The Never-Ending Story
Posted on Tue, Aug 18, 2009 @ 01:26 AM
A guest post by Elizabeth Zirk (see previous posts, "Becoming Fearless" and "Relight Your Spark"):
My fearless journey started back in January of this year. Now, it's the beginning of August. That's seven months! Thirty weeks! Five thousand, one hundred and ten hours! As an individual, that's a lot of time to be able to do something. Imagine what the world could do in five thousand hours…
But I digress. Where am I now? Well, I'm certainly not stopping!
I printed business cards from VistaPrint and they arrived just in time for FWL's Signature Event on August 11th. Just in time for me to practice my pitch. OK, don't get nervous now Liz! Just take a deep breath and stop thinking. Once I stop thinking about something, I tend to listen more. And when I listen, I can react genuinely. My friend Han told me that!
So, how does my pitch sound? Well, to be honest, it sounds pretty similar every time I describe my non-profit venture to someone new. Supporting study abroad alumni, language culture programming, leadership workshops, networking events. And just this Tuesday, I said out loud…
"Yeah, by this time next year, I hope to raise enough money to have a seed group of students in the program. Maybe 10 students, maybe they're all in SF, maybe they're all over the Bay Area. I'm thinking of talking with the Monterey Institute of International Studies, I've heard they have great cross-cultural workshops….."
As Joey Lawrence would say, Woah! Where did that come from?!
The Monterey Institute of International Studies is a great environment for cultural language learning. I've also just found out that MIIS is now an affiliate of Middlebury College. And if you haven't heard about Middlebury College yet - it's an amazing world-class place, where it's all about learning a foreign language immersion-style. No cell phones even, no calling home, nada!
I had considered that in a year's time I might be just getting off the ground. This time around, I was actually putting real intention behind my words! Go Liz Go!
I'm realizing that no matter the pace, I've still got some forward motion. And that's a happy place to be in. I'm not setting expectations too high and then feeling bummed when things don't work out. But if I never say out loud what I intend to do, my goals would never happen.
Sadly, Starla's course comes to an end this month. I'll miss the warmth and knowledge that the group has imparted to me on my journey to become a fearless entrepreneur. So, instead of missing it, I'm trying to hold on to it. My peers aren't going away, they're in the same boat as me. We're continuing on in the spirit of the course! We'll meet up every now and then, pushing each other towards our goals, relaying any new resources that might be helpful.
I've only grown. I've never regretted this course of action, taking the plunge. I've learned that fearlessness can't be taught. It can only be discovered, strengthened, and unleashed.
Elizabeth Zirk grew up in the Bay Area, and works at WestEd, a leader in educational research and development. She does a lot of other things too! Check out her blogs at http://www.aliascrazy.com.