I want to talk about fear.

Fear is an illusion.. It’s false evidence appearing real. Fear is a story that we tell ourselves over and over, keeping us from achieving our dreams. We all have fear in our lives. It’s a natural human instinct to be afraid and you know what? It’s okay to have fear. What’s not okay is when you let fear get in the way of living.

I’ve had this dream all my life to own and run a photography business. I believe I received my very first camera on my third birthday and ever since then I’ve never been without one. I was always known by my friends to be “the one with the camera” taking pictures at all our field trips, school dances and sporting events. I never thought about doing photography full-time until I shot my first wedding in 2008 when my oldest brother, Brett, got married. After the day was over, I was absolutely hooked. I loved every minute of capturing their day. I just knew that I had to do photography for the rest of my life.

Ever since then, I kept telling myself this was the year to achieve my dreams and go full-time, but yet it still hasn’t happened. Something keeps holding me back from doing what I truly want to do and I’ve finally realized that it’s fear. It’s the fear of not being accepted, not being good enough, not being liked, not being perfect, not accomplishing my dream and just flat out failing. I’m currently participating in the first ever Jenna Kutcher course and in our first week we talked all about fear. One of the major quotes we keep saying over and over is, “two things can not occupy the same space at the same time.” It may be a famous physics quote, but it directly relates to fear as well. If you focus so much on the fear of doing something, you’re never going to be able to focus on the actual act of achieving your dreams. I’ve been focusing so much on the fear of actually starting my business, that I haven’t allowed myself to focus on the actual act of taking my business full-time. What an eye-opener!

I received a fabulous book from my mom at Christmas entitled, “What I Know For Sure,” by Oprah Winfrey. It’s one of those books that gives you inspiration, motivation and guidance. At the time, I really didn’t think it would help me in any way, but I thought I’d give it a chance. Boy, was I wrong. As I started reading I came to a part where she tells a story about passing a billboard.  It read, “he who dies with the most toys is still dead.” Basically, if you’re someone who has come close to death you can attest that at the end of your life you’re not going to be thinking about all that extra time you spent working, but rather you’ll be thinking about all those “if only” questions.

“Who could I have become if I had finally done the things I always wanted to do?”

Oprah says it best, “the gift of deciding to face your mortality without turning away or flinching is the gift of recognizing that because you will die, you must live now. Whether you flounder or flourish is in your hands– you are the single biggest influence in your life. Your journey begins with a choice to get up, step out, and live fully.” After reading that passage, I closed the book, set it on the table, and really thought about her message. It made me realize that I don’t want to have any of those “if only” questions.. I want to live my life fully and do the things I’m truly passionate about. That same night, I told my husband about my dream of being a full time-time photographer within the next year. I was a bit afraid to tell him (I thought he’d think I was crazy!), but he was 100%, fully supportive of my decision! Ever since then, I’ve been taking classes, doing workshops, mentor sessions, reading and researching all that I can to truly make Kelly Grace Photography the best business that it can be.

Fear is a liar. Fear is false evidence appearing real. I’m ready to go after my dreams and face this fear of mine head on. What do I have to lose? I realized that I keep waiting for the right time to go full-time. If I keep waiting for perfect I’m truly going to be waiting forever. There is never a perfect time to pursue your dreams and go after what you want.

“Your journey begins with a choice to get up, step out, and live fully.”

 Here’s to getting up, stepping out and living fully. Are you with me? What’s stopping you from achieving your dreams?