This post is late. I blame our new puppy. If you read my personal blog, you’ll know what a big deal getting a new dog is for our family. Instead of writing this post, I spent the day keeping the little guy from doing his business inside the house. An adventure, to say the least.

Speaking of adventures, happy new year.

I’ve had a million thoughts racing around my head and have made a slew of lists outlining what I want to do and see and accomplish this year. And I’ve been thinking about what I learned last year about finishing what I start and dealing with ego and carrying on in the face of rejection. I feel like I have my track shoes on and I’m at the starting line, stretching and staring down the track.

Just need for that gun to go off. But the thing is…there is no gunshot to start this race. There’s only me. My own initiative. Which is a little scary. It would be so much easier to ignore the creative call and just play with the new puppy instead.

I just finished reading Do the Work, Steven Pressfield’s follow-up to the amazing War of Art. He talks about our fight against resistance, likening it to a knight battling a dragon. Without giving too much away (because really you should just read the book), he cites Seth Godin as having the secret for slaying the dragon: finish your project, and then ship it.

“Slay that dragon,” he says, “and he will never have power over you again.”

That sounds good. Really good.

I don’t want this to be a year of pining away at the things I wish I could do or watching others achieve what I’ve dreamed. Nor do I want this to be a year of talking about the work instead of doing the work. I want this to be a year of active creating, blazing my own trail toward my goals. The only way I’m going to do that is to ship my projects. Send them out the door and keep moving on to the next thing. And the only way I’m going to do that is to start.

Gun blast? Who needs a gun blast? I’m ready to run.