Actually, I'm Working Hard Here

Here we are, on the back half of the year, past the July 1st exclamations that the first half is done and exasperated faux-tivating what-are-you-going-to-do-with-the-last-half "memery" of it all.

This is my favorite time of year to dream big.

Why? There are three reasons.

First, many of us are taking a few days to ourselves, with friends and family, away from the office, doing the things -- taking walks, staring at the beach, lingering over meals -- that allow our brains to finally alchemize all of the inputs from the first half of the year. And these down times are where we get our best ideas. For me, I'm percolating my next book idea.

Second, everyone else is taking some time off too, which means that no one is paying attention to us. It's a perfect time to experiment with even the tiniest thought bubble of idea, trying it on for size and seeing if it feels good to speak out loud. Personally, I have a huge, hairy, scary goal that I put in place for myself earlier this year, and I'm testing how it sounds when I actually kind of sort of whisper it out loud.

Third, we are getting to socialize a bit more over less stress, more mellow stretches of warm summer light, which also means we can test and play. Again, for me, this means taking that new book idea, and that huge, hairy, scary goal, and socializing them a bit, seeing who reacts and who doesn't, who is excited and who isn't, who wants to go deep and who, well, isn't going to be in my sidecar for this next adventure.

In other words, The One Thing you should do this week is let one of those itty bitty seedlings of a future hope and dream escape your lips, even just one time, even just with one person. Because, once spoken, you can't unspeak it. And once you speak it, you can't help but see yourself doing it.

And, then, my friends, you are in Wonderhell.

(P.S. Wonderhell is out in paperback now. And it's perfect for you to stash in your summer vacation bag.)