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Y is for Yes.

We all want to be successful in our chosen careers. We all want to be the best. Yet sometimes we fear taking chances to get to where we want to be. We fear the unknown.

In 2015 I did a season of saying yes to everything crossing my path (writing related, don’t get funny ideas).

It made me a better writer. I joined a writing group (it fizzled out in the meantime and a new one was created to fill the void – a better one BTW), I wrote tons of short stories and won a few competitions, I learned how to blog and how to tweet, I took part in NaNoWriMo for the first time and I made a couple of writing friends.

I continued saying yes to all things writing in 2016, adding a lot of new things to my routine and it paid off.

I’ve continued to say yes to new opportunities in 2017 which led to guest posts on other blogs (look out for updates on this next month) and stories being accepted for anthologies (I’ll blog about this closer to D-day).

I’ll admit it’s scary.

But what do you say to taking chances,
What do you say to jumping off the edge?
Never knowing if there’s solid ground below
Or hand to hold, or hell to pay,
What do you say,
What do you say?

– Celine Dion, Taking Chances

Very scary.

But saying yes when opportunity knocks on your door can lead to awesome new horizons.

Success doesn’t just jump out from behind a tree and say “Voila!” – you have to write, submit, be rejected, rewrite and go through the whole process again and again until you’re successful.

And yes, you have to pace yourself or risk burnout. But if you say yes to opportunity, it will make you a better writer and it will enrich your career. (Yes, yes: this works for whatever your chosen profession is, it isn’t just for writers.)

I hope you found this journey interesting. Tomorrow, we’ll look at Zen… What’s your experience been with saying yes?

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