Day 5 - All In

What does it mean to be "all in?" 

I was surprised to learn this evening when I Googled it that informally it means "exhausted." In British English, it means "inclusive of everything." But Americans take it to the next degree. In America, "all in" means "completely committed to" something. 

A Burden

I'm one of those people who goes all in when I do something. It's a burden and a blessing. Why a burden, you might ask? Well, because going all in means getting hyper-focused. Sometimes though, I get so hyper-focused, I neglect other things - like last night. While I was writing the Day 4 post, I wanted to be certain about something I was adding. When I went to look it up, my attention switched, and I focused so long on what I wanted to find, I ended up hitting publish a few minutes too late. I'd been so committed to going ALL IN with my blog, that I lost track of the most important thing - pressing publish on the right day. 

And a Blessing

I was very annoyed with myself, but there's a blessing in that too. On Wednesdays, up until this week, I didn't get home until 10:30 PM following an afternoon of back-to-back classes. I'm usually starving (very hungry) as we'd say in Ireland. Last night was no different. By the time I'd finished eating, it was 11 PM. I only had an hour to write. "Why did you leave it that late?" you may be wondering. I had other things to get done in the morning, and, as you'll read in Day 3's post, I'm going with the flow as much as possible right now - I only got the inspiration for yesterday's topic as the morning wore on. 

Last night, as I began to berate myself for not having published on time, I took a moment to pause and find the blessing.

Allowing myself to let it go! 

A few years ago, letting it go would have been really difficult for me. My inner voice would have kept at me and at me for failing. Failing - because I'd missed my personal deadline by 15 minutes. Failing because there will now be two posts out on June 13th. Failing. 

But was it failure? 

I adore writing. I write something every day, either a journal, notes for podcast episodes, and social media posts, my book, or articles on LinkedIn. But I don't write in my journal every day. In fact, I know that daily journalling doesn't work for me. I like to write at length, not in snippets. I've tried it, many times, but I never stick to it. Committing to publishing a blog post every day for 30 days is a big thing for me. Not because of the writing. Because of the daily consistency.

I'm still working towards my other goals of becoming a published author, (dare I say, "more") successful podcast host, and a better transformational coach. I want to change 1,000,000 lives by getting them access to public speaking, presentation and English pronunciation training that has traditionally been reserved for the elite, upper classes. I'm doing this via monthly live public speaking training (register HERE), and soon, Expert Communication Sessions. Get ready to nominate a friend to attend. I'm also still making sure to enjoy life as much as possible. 

This sounds very "I, I, I" focused. 

Aye, it does. I'm not here to tell anyone else what to do. I'm here to share my experiences with you, I hope in a way that resonates, helps you be kinder to yourself, and keep pushing for your dreams. You are the only one who can!

ALL IN: Irish-American style! 

I've gone ALL IN on my dream of becoming a writer. I'm committed to writing my blog. I've submitted two chapters of my book for publication as a standalone piece (in full awareness it may not be picked, but dreaming it will), someone else asked me to write a story for a book a few months ago, and today, in a few short hours in fact, my first article for a new magazine will be published.

None of this is paid work. You may think me mad. But when you follow your dreams, sometimes, it means doing things which return joy for you whilst, if I'm doing it right, giving a gift to others. 

My goal is to share the gift of my experiences. At 41, I've been around a few blocks, I've fallen over even more, but when I got knocked down, I got back up again, over and over. There is little that can keep me down. By sharing my stories and experiences here and wherever else anyone will let me, I hope you'll find it easier to get back up again if you fall down. If you're struggling to, leave a comment or connect with me on social media for a chat. After all, as we'd have said in Ireland many a moon ago, 

"Giorraínn beirt bóthar" - Two shorten the road. 

In other words, as long as we have somebody by our side, our journey becomes easier. 

We only die once, but we get to live every single day. In a few short hours, my first article for a new Irish magazine will be published. "What's the magazine called?"

ALL IN 

Will you join me? 

*******UPDATE******* 

We're three issues in now. Just like me, our editor-in-chief, Ciara Heneghan, is achieving a lifelong dream. With each issue, the magazine goes from strength to strength. I loved last month's interview about a poet and storyteller who made the pandemic that little bit easier for thousands of families all over the world. Sign up to get access below: 

Issue 3: https://bit.ly/ALLINMagazineIssue3 

Just in case you only want the first issues, here are the links:

Issue 1: https://bit.ly/ALLINMagazineIssue1 

Issue 2: https://bit.ly/ALLINMagazineIssue2