Have you listened to Paul McCartney's new album, Egypt Station? I listened when it came out almost two weeks ago now and have to admit that it's been dominating my earbuds ever since. It is SO GOOD!

It's neat to know that this is his first album out in five years, his eighteenth solo album of his career, and his first #1 Billboard album in thirty six years. At 76 years old, he is both still rocking out and harnessing a life lived by weaving his humanness into sweet songs that make for the perfect soundtrack for solo walks around the city or dinner making dance parties in your kitchen. I'm not wishing away time, but have got to tell you that these songs make me feel more hopeful about aging. What if getting older could mean gathering more gold for the things we create?

If you're feeling in need of some motivation to keep making the magic, head on over and give it a listen and let me know what your favorite song on the album is! I keep changing my mind but today, I'd say I'd have to go with Happy With You, which has some of my favorite lyrics I've heard in awhile.

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And if you haven't yet seen the Carpool Karaoke with Paul McCartney, do yourself the favor of the year and give it a watch. I laughed and cried, and can honestly say that the world seems a little bit brighter. 

Take care this week, Friends! There's lots of good things to do.

Each day in our lives, we have a choice: to stay in a place that feels familiar, safe, but ultimately unsatisfying, or to take the leap to someone else that makes us feel alive and brings us more satisfaction than we can even imagine. 

What are you dreaming of doing? It's tempting to tell yourself that you need to plan, research,  plan, and research some more before you can make your move. Who doesn't want to feel 100% prepared for something new, right? What if you dared to jump before you were "ready"? Instead of making your move when you were 100% ready, what if you went for it when you were, say, 90% ready?

In my experience, when you leap before you are totally ready, two things happen:

1. You actually do the thing you've been dreaming about. Is it even possible to be 100% ready for something, especially for something you've never tried to do before? Spoiler: it's not. In many ways, "getting ready" is just an excuse for us to put off what it is that we're dreaming of, citing a lack of readiness in order to justify why we won't just do it.

2. When we believe we are 100% prepared for something, we are less forgiving when we make a mistake, fail, or encounter a challenge that we didn't plan for. In this way, it's too easy to berate ourselves, call ourselves fools for even trying, and vow to wait even longer before starting next time. "See?" you might say, "I thought I had thought of EVERYTHING. I was 100% prepared. Then this happened. This proves I didn't plan well enough. I'm not trying this again." Ironically, when we leap when we think we're 90% ready, we are actually jumping while acknowledging the fact that we know there is 10% that we don't feel certain of. When we meet a challenge that falls into this 10%, we can greet it openly. "Ahh, there's something I didn't plan for. This is part of the 10% I didn't know or plan for. What have you got to teach me? I'm ready to learn." When you know you have a blind spot, you don't get nearly as frustrated when something pops up out of the blue.

Jumping the gap is the way that we move from safety to satisfaction. Think of how many of your heroes took a leap before they were ready. How many took a chance on something that could have failed. It's not a coincidence that so many people you know and admire who are doing really interesting things with their time here on earth tend to go for it before they know they can do it. Jumping the gap is the way to do something you've never done before.

See the gap. Mind the gap. And then push off the ground, soar over the gap, and see what awaits you on the other side. 

As we look ahead to a brand new week, how about looking back at the past for a few moments today? As someone who dances with anxiety on a regular basis, I try to be mindful about rethinking the past or worrying too much about the future, but sometimes a blast from the past is just what I need to get motivated. 

Imagine yourself at four years old, or even six. What did you look like? What was your favorite outfit? What did you like to do? What were your dreams? 

In my artist den at home, I have an altar where I keep some of my more treasured  creative items including some seashells from Prince Edwards Island, some hay from my family's farm, my Grandma's teapot, and Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert. These items help me to connect to people and places I love and that inspire me to keep dreaming. I also have the photo above on my altar; it helps to remind me of who I really am inside: a fierce dreamer who feels most beautiful and alive when she is making something new. Whether it's a Bert and Ernie pumpkin or a poem, I still feel this little girl's excitement in my heart when I start out on a new creative adventure.

It's easy to tell your adult self "You're not doing enough" or "You're a failure", but how about having to face your four year old self and tell her that she isn't measuring up?

"That's a cute picture you drew, but to be honest,  it's messy and would never end up in an art gallery."

"Your story is ok, but no one would ever pay to read that."

"I know you like to dance, but I'm not letting you perform in the recital--you'd just embarrass yourself."

Do these sound cruel to you? Would you ever say these to a child? What's that? "No freaking way would I EVER say that to a child!" ?

Good, we're in agreement there.  And if we shouldn't say them to a child standing in front of us, then we shouldn't say them to the child that is inside of us.  

It's not easy to shift away from harsh self-talk but it is possible. I used to be my own worst imitation of a sports coach, screaming to "Keep going, idiot!" and "Don't you dare start getting tired now!" and now when I look at this younger version of myself, I cannot imagine giving her anything but love and support. Seeing her hopeful face makes me want to give her dreams, my dreams, a fighting chance. Show up, take a risk, go for it. Better to swing and miss than to not have gone to bat at all. Looking at her innocent eyes, I tend to call myself Sweetheart and remind myself to "Take a break if you need it." and "I love you and am always here for you." Call it corny, but caring about yourself and your creativity goes a LONG way in helping us to continue to explore and seek out adventures.

Find a photo of yourself as a kid and hang it in a place where you can see it. Keep it near your desk when you write, in your script for rehearsal, on the wall near the chair you sit in to practice guitar or paint. Wherever you go, bring yourself with you  and you might just discover a whole new way to get along.