Have you ever confidently jumped feet-first off a higher-than-expected ledge or countertop?

If so, did you successfully land on your feet, only to have your heels hit so hard, so forcefully on the ground that it caused a crippling, metallic pain to surge from your toes to your nose?

Me too, me too.

That kind of searing pain is what prevented me from exiting the cubicle and going 100% solo when the idea for lonna.co surfaced in my subconscious several years ago. I didn’t want to cause myself (or others) pain or harm. I didn’t want to launch big but land so hard it hurt. I didn’t want to fail.

While I’d been doing side work the entire time, it ended up taking me four years to gingerly step one foot off the edge, and then the other, and eventually loosen the vice-like grip I held at the top. “Don’t do anything you’ll regret,” I thought. “Don’t make an ass out of yourself,” I repeated. “Nobody’s going to take you seriously,” I insisted.

The good news is that I let go of the edge. The bad news is it took me far too long to completely let go. As a result, I spent the latter part of my 30s hemming and hawing. Then when 40 hit, I figured the time was now or it wasn’t ever going to happen.

The result? No regrets.

I attribute this confidence less to fearlessness and more to accepting the fact that I’m going make mistakes, do the wrong thing, make a bad decision. That way, there’s no room for regrets even when I fail.

Accepting failure is better than not taking the risk at all, don’t you think?

So let me just jump right in here, say hello, and tell you what this blog is all about:

• It’s a place to learn more about lonna.co and what services you receive when partnering with me.

• It’s a forum for me to share with you - without reservation - my best moments and my worst moments.

• It’s a vehicle for which I can convey my thoughts, advice and perspective on the craft of writing and editing, and the science behind its success.

I hope you don’t mind this abrupt introduction, but it’s the only way I know how to jump off the edge feet-first. Without fear. Without abandon.

Thank you for being a reader and I hope you come visit me often here. I think we can learn great things from each other, or if nothing else, we can swap techniques on how best to nail the landing.