I’m Scared & Doing It Anyway

My friend, coach, and mentor, Lauree, has written a memoir called, I’m scared & doing it anyway: How a little white blob changed my life.  I thought you should know about it because she’s awesome and so is her book and you can buy it today.  Right now, actually.  Just click (—>) here (<—).

The blob happens to be a brain tumor (her brain tumor) and the book is, in Lauree’s own words, “about the choices you make when you don’t feel like you have any.”  I had the chance to read an excerpt and I can tell you that it’s also about how unexpected and life changing a health scare – or any kind of scare – can be.  And about how scary things magnify what’s right and wrong in our lives.  And about how even though scary things are scary, they’re also invaluable opportunities to make new and different choices and – just maybe – discover our truest selves.

I planned ahead for this post.  Yesterday afternoon it was a few drafts from being complete when I heard on the news that there were two explosions at the finish line at the Boston Marathon.

The post was supposed to be about how Lauree’s book made me think about motherhood.  Not because brain tumors and motherhood are the same, but because motherhood, on occasion, is a scary proposition.  Like yesterday evening when I tucked my sweet children in bed after learning that among the dead in Boston was an eight-year-old boy.

Motherhood is scary.  So is running a marathon, and so is living through and living with terrorism.  To all of the runners who trained tirelessly to qualify for the Boston Marathon and didn’t get to cross the finish line, my heart aches for you.  To everyone and their loved ones who were hurt, or worse, my entire body aches for you.

Last night, I thought about Lauree’s book launch and how it was too bad that it was going to happen while this big and scary story unfolded.  Then I realized the timing couldn’t be more perfect.

For some of us, the little while blob is a brain tumor.  For some of us, it’s motherhood.  For some of us, it’s the senseless injury and death of hundreds and the fear that grips us when we no longer feel safe in the world in which we live.

I can’t help but think about being in New York City on 9/11 when the ground shook, the sky was black, and the air smelled of death.  On that day, I was scared.  Today, I’m equally stunned and afraid and equally hopeful that I’ll find it within myself to live without fear, expose my heart, and hug the people I love.

I’m scared & doing it anyway.

If you’ve ever felt this way, you’ll love Lauree’ book.  Learn more about it here.  And check out her amazing coaching services here.  And follow her on Facebook and Twitter.  And sign up to read her blog.  And buy her book.  Did I mention that already?

Are you scared & doing it anyway?