I want to tell you a story about about fear and about risk and about taking a leap of faith. I want to tell it because I think it contains an important message and because I hope it will inspire you.

It all started three and a half years ago when I had a brilliant idea while I was walking my dog. (Trust me brilliant ideas are not a normal occurrence for me!) But although I knew it was a brilliant idea, I almost talked myself out of it. The fear was so immediate and overwhelming that it almost derailed something wonderful.

Let's back up a little ... for months I had been trying to figure out a way to serve people. I had built a Facebook group and an art blog and I had a few thousand followers who enjoyed what I wrote. I occasionally thought about teaching, but others were already teaching great courses and workshops. What else was there to say? And also, I didn't really think I could do it.

But then I wrote a blog post about artist mindset and about insecurity and about getting unstuck, and the response was amazing. Comment after comment from people sharing their own blocks and fears. I saw that I had hit a nerve. Design and tonal values and colour were important, but they were not the main sticking points for my audience. My followers had been drawn to me because they saw something inspirational in the way I worked - they loved my freedom and lack of fear. They loved it because it's what they lacked.

I didn't initially realise what this meant, but then, a few days later, while out with the dog, it came to me. I could create an online course to help people overcome those blocks. I even knew what it would be called ... "Find Your Joy." The modules started dropping into my head like a download - I didn't even have to think about them.

This idea felt completely right and I knew I had to do it. And yet, the fear kicked in almost straight away.

"What if no-one signs up and you get embarrassed?" and the immediate follow-up: "And if they do sign up "who do you think you are?"

That second one was the biggie for me. Being successful has always been important to me. If this didn't work it would be a very visible - and very personal - failure.

But I decided to approach this the same way approach my paintings - following intuition working freely and ignoring the fear. I launched the course 3 weeks after having the original idea before ANY of the content had been created (yikes!).

To my surprise, it sold out very quickly, which then meant I had no choice but to get on with creating the content!

The big surprise was how much I LOVED teaching. I found it so rewarding to help others make progress and the feedback was amazing. But I still wanted to do better, so I refined and developed the course, and then launched it again a few months later. This time, I earned enough to give up all other work and become a full-time artist and teacher - something I could NOT have imagined just a few months before.

That's the magic of the big leap.

When you make that risky leap, you always learn something surprising and you generally get good results. Especially if you have set aside fear and poured your whole heart and soul into whatever you are doing.

And this applies to your art just as much as to your life.

Risk is absolutely essential to strong art work. Every painting that you love contains an element of risk. The artist threw herself into it with all she had - she didn't hedge her bets, she didn't make tentative marks - she threw herself in and made the big leap. She did the things that frightened her the most. And the result is a work of art that you love. You love it because you sense her 'all-in' commitment.

So my question to you is: where in your work could you make that big leap? What bold moves need to be made? What risks need to be taken? The only thing stopping you is fear - but look around you: Do you see a wild animal preparing to eat you?

If not, maybe it's OK to add that big bold scribble or that swipe of black paint?

That bold move might complete the painting or it might simply set you off in a different direction, but either way you'll feel the exhilaration of letting go.

So my message this week is simply this ... where could you make the big leap? Where could you take the damn risk?

(And if you'd like to try our Find Your Joy for free, do come and join us starting May 20th. No payment, no commitment, just a chance to really let go and have some fun! Just click HERE.)