Have you ever heard the phrase, "Procrastination is the thief of time"?

What do you get out of that message? I immediately think of all the wasted time one can endure by overthinking decisions. Don't get me wrong, I've fallen into that category more times than I'd like to admit. Today I was talking to a colleague about my book. In case you didn't know I've written a children's book titled, "3,585 Miles to be an American Girl". It's a book about a little girl who moves to the USA from Peru, with her family. She encounters challenges and happiness almost all at the same time.

Well, I was talking to my colleague about my book. She was too kind and told me how proud she was of me. Don't you think that's sweet? I do! When's the last time you've told someone you were proud of them? I don't mean your kid, although you really should tell your kid you're proud of him/her, but I mean a friend or colleague. It caught me by surprise and I must admit it touched my heart. She's a kind individual and I hope she knows how her words are powerful. We talked a bit about my book and then she shared that she had wanted to write a book for some time now. She even showed me some of her writing ideas and titles she had on her book. I was impressed, that means she really has been thinking about it. She went on to further share that every time she thinks of writing her own self-doubts and worries always get the best of her. She talks herself out of it before she even starts. She procrastinates and allows her dreams to sit by the sideline. I encouraged her to write at least 15 minutes a day and also shared with her a secret...if you sit down and make yourself write for 15 minutes, you will surely write longer. Most of the time the biggest challenge is carving out that time. Once you sit somewhere and start writing, you will end up writing longer than 15 minutes. Therefore the goal is to at least sit down and commit to 15 minutes of writing.

Each of us has something inside you wish you could do. Perhaps it's a dream of baking cakes and cupcakes in your own bakery. Maybe it's traveling the world and YouTube-ing it. Some might even want to teach at the college level. Whatever it is you want to do, whatever your dream is- go out and do it. Do it today, like right now. Start. Starting is the hardest part. Do not talk yourself out of it. Stop telling yourself you don't have time. Everyone makes time for whatever it is they truly want to do. Everything else will be met with an excuse of why it cannot happen. Quit telling yourself you're not good enough. Pause and think about what you are telling your own kids or those who look up to you? Success starts with one simple step...believing in yourself. Of course when it gets a little hard to do so, you should always look for your maximizers. Look for those people who love you and are rooting for your success. All others truly should be dismissed.