…in the time of Corona.

“Go Big or Go Home.”
My grandpa used to say this every time we said goodbye. At the time I thought he had made it up, and also that it was weird because we were leaving…and going home.

Later I learned and immediately hated its meaning. It felt like pressure; a measure of worth I could never live up to.

Over the years, I chose ‘home’ over and over again. Why write if it’s not a bestseller? Why build if it’s not the tallest castle?

I wore my introversion as a shield, staying in because only big things were worth doing, and I wasn’t ready for big.

And then something happened.

Everyone went home. Literally.

And suddenly all the measurements shifted. The boardroom was replaced by the living room. The recording booth by the headphone mic. And my shield became my cape.

In the last nine weeks, I have felt a creative freedom that was lost on my road to adulthood. I put aside my own self-criticisms and judgments, my own measuring stick. I am no longer reaching for big, I am reaching for joy.

I am home and going small. If I can impact even one life – my own – that is success enough.