Photo by Kevin Dean (Creative Commons)

Failure is inevitable on the road to success.

Why did I fail?

1. I am not “unknown” any longer. I have been discovered. I know what I’m moving toward. God has big plans for me, and I believe He has big plans for you too.

2. Change can not be avoided.  Change is often uncomfortable, unpredictable, and causes pain.  But I will not avoid it. I choose to embrace with joy. Change is constant. If there is no change, there is no growth. Without growth, is something alive? No.

3. Great work rarely happens by accident. Focus and intention are needed to create something amazing. In the early stages, Unknown Jim was not planned. It was a private journal made public, not a blog with focus or intention.

I do not consider the friendships and amazing conversations that took place on this space to be a failure in any way—but rather my greatest success.

I invite you to join me on an incredible journey.  This isn’t really the end, but rather just the beginning. I hope you will join me.

From now on, I will be posting on jimwoodswrites.com.

Photo by Pewari (Creative Commons)

I tweet on Twitter.

I like on Facebook.

I wear headphones to listen to audio on my computer.

I stare at bright screens filled with shapes and colors.

I read countless words on the page and screen.

Each one is here to entertain me.

I rule this virtual kingdom I’ve created.

I pull the strings with the click of a button.

Make no mistake who is in charge of this world.

The breeze will blow,

the birds will sing,

the hungry child cries,

and I can’t spend five minutes in silence.

Photo by Cellar Door Films (Creative Commons)

You want me to lead?

No, not me. You want anyone but me.

Does this sound familiar?

What do you do when you’ve been asked to do something you know you’re not ready for?

1. Take a deep breath. Seriously–just breathe. You’ll make it through this, I promise. The voices in your head will tell you terrible things. Ignore them.  This website called No More Voices is very encouraging—you can post your fears and quickly realize you are not alone.

2. Have faith. You were chosen for a reason. You have talents and abilities which are obvious to others but might not be clear to yourself. Don’t believe me? Try this free Strengths Finder assessment here.

3. Prepare as much as possible. Use the time you have to prepare. Whether it is five months or five minutes doesn’t matter. This is the most important step.

4. Realize you’ll never be 100% ready. It’s completely normal to be nervous. If you have followed steps 1-3, there is really not much more you can do.

5. Focus on the big picture. Leading is not about you, but rather it is about others. Listen to the responses of others and think of them first and yourself last.

It can be scary and stressful to step in to a leadership role, but it is necessary. It will be worth it in the long run!

Have you ever been placed into a leadership role and you didn’t feel ready? What did you do?

The phrase “fake it ’til you make it” is popular today.

Photo by Alvandi Tabrizi (Creative Commons)

The sun is brighter this morning.

Not hotter

but brighter.

Yesterday was cold, dark, and dreary.

But today is a new day.

The colors are more vivid.

Reds redder.

Greens greener.

Blues bluer.

The rain washed the dullness away

and now everything looks new.

The clouds surround the sky

and support this new light.

Photo by John Antoni (Creative Commons)

I don’t want to boss you around.

I simply want to help you do awesome things.

I want to be the Scottie Pippen (on the Bulls) to your Michael Jordan (pre-Wizards).

I want to be the Tony Almeida (good guy version) or even Chloe O’Brien (less quirky version) to your Jack Bauer.

The Trivette to your Walker Texas Ranger.

You get the idea.

You might not think you need coaching.

Even Rambo had Colonel Troutman and the Lone Ranger had Tonto.

You might not want to be challenged.

I don’t blame you! No one likes pain.

But pain is not as bad when you have someone on the journey with you.

My coaching sessions are comfortable, upbeat, and filled with encouragement.

It is time to pursue dreams only God can come up with.

Can I help you on your journey? 

I offer coaching services and you can read more here. I’d also like to invite you to an introductory 10 minute phone call for FREE to see if we are a good fit. Just email me with the subject line 10 minute phone call. I’ll set it up.  I can’t wait to talk to you!

Photo by Bart Everson (Creative Commons)

I often wonder how can I make a difference? How can I change the world? What can I do to move forward in my dream?

But while it is easy to ask “how” or “what”, everything derives from the question “why.”

Why gets to the heart of the issue.

Why takes away distractions.

Why is the reason you get out of bed.

Why is your mission statement.

Why is your driving force.

My why is this—I want to encourage you to use your God-given gifts.  To help you pursue your passion and follow your dreams.  

Have you determined your why? If so, what do you think it is? If you haven’t figured it out, now is the time to figure it out!

It takes some time to figure out your why.

It is a process of connecting the dots and looking inward.

To figure out your why, it is essential to ignore the fear-filled voices in your head.

Here are three steps to figure out your why:

1. Take inventory of what you like to do. What are some of your hobbies and passions? 

2. How can you use what you enjoy to help others?

3. Take some time to connect those together. 

It is not a quick process. It took me about 6 months of reflection to figure out my why.

Keep working on it and don’t give up!

The contents of the book Start by Jon Acuff truly changed my life. When I first heard them, I was in the middle of a nervous breakdown. Each heartbeat grew in intensity. I fidgeted to distract myself, but my heart just kept pounding louder and harder.

I was depressed and filled with despair.

Then I heard Jon Acuff ask a question that grabbed my attention: “What do the voices in your head say?” A young lady in the audience replied,”Mine say I’m not smart enough.” A man in his fifties said “Mine tell me my dream is stupid.”  The woman a couple seats from me said, “Mine tell me I’m a loser.”

Upon hearing these answers, I instantly felt better. 

I was not alone—I now had hope. I didn’t know what I wanted to do for my dream. I didn’t know specifically where my passion lied either. But this new sense of peace encouraged me. It let me know I wasn’t alone and now I was on the right path.

Fear is what stops us from being what we know we should be. It is time to not just ignore fear, but to PUNCH IT IN THE FACE.

Jon made this book as helpful as possible to guide you through. Jon is funny, helpful,  and encouraging.  I encourage you to buy this book for yourself and a copy for a friend  you know who needs it too.

If you are filled with fear, there is no shame or judgement in ANY WAY from me. Just check out this awesome website here. See you aren’t alone!

If I can help in ANY way please contact me– jim@unknownjim.com

What’s a way YOU can CRUSH fear today?

I’m giving away a SIGNED copy of the book Start–to enter just leave a comment and share this post. It is signed by Jon, L.E. and Mcrae!!!

Just leave a comment and click this link to Retweet and you’re  entered!—-> I’m Giving Away a copy of #Startbook signed by @jonacuff! 

Good luck!!!!!!!!!

Photo by Tnarik (Creative Commons)

I’ve been writing seriously for a little over a year and a half. If you don’t know my story, you can read more here. I’ve grown so much in a relatively short amount of time and I’m so honored to know so many fantastic writers.

But I’ve also had some challenges along the way: from focusing too much on social media and web traffic, to being obsessed with becoming a carbon copy of the most popular bloggers.

I wish I would have focused more on these things instead:

1. Read a lot. But most importantly—read work that inspires you. Topics and stories which captivate you and carry you to another place. Know there is no shame in revisiting old classics from when you were a kid. For example, I have fallen in love with comic books and graphic novels I read 15-20 years ago.

2. Write in private. Don’t start a blog because you keep hearing folks tell you to start a blog. Keep the work in private and focus on your craft. With blogs come a million new distractions. It can easily become a popularity contest as opposed to an exercise in writing—especially for a beginner. Without extreme focus and dedication, blogging can become a roller coaster.

3. Don’t overdo it. When I first started out, I was very excited about writing so I spent hours and hours writing every day but I didn’t take care of myself. One month later, I was completely exhausted. I fought my body and tried to ignore the warning signs. Before you know it, I made myself sick.

4. Don’t go in alone. You need support. You need community. I so wish I had this when I started out. What if you don’t know anyone? Well, you know me. I want to help!  Know there is hope, so please don’t be overwhelmed. There is a great group of writers in Writers Unite and they want to encourage you and support you to create your best work. I have lead this group for the last 8 months and I am thrilled to be a part of such a great community.

5. Write with joy. Write because you love what you are writing about. Go ahead, you can get fired up. I’m currently writing a Batman story and it’s one of the most fun things I’ve EVER done. If the thought of writing doesn’t excite you like a kid on Christmas morning, you probably are not writing about the right topic. If you are writing only to make money, you have already failed. You won’t ever be satisfied. You have to write for something more; why not choose joy?

6. Question everything. When starting out, it’s easy to just look to others for answers. The assumption is as follows: this worked for Jake, therefore it will work for me. This is often false. Each of us is different. There are no real writing rules or steps that you must follow. Everything you read about writing is a suggestion. Go ahead and question this post. I’m not offended at all. All of this is from my personal experience and yours might be different, so please find what works well for you and do it.

7. Experiment like crazy. Experiments are not failures, they are experiments. I experimented with a guitar blog for quite a while. I thought guitar was my main passion, but it turns out it’s a hobby right now. But you know what is great? Guitar could still become my main passion down the road. NOTHING is certain. Just put yourself out there and experiment. Go ahead and start today!

If I can help in any way, just fire me an email.

What is the best advice you have for beginning writers?

Photo by Tammy Perlmutter/Cover Design by Gabby Cosco

Community matters. Community can be the difference between shipping or quitting. I am so honored to be a part of a community of writers who want to take action.

Recently, the Writers Unite community I lead published an ebook titled Love Poems Deconstructed and it is NOW available!! It’s  TOTALLY FREE and you can get your copy by  clicking–> right here

How did this happen? This poetry collection was not something I planned in advance. As I led a #writestuff Twitter chat during February of 2013 and I was frustrated talking about writing instead of actually writing.

Then the idea for this project popped in my head.

What if we did an ebook as a community of writers? We could encourage and support each other. What if it was something totally different, like a poetry ebook?

I put the question out there to see if there was any interest, and the response was fantastic. Writers sent in poems on the topic of love and relationships—each one with an interesting, fresh perspective.

I hope you enjoy the ebook. Again you can find it just by clicking—-> right here.  Thanks so much for reading!

If you enjoy this ebook, will you please share it with a friend? Thanks!