The hustle is sold separately....

Ladies and Gentlemen,
You are stuck with me -- at least for the next 30 days!
I made a pledge to write for 20 minutes a day and this seems like the most obvious place to do it.
It's been quite a while and I am excited to be back -- as long as excited means scared as hell, that is!

It's time to get real and share some things that are on my mind and in my heart and I hope some of my blog posts will inspire you to do the same.  The motivation behind this "20 minutes of writing" is the WHAT I choose when I joined the "30 Days of Hustle" that Jon Acuff (look him up, awesome) put out on Facebook.

If you know me, you know I love a challenge but I also love a swift kick in the ass to get started. 30
Days of Hustle came along and I said yes before I knew what I was saying yes to (another talent I have perfected) and here I am. Here you are.

The WHY came next....why did we chose the WHAT (writing).  Now we are getting deep....WHY writing? Some of you might know that I attended the Storyline conference in January here in San Diego.  On a beautiful sun dreached weekend (read: pouring down rain) at the gorgeous PLNU campus, I first encountered Jon Acuff and a bunch of other amazing people who all had one thing in common:  a story to tell.

I have been stuck in a little bit (read: a lot) of fear about telling my story and putting some of it out there for other people so the 30 Days of Hustle seemed like the perfect time to get unstuck and just force myself to do it.

If the fact that I am "cheating" and writing for 40 minutes today since I "skipped" yesterday (didn't know where to start, how to start, if I could start) gives you any indication as to why joining a group to keep me accountable to this task is so important -- then, well you get me.

WHY am I writing? This simple question....ironically taken from the mug I bought myself at Storyline that is now on my desk where I am typing now.  Here's the question:  WHAT WOULD THE WORLD MISS IF YOU DON'T TELL YOUR STORY?

Indeed...

Most of you know me as the girl who posts an inspirational quote every day, who is always smiling, who you might call if you want advice about love, fashion, or where to eat in a new city.

The girl who has and is so grateful for a happy and easy life.

All of these things are true and I am so blessed. Don't get me wrong.

But it's the dark moments, the sadness, the rock bottom of my life (yes, I've had one, maybe two) that actually make me this happy go lucky, fly by the seat of my pants kind of person you might know and love.

As these 30 days go by, I will share my story with you -- some happy, some sad.  All of it makes me who I am and also who I am not.

All of it true, all of it real.

For a while, a friend has been having "Truthful Tuesday" on Facebook.  I have never posted because I thought I had nothing to say. 

Well, maybe I was just too afraid to say it but now -- here's the hustle.

The dream is free, the hustle is sold separately.

I'm grateful for this 30 days of hustle because it helped me (a la Carrie Bradshaw in Sex And The City) set up my laptop, start typing and see where the big questions take me.

Will you join me as I hustle?  Do you have a dream that you want to make real?  Join me....or just read along as I get real.

Either way -- ask yourself the question:  WHAT WILL THE WORLD MISS IF YOU DON'T TELL YOUR STORY?

I wish you the courage to tell it.

A co-worker told me the other day: use your talent for good.  I hope these next 30 days is a step in the right direction -- using my talent for good.

As a friend says at the end of his blog, thanks for following.....

xo,
Margaret