Feel the fear, but keep moving forward

In December of 2011, I wrote a blog post on FoundMyPassion talking about my goal of writing something new here once per week. I failed at this goal. It's now 2015, over 3 years later, and I'm finally starting to move forward with consistently posting new content on my guitar blog. And, instead of a weekly goal, I'm committing to a daily update to deliver guitar education and inspiration. I've even changed the header graphic on my blog to reflect this commitment (now is that serious or what?).

So why did I fail at this goal? I think it was because I was afraid and had fear. Fear that I'm not good enough as a guitar play and that no one would want to listen to what I have to say. Fear that I'm not qualified to teach guitar to others. Fear that I'm not a good writer.

Growing up, I never studied music in school, with the exception of briefly playing the violin and recorder in elementary school. I've never played in a band before. I was terrible as a guitar player for years and didn't have a quality teacher that I could turn to when I first started. And yet, I am still passionate about learning and playing guitar. I love teaching and want to share my knowledge with others. A guitar blog is a great outlet for me, but I definitely felt (and continue to feel) this fear.

However, I've decided that even though I am fearful, I will keep moving forward on this journey. I have over 17 years of my own experience playing guitar and can definitely be of value to others out there who may be struggling with guitar and looking for inspiration and guidance, especially for beginner guitarists.

With practice and continued improvement, even in small doses, I plan on getting better and teaching others how to become better. If I can help just one guitarist improve and find inspiration, then it's all worth it to me.

So, if you're still reading this post, thank you for spending your valuable time on my blog. If you can relate, my advice is to feel the fear, but keep moving forward. The best way I know how to overcome fear is through education. Seek out the best teachers out there and model what they do. Eventually, you'll develop confidence, the fear will start to lessen, and you will improve.

I've heard that fear stands for false evidence appearing real. The reality is that we are in complete control of our own education. Use Google, YouTube and other websites to seek out the best resources in the world and move past the fear for guitar or anything else you want to accomplish.

Feel the fear, but keep moving forward.