A calling is something that pings you, calling your attention repeatedly.

I have had many callings in my life—music, travel, writing. For years, writing was a relentless calling. I've wanted to be a writer since I was a child. There was something nagging inside me to do so. It did not come from a place of wanting fame or fortune, just a desire to write.

This blog is a result of that calling. After years of saying "maybe one day," and letting perfectionism get in the way, I have now been writing daily for almost two full months. While I may not be a famous writer, perhaps not even a "serious" one like a novelist or a non-fiction author, I am a writer because I write every day.

There are people out there like me that I want to serve. I want to help others get from "no writing" to "writer." I want to give them a platform that helps them overcome the perfectionist trap and just write.

I know my posts aren't God's gift to man (obviously, that's me, not my writing; jkjk). But that's not the point. There is intrinsic value in solidifying our thoughts each day. There is legacy. And there is the potency of sharing our thoughts! Art doesn't become art until it ships, as Seth Godin reminds us. Let us make our writing art by sharing it!

Sharing is the fire in which the clay can solidify. It is where our work is tested. Our work, not us. We are not our work, but we should test our work. Let us not confuse ourselves with our work product such that we do not share it. What a shame it would be to avoid sharing just because we're afraid of judgment.

I've answered the call to writing for myself. I have another calling now, where I want to serve others who want to reach this milestone in their lives. I want to build an application that enables them to bypass perfectionism—something with constraints and guardrails, along with the right educational materials to embrace my philosophy of imperfectionism. Just write!

And keep it timed! Writing doesn't need to take up an hour or a whole day. Five minutes! Just five minutes is enough to solidify some thoughts and share them. Many of my posts on this blog have been timed at five minutes, maximum twenty. I have parameters to keep me from burning out or hyperfixating on writing, as it is not my top priority or occupation (yet?). It is still a seedling practice, so it does not need tons of water—just a bit! Not too much sunlight—it doesn't have enough leaves yet!

I am learning to answer these callings more and more, to follow them and see where they lead. It's scary to follow callings—there are often a million reasons why we shouldn't. But as trite as it sounds, I've found that answering the call opens up new dimensions and excitement in life. It did when I answered the calling to travel abroad to study music in Spain, Brazil, and India. I could never have foreseen all the gifts those travels gave me, and continue to give me over a decade later, despite many people advising me to stay home over the summer and practice.

It's okay to ignore the ringing sometimes. It takes bravery to pick up the phone. When you're ready—and better yet, when you're not ready—answer the call and see where it leads you.