Wooo! What a ride things have been lately.

The last couple of weeks have been a whirlwind as I've prepared for the Hollywood networking party I went to last night. I'm hella tired. Went to bed super late – mostly because I was buzzing from an excess of social energy. Now, I'm in the hotel bar again. It's Friday. I'm posting this Monday morning. Normally, musings happen in the rush of Monday mornings, but I wanna get this to this while it's still fresh and resonating.

Last week in my wrap-up, I mentioned my new motto for life: show up and be awesome.

In hindsight, so many of my best moments have come from doing just that. I showed up. I awsomed.

My storytelling career exists because I went to a Renaissance fair with my now ex-wife. As a thank you for hosting us, I performed some storytelling for the guild that gatelisted us. At that point, I had imagined that I was pretty much done with renfaire. I wasn't trying to get anything out of the performances. I was just doing something that I know I'm good at as a kindness for people who show kindness to my lady. Well, me too, but I was only there because my ex wanted me to go. As I said, I thought I was pretty much done with faire. Long and short of it, I wound up performing for a major renfaire promoter in Northern California. This led to me having an amazing career of telling stories, bringing joy, and eventually writing books.

In 2016, I showed up to a comic con and made friends with a man who would eventually put me on his list for the party last night. He's worked on some pretty major properties in Hollywood. Now and then, I've asked him about how writing for TV works, but I've never asked him to get me into a room or write for a show. Now, he is one of my closest business confidants.

2016 was also my second year at San Diego Comic Con, and I met an actor from a web show that I loved. We became friends. He gave me the seed that I planted in my imagination that would eventually become the project code name: game on period now, we're partners in the project, and we're putting together a 24-month plan to bring this baby into existence. And by that, I mean his analytical brain will come up with the milestones and benchmarks, while I am creatively brilliant. Gotta play to your strengths. I have high hopes for this partnership.

More recently, I've gotten a pair of poetry gigs just by being me at readings. 1 led to a paid publication. The other will see me featuring a poetry night this fall. Both happened because I showed up, and I was awesomely myself. I had no other agenda than giving a great reading.

A couple of years ago, an editor asked me to contribute something to a space western anthology. It was supposed to be a short story, but it turned into an epic Tavern poem from a junkyard planet. I had to create a new poetic form for the piece. Writing it was epic, mad fun. I was sure that he'd reject the idea, but I asked anyway. If you don't ask, the answer is always no. Now, I've had the distinction of having sold a poem to Baen Publishing. What's more, that poem planted many other seeds for a book-length project: Poetic Forms of the Galaxy.

So anyway...

I attended this party wearing my swanky new suit and feeling great. I went in with zero agendas or expectations. I just walked about, talked to some people, got the lay of the land, and hung out with friends. It was cool to talk to one of the writers of the show My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic and nerd out about the Brony phenomenon. One awesome moment among many.

The best part: I've been invited back for more of these parties.

I showed up. I assumed. The universe rewarded me for it.

But this whole showing up and being awesome isn't limited to conventions, parties, and other gatherings. Lately, when I've been writing, more and more, I find that I'm at the top of my game. When the journals and pens come out to play, craft and creativity are clicking in ways they haven't in the past. This is partly due to reaching the next level in my writing after nearly a decade of graduate-level studies. Mostly, I'm thinking that it's another aspect of showing up and being awesome. When I sit down to write, I'm there to write. I settle into a process that brings me joy in the making of my art. I work on projects that excite and invigorate me. It's me and the work period I show up—intentionally and wholly. In turn, the writing is awesome.

This has me thinking of other aspects of my life where I could be awesome, but I'm not showing up as wholly and completely as I can. So, it's time to take stock and prioritize. Where do I think I can be more awesome, and how do I fully show up there? It could easily get overwhelming if I tried to do it all at once, but I don't have to take on everything simultaneously. Maybe that's the other side of this wisdom. Where can I be the most awesome, and how do I show up there to best affect my life?

Food for thought...

Where are you showing up? How are you being awesome?