My greatest literary hero is Aaron Sorkin. The Oscar Winning screenwriter behind The Social Network and the author of the iconic “You can’t handle the truth!” scene from A Few Good Men has influenced much of what I’ve written in my writing career.
Needless to say, I’m a huge fan of The West Wing.
There’s a scene early in season three where Sam (Rob Lowe) – one of President Bartlet’s chief speechwriters – is stressing out about an important speech. The scene takes place aboard Air Force One.
All great works of art started with a blank slate.
|
Some characters walk by the office cabin where Sam and the campaign staff are working and the door is open. As they walk by the office, Sam rages out. He throws all the pages in the air and yells this:
“This thing reads like an Andy Williams special! We’re starting all over again with a white piece of paper!”
I had a writing teacher at the University of Alabama who handed out two pieces of paper on day one of the semester: the syllabus and a blank piece of paper.
“I do that because the most difficult thing for a writer to look at is the blank page.”
All great works of art started with a blank slate. The Mona Lisa started with a blank canvas. Mount Rushmore was just a rock formation in the South Dakota Badlands before artists carved the faces of George, Thomas, Teddy, and Abe into the rock.
As a writer, nothing scares me more than the blank page. I could stare at a blinking cursor for hours on end and it won’t go anywhere. But every great novel started with the blank page. Even mine!
Without going into detail (because, y’know, I can’t) I had a breakdown around my coaching practice. This breakdown has been coming for a while and it hit hard. After a lot of inner work, I have come up with something that I believe can propel me forward to making my life my own and setting Team Ryan Coaching up to succeed.
First: I forgave everything and everybody. I forgave the world, some of the people in my life, and primarily myself. This is a pretty intensive process but it was an incredibly powerful process as well.
All I’m going to say is there were a lot of tears.
During this whole forgiveness process, here’s the most important thing I distinguished: Team Ryan Coaching is now a blank page.
Keep in mind how much the blank page scares me. I can’t stand it.
By the way, when I say Team Ryan Coaching, I mean me – Ryan. My life is now a blank page.
This is a huge thing for me to admit. I have taken a bit of bizarre pride in holding onto past grudges. If anyone has wronged me, I’ll never forget.
‘Tis my cross to bear as a Pisces, I’m afraid.
{insert confused dog look here}
What? Did I just admit on this platform that parts of the zodiac actually make sense to me? Okay, maybe this whole transformation thing has gone to my head.
Moving on…
Don’t look at me like that.
When I look at this blank page declaration, I see so much that can open for me. And not just in my coaching either.
- Relationships: I believe this is the first and foremost. Blank paging my relationship past – especially romantic – can set my world on fire. My past has held me back for too long. Leaving my past behind me will open my world in so many ways.
- Creatively: Think about it. When you leave how things have gone before behind you, that’s going to open up today for magic. As someone who is stuck in his new book, this practice will propel me forward.
- Coaching: My business has been slow to take off, but Rome wasn’t built in a day.
I’m not saying forget the past. I’m saying…forgive the past. Forgive how things have been and gone.
I’m not saying forget the past. I’m saying…forgive the past. Forgive how things have been and gone.
|
As always, I love connecting with my readers. If you have a difficult time letting go of the past, I’d love to have a sample coaching session with you.
Shoot me an email at [email protected]!
In closing, I’d like to ask you guys a question. What’s one thing you can take on today to forgive your past? What’s one thing you can take on today that can give you access to forgiving your past?
The clean slate…try it. It may scare the hell out of you but your world will thank you.
Photos by Sabrina C. and Zach Mccarthy