It’s simple. Believe God. Believe in Yourself.
I know, I know. It’s not that easy to believe in yourself when you carry baggage from past hurts and rejections and insecurities.
Trust me. I know this better than most.
But you just HAVE to, you know?
It’s human to want validation. I get it. But when the need for external validation outweighs the internal validation you should freely give yourself; that God has given you because what you are doing is aligned with what He has called you to…then there’s a HUGE problem.
And best believe, people…your audience…will sniff this kind of thing out in a heartbeat.
Whether you are writing a book, inventing a product or process, starting a business…people know when you are uncertain. And sometimes it’s understandable. I have a book coming out on the 17th. And that little ugly, impish critic inside my head keeps saying….”Don’t blow this book all up, Tracey! Because what if no one likes it, much less love it? What if it bombs? You do know that it might bomb, right?”
My answer?
Well after all the tears and angst and ringing up friends who’ve read the book for some good girlfriend consolation, I simply say, “What if they do? It happens. I did my best. I’ll do better.”
And I keep it moving.
Sometimes. LOL!
So yeah, there will be people in your audience who will get it. They will see your hesitations and still support you. But you have to admit…if YOU were considering purchasing something that even the author/owner/inventor didn’t seem too confident in…you just might think twice about whether it is worth your time and money. Right?
Right.
So bottom line? If you don’t believe in what you’re doing and can’t find it within yourself to yes, have your moment, but then SHUT ALL THE WAY DOWN your inner critic, then I implore you to GET OUT NOW! Because if you don’t love it, you cannot expect someone else to love it.
Yeah, you’ve heard it said a million times: Love what you do. But it’s true. For me, I love a good story. And writing is a way I can tell good stories. I’m not necessarily a fan of the process. The actual sitting down, discipline that writing requires sucks big time to me but I do it because I love the story. And I want others to love my stories. And I want God to be pleased with my stories. And I want Him to use the stories to bless the hearts of people.
So whether my books resonate or not, if I’ve done the work to the best of my current ability, then I’m good.
Do I want you to write a 5-star review of The Next Thing is Joy? Umm, yes I do. I want you to hold the book and tremble with emotion and scream at the main character Vivian for all her naiveté and stupidity and misunderstanding of herself. I want you to write me emails explaining how you feel like you ARE Vivian or you WERE Vivian and thank me for being willing to tell this story. And yes, I want to sell millions of books and actually beef up the stream of income that comes from writing for me and my family.
But if none of that happens, I gotta be okay. I want to be okay.
I WILL be okay.
HeARTtalk - Healing Through Art and Story 
Dream big, Girl. Keep aiming high. If you don’t hit the moon, at least you’ll reach a star! I’m praying for your success. You’ve been true to your heart. Enough said.
Thank you so much. That means a lot.