Bonus Episode | Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.

I’m still figuring out how to schedule podcast episodes. Even as I type this, I know I have a bunch of techie stuff to maneuver to get to a point where this episode will release when I want it to release. I meant for Episode 000 to release on Wednesday, May 1st and Episode 001 to release on Thursday, May 2nd. They both released at the end of April on a Sunday, I believe. Not what I had in mind.



Still, I wanted to stay true to what I have in my show materials (i.e. “New episodes release every Thursday!”) and so… bonus episode! My SNAFU, however, lent itself nicely to one of my favorite themes: Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.



I’m DEFINITELY a beginner in the podcast game and have tons to learn. If I’d waited until I learned everything there was to know about podcast production (and scheduling!), I would never have released this show. And if I’d waited for the perfect time, I really would’ve never released this show.



And yet, here you are, listening to what is effectively my third episode already.



In the end, I drew on other experiences to help me finally get this show on the air. It’s true that I used some editing skills I picked up from random volunteering gigs with my kids’ schools. And I did really commit to CreativeLive‘s free week of classes on podcasting, but what really made the difference was experiences that had nothing to do with podcasting. What really helped the most was knowing that at other times in my life I was able to get started on something, even when I didn’t have EVERYTHING nailed down and perfect at the beginning. And it was all okay. Or it wasn’t. But at least it was something. At least it lived in the real world and not just in my imagination’s woulda-shoulda-coulda trash heap.



Take that spirit into your writing practice. Get started on something that’s been scaring you a little. And keep those promises you made to yourself and others whenever possible. You will dazzle yourself in the long run, I promise. And you will get to where you need to go.