From The Writer’s Room,
Cheryl Tardif’s article, “Belief Goes a Long Way for a Writer”,
speaks volumes about what we tell ourselves and the correlation to success.
Tardif, best selling author and expert on marketing and promoting books says,
“We choose our success; it doesn’t choose us. And we all have different definitions of what that success is. For those who want more, choose more. Then find ways to get it.”
See the full article here:
What is your definition of writing success?
I’m a bit of a scaredy cat socially, so shyness and belief is a constant obstacle. Thanks for the link @DeAnna 
We’re all in this together, I’m so happy this helps.
Had this up on my browser tab since you posted it and only now got time to read it. Great article. I appreciated how Tardif acknowledges that a lot of what she had to do to succeed was out of her comfort zone. There are so many people who, like her artist friend, think that if they just sit back and wait, success will come. That’s not how it works.
To find success in anything we have to take an active approach, not a passive one.
I have one more work day at my day job of 8 years. I’m thrilled to finally be leaving it, but it taught me a lot about getting out of my comfort zone and doing things. I’m still very much an introvert, and crowds/prolonged social interaction drains me, but I have far fewer inhibitions about sharing my opinion and telling people what I think (when appropriate). I had to believe that what I doing was best for the company, so I stepped out and did it and had some of the best numbers in the market as a result.
Like Tardif said, I want to be the best at what I do. That means I have to put in consistent effort, even when it’s tough.
Thanks for posting such a great article.
A quote I often remind myself of, came to mind.
“Some people get everything.” The student said of folks more fortunate than his own circumstances.
"Yes, " his mentor Pierre retorted “those who show up to get it” - Take the Lead
Thank you for speaking up about the article and your experiences.
Many creative people do struggle with comfort zones (I suspect because they are sometimes hard to achieve, so it is scary to leave them once found), but you have an excellent point, success is not hunting folks down. It is waiting for you to go out and get it.
That is where groups like this one and others can be helpful for writers. With support, sharing your work, gaining followers/readers. It may be a ripple effect, but ripples can make big waves once they meet the shore.
Every consistent effort helps, and eventually will pay off!
(Generous applause for this contribution)
Brilliant!