I’m deathly afraid.

In 2004, I was in a Piper PA-30 flying over the burning Alaskan wilderness.

One minute we were in the air, the next we were in the trees.

Everyone survived.

I have to get on a plane next week for my work with SUCCESS.

Not yet sure how that’s going to happen.

In 2013, I was scammed by a business partner and lost everything.

I mean everything.

Money. House. Car. Reputation. Clients. Everything.

Gone.

I remember that fall, when my son was born, thinking, “How will I get through this?”

Yesterday, I asked you for your opinion on how I could best maximize the benefits of this case study. I don’t want to waste my time, but more importantly, I don’t want to waste yours.

Your feedback was extraordinary.

I received more than 2 dozen requests to be a cowriter, countless words of wisdom and encouragement, and a few ideas I hadn’t thought of to help me be even more efficient in delivering all the goods.

I want to say thank you. From the bottom of my heart and with all sincerity, your words of encouragement and kindness mean everything to me.

Based on feedback, I’ve decided to continue forward writing mysteries and sending daily emails.

I received several very brilliant ideas on how to overcome the roadblocks that I’ve shared. Thank you to those who offered up that advice. Very helpful.

But…

Even with that great feedback, I’m not sure how I’m going to pull this off.

And that’s my trick.

I never know what I’m doing.

I am in a perpetual state of “writing into the dark”. Except, that’s my whole life.

How am I going to get on that plane next week?

I have no idea. But I will.

How will I overcome homeless, repair my reputation, and get back to my old income levels?

I had no idea. But I did.

How will I balance this huge client, writing in public with daily emails, and mastering a new genre in 90 days?

I have no idea. But I will.

That’s the secret.

I stopped caring about having everything mapped out in advance long ago.

Life doesn’t happen according to plan, so why waste the energy?

I build my daily practices and keep showing up. I’ll let everything else take care of itself.

Instead of worrying, I ask for help (like I did yesterday).

Think about that for a moment.

I don’t worry anymore. About anything.

I’ve replaced that with asking.

I needed to somehow overcome a paralyzing fear of flying in 3 weeks.

Instead of worrying about it, I sought out help. I asked.

Am I cured 100%? No. But I’m pretty darn sure I’ll be on that plane next week.

You might be worrying about Facebook ads. Ask for help instead.

You might be worrying about how to cram everything into your schedule. Ask for help instead (I did and it worked great!).

You might be worried that your prose/story idea/characters aren’t good enough. Ask for help instead.

Let me be clear:

Replace worry with asking.

Don’t know who to ask. Start with me. I may not be able to answer your question (due to time restraints) but at least it’s a start.

Mike “The Non-Worried Writer” Shreeve

P.S. I received over 150 emails today with votes. I was simply unable to respond to them all. Please know that I appreciate what you have sent, what you have said, and what you have offered.

You are amazing.

P.P.S. Today I wrote 2,767 words of the mystery novel I’ve been working on for this challenge. Most of it was garbage, but I’m having to clear the pipes again since it’s been so long since I’ve written anything fiction.

Tomorrow will try and hit 5,000 words.