The first order of business this week is for me to let you know when you can watch the episode of “It’s a Woman’s World” that I mentioned in a column a few weeks ago. I was one of three writers on the panel that day, and in addition to discussing writing issues and attitudes, we each read an excerpt of our recent work. I read one of my Villager columns.

If you’re in the metro area of the Twin Cities, you can see the episode on Cable Channel 6 at 9:30am or 4:00pm on Monday, December 3. Otherwise, the episode will be on the media page of my website within a few weeks.

As I write this, the episode has already aired once. I was a little nervous watching it, worried both about how I would look, and how I would sound. From a professional standpoint, not a vanity one – although I admit freely that as I watched the episode I was feeling very critical of my hair and makeup, and the fact that I quite noticeably licked my lips when my mouth got dry during my reading. Still, I didn’t stumble over any of my words, and I think that everything I said – along with everything that came from the other two writers on the show – was interesting, made sense, and provided good advice and information. Overall, I’m proud of the episode, and pleased with how
it turned out. Besides, as I reminded myself, this was a local cable TV show, not Oprah.

Which brings us to the second order of business this week. I have to laugh at myself, realizing that as a writer, I’ve dreamed many times over the years of being on Oprah. Never once, as I imagined it, did I worry about my hair or makeup or smacking my lips or sneezing on camera. Or stumbling over my words or getting tongue-tied while talking – in front of millions of viewers – to the most well-known and popular talk show host in the history of the
world. In my mind, I never gave any of that a thought. Yet here I was in real life, getting all nervous and worked up about appearing on a program where the viewership and geographical reach would be tiny in comparison.

The difference, of course, is that this one was real.

On our way to being stars or celebrities or CEOs, there’s nothing wrong with envisioning ourselves as already there. Visualization, in fact, is a powerful and effective tool that can help us reach our goals. But there are also a lot of real-life details we need to pay attention to. A lot of situations and circumstances we must learn how to handle and negotiate. And a lot of baby steps we need to take on our way to growing by leaps and bounds. These small steps and minor victories may not be as glamorous or exciting as the ultimate success or accomplishments we envision, but they are the best route for getting to wherever it is we want to go. Not only that, but when we’re concentrating on the next steps we need to take, when our circles and audiences start expanding to reflect our work and our growth, we may find ourselves in the “big time” more quickly and unexpectedly than we ever really thought possible.

When that happens, new worlds open up to us. We can see new paths, new opportunities, and new challenges to take on. Dreaming of being on Oprah – which can’t happen now anyway, since her show is off the air – may seem
like a small ambition in light of whatever new journeys and adventures we choose to explore. The possibilities truly are endless, and we can pursue anything we’ve ever imagined.

That would be the third order of business.

The column “Find Your Buried Treasure” appears weekly in the Chanhassen (MN) Villager. This column was published on November 29, 2012.
©Betty Liedtke, 2012

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