limited thinking. Thank goodness you can't see a red face on radio.

The thing is I got the message to play big several times in the past week. The universe was knocking my brain really hard. And the truth is I have been playing/living/acting in a small way. I act like I am in learning mode all the time. Of course I am always learning but there comes a time to break from the comfort of it and apply it in the world. We all have to let the world see what we are doing. The big reveal comes with the possibility that what you have learned and done just plain sucks. So you work on it more. I work on it more.

My lesson(s) for the week: Playing it small will keep you small. Hang out with people doing great things. Be brave, be bold and step out into the world.

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Sandra's e-course leads people to be their creative best through telling their stories and talking to interesting people on her online radio show-
Wild Woman Network: Radio for Creative Vagabonds,Thinkers and Innovators..

She is a creative vagabond, a poet, and a writer who co-facilitates the Wild Angels Poets and Writers Group at the historic Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine.
Writing for Life: Creating a Story of Your Own. Visit her blog: Email her sandraleeschubert(at)gmail.com or @writing4life via twitter.