How to Believe in Yourself and Follow That Dream

Have you ever had a dream so big it scared you? The kind that creeps up on you even when you try to shove it to the back of your mind?

You tell yourself it’s not the right time, you don’t have the resources, or maybe you’re just not good enough. But no matter how deep you bury it, it keeps resurfacing, refusing to be ignored.

That’s exactly how I feel about my blog.

I always knew I wanted to share my story and my faith, but for the longest time, I kept it hidden sharing bits and pieces to a few close friends. That was comfortable. Safe. But then, something shifted. It was like God was whispering to me, louder and louder, until I couldn’t drown it out anymore.

When God Says It’s Time

At first, I tried. I came up with excuses. “I don’t have time.” “Who would even read it?” “What if I fail?” But the more I resisted, the more things started aligning in ways I couldn’t explain. Doors opened. The right words found me. The push I needed showed up in unexpected ways. It was like everything was pointing me in the same direction, no matter how much I fought it.

So, I stopped fighting. I stopped letting fear win. And I just started, scared, unsure, but ready to trust that if God put this dream in my heart, He would make a way. It wasn’t until something extraordinary happened to my brother that I realized, now was the time to start. 

For years, I wrestled with a painful question: Had God forgotten my brother?

My older brother has schizophrenia, and our family struggled to care for him while making ends meet. I watched my own life fill with opportunities while his world seemed so limited, so unfair. As my mother, his primary caregiver, grew older and weaker, I worried about the future. How would we continue to provide for him?

Then, out of nowhere, a call changed everything. My brother’s paternal grandfather had passed, leaving behind property to be divided among his grandchildren. Just like that, my brother had a source of income, money arriving every month to support his care. The weight we had carried for years suddenly felt lighter.

That moment showed me something powerful: God had never forgotten him. His blessings don’t always come when we expect them, but they are always right on time.

From Idea to Action

I always knew I had to share my brother’s story. Not just for me, but for others, people who might feel like God has abandoned them in their struggles. I wanted them to know that wasn’t true. I kept thinking about it, but for a long time, that’s all it was, a thought.

Then, on my birthday, I decided to invest in myself and bought an Apple computer. After years of using a slow, beat-up laptop, it felt like a big deal. When I unboxed it, I immediately thought, I can’t just use this to watch Netflix and YouTube. I need to do more. That’s when I started picturing myself in a coffee shop, working on my blog, actually putting my ideas into action.

That same night, I stayed up late and wrote the first draft of my brother’s story. When I finished, I knew I had to take the next step: creating a blog. But that turned out to be way harder than I expected.

I started researching and quickly realized I had no idea what I was doing. So, I bought a course on Udemy, thinking it would guide me through the process. It didn’t. It was so outdated that half the things it told me to do weren’t even relevant anymore. I spent months trying to make sense of it before finally accepting that it just wasn’t working.

Pushing Through Fear

Frustrated but determined, I bought another course, one that was actually up to date. This time, I started making progress, but it wasn’t easy. I work two jobs, so finding time to focus on my blog was tough. I squeezed in what I could, staying up late, working on weekends basically whenever I had a free moment.

It was exhausting, but I reminded myself why I started. This wasn’t just about building a blog. It was about sharing a story that mattered. It was about giving hope to people who needed it.

And that made it all worth it.

As I started working on my blog consistently and reached the point where I had to market it, fear washed over me. I live a simple life, I’m not on social media, and I’ve never been one to put myself out there. So the idea of advertising, of making myself visible, felt terrifying. I thought about quitting. But something inside me wouldn’t let me.

I started waking up in the middle of the night, my mind racing with ideas. At 2 a.m., I’d grab my laptop, typing furiously before the inspiration slipped away. Yet, even with all that passion, fear still loomed over me.

How I Learned to Trust Myself and Keep Going

This was the first thing in my life that felt completely out of my control. In school, I could study hard and pass the test. At work, I could put in the effort and earn my paycheck. But blogging? Sure, I could create content, set up my site, do all the right things, but if no one cared, if no one saw it, what then?

And then came the worst part, imposter syndrome, which is basically that voice inside your head telling you that you’re not qualified or good enough to do something even when you are. 

Who am I to be giving advice?

What if I have nothing valuable to say?

What if no one listens?

Every day, those doubts and that constant fear crept in. But despite it all, something in me kept pushing forward.

So now, as I juggle my blog, create content, and tackle advertising on social media, I am scared out of my mind. But every day, I remind myself, I can do this. I will do this. I have the potential to build something meaningful, to create an amazing community, and to share my story in a way that matters.

Instead of scrolling my life away on social media, I’m choosing to invest in me. The journey might be long, the progress might be slow, and there will be moments when doubt and fear creeps in. But I trust that the Lord, who placed this dream in my heart, has also given me every tool I need to just… START.

I hope this resonates with someone out there. I hope it encourages you to dust off that dream, to take that first step, and to just start, because the hardest part of any journey is simply beginning.