“Hi, hello. Umm… is this thing on?”

It was the first day of my freshman year of college. I felt completely exposed, standing in front of a full COMS 101 class wishing I’d worn my beige cardigan so that I could disappear into the same-color walls.

The professor had asked each new student to stand up in front of a dusty podium microphone and introduce the usual: name, where you’re from, major, favorite movie. A simple task for an extrovert. For me, he might as well asked for a triple lutz-triple toe loop.

When he called my name, I felt the blood rush to my face as I begged with gravity. Please don’t let me stand up. Let me stay grounded and unseen.

“Erika? … is there an Erika Fitzgerald here?” He peered up from his enrollment sheet, eyes scanning the room for the name’s owner: me.

I slouched up from my desk and scuffled to the front of the room, wholeheartedly regretting my bright yellow cardigan. I might as well have worn a flashing neon sign to class.

“Hi, hello. Umm … is this thing on?” I glanced up from the linoleum floor long enough to see a few nodding heads.

What happened next? To my delight: nothing. I introduced myself, I went on to earn a B+ in COMS 101, and… 

I survived.

It’s been 12 years since that first day of college, punctuated by many more first days … of class, on the job, of yoga teacher training, on new projects, in new places. Each “first” a little easier than the last.

At the beginning of 2018, I stood on the edge of an especially monumental first. After three failed resignation attempts, I finally worked up the courage to tell my boss I was done. I was leaving corporate life. And nothing about my 9-5 job brought me joy. Ultimately, fear of the unknown was holding me back from creative entrepreneurship. I was showing up for someone else while my soul ached for something else.

With a small savings account as my parachute, I dove headfirst into the world of creative entrepreneurship with nothing more than an 80-liter backpack and a laptop to run my online business. (Okay, it was more like a big, sloppy cannonball. Heads up on deck!)

Was I perfectly ready? No. Oh dear god, no. The transition was messy, imperfect, and riddled with doubt.

But I showed up anyway. I got to my feet and marched to the front of the room with all my insecurities and works-in-progress.

And guess what?

I survived.

I’m sharing this story because maybe—just maybe—it’s the gentle nudge you need to show up and try something new today. Maybe it’s a change your soul has been aching for or a difficult decision you’ve been waiting to make or a first you’ve been putting off because __________.

Open that space. Explore it. Be curious. Trust yourself.

So. Hi, hello. My name’s Erika. I’m originally from California but I took a chance on the unknown to launch an online business and travel around the world for a year. Nothing terrible happened but lots of amazing firsts did—like seeing wild elephants in Sri Lanka, bungee jumping in New Zealand, and landing my first $5K website copywriting project. And, despite not knowing where the adventure would lead… 

I survived.

And you will, too, whoever you are. Take a chance on yourself. Follow your longing. Let your ideas, your work, and your creative entrepreneurship light up the world. 

Put on the yellow cardigan and show up just as you are, even if you don’t feel perfectly ready. Because you may never feel 100% ready—so just go for it. 

What’s the best scariest decision you’ve ever made? Drop it in a comment below 👇