I like things to be easy.
When I was young, most things came very easily to me. I didn’t have to work hard for much of anything. I quickly learned to stick to the things which were most obvious to me — and which impressed people the most — and just sit back to receive the praise.
For the most part, I‘ve done the same thing for my adult life. Unless I have a huge incentive, I stick to what I know how to do. It’s safe. It gets the praise I crave. And it keeps me from having to risk failure.
But every now and then, I push myself into something completely new. The old fears start surfacing. What if I’m a fraud? What if I fail at this? What if I‘m just embarrassing myself? What if I’m not perfect?
I’m in that position right now as I work toward the first complete episode of my new podcast, Love & Hope. (Listen to the three-minute introduction here.) I know the things I need to do. I’m working on them. But I’m not an expert at these things — and I once again feel the old fear of not being perfect.

Little girl’s happy ending reminds us not to be defined by tragedy
My political lens makes me think you’re crazy — and vice versa
No matter who you are or what you’ve done, time is your enemy
Danger of Iran war getting stronger because of blindness, hypocrisy
Healthy romance features mutual growth, not just ‘take me as I am’
Girl to mom after parents fight: ‘Mom, is this what love will be?’
Dishonesty runs rampant when partisanship matters more than truth
FRIDAY FUNNIES
Is Obama playing politics with war on terror? Of course, just as Bush did