Last year I ran a successful year-long program called Powered by Hope. The intent of the program is to help you follow your creative dreams by powering your spirit with hope! I am glad the program was so well received. This year, in addition to new posts, I will also be sharing a few of the best posts from the program. From now until the end of 2015, you will receive a minimum of two posts a month focused on hope. I hope you will enjoy them and that they will inspire you to follow your dreams!

SET HIGH STANDARDS

Several years ago, I had visited my older son’s first grade class. There was a handwritten sign on one of the walls. A young child had written it, and it has stayed with me since that day. The sign read: “You are always telling me to do my best. I am trying. But what if my best is not good enough?”

I ponder this all the time. What if this piece I am writing is not good enough? What if my next book is not good enough? What if I do my best and it is not good enough?

The real question to me is: who is judging?

I am my own worst critic so my opinion, in one sense, is immaterial. I have created a trusted group of advisors and I occasionally run things by them to see if the project in question is “good enough.” Their feedback, which I trust, has helped me move forward on many occasions. Please remember that this is not random reader feedback, this is the feedback of people who understand and have experience in my industry.

And what if they say it is not good enough? Now, that gives me choices (after I weep a few tears)—I can learn how to fix it, I can decide to do nothing, I can move forward as is. The point is that now I am making an educated decision as to what is “good enough.”

What do you say?

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