05 - This Is What Took You So Long?
I didn’t realize how consistent the opposition would be when I started creating my journals back in 2022. Now, here we are in the fourth quarter of 2025, and yesterday I found myself making yet another round of edits, this time after receiving feedback from Horatio Printing founder, Polly Payne.
Polly and her team graciously “audited” my journal just before I was ready to send to the printer for a final quote and sample order. Their feedback was kind but required me to dive back into InDesign and make changes.I asked for the feedback they gave and I welcomed it. I want the best product I can get, so that required taking a step back and realizing that not everyone sees my product as I see it.
In Brand Builders Group, they used to call this “letting people call your baby ugly” or that’s at least how I remember it! But there’s so much truth to it. When we create something it’s like our baby. We can easily feel defensive about it or feel like others just don’t understand our heart or what we’re trying to achieve when they question it or give us their honest opinion about our “thing”.
We want to argue, “BUT, this is why I did it this way OR this is what I was thinking”. But the truth is, if they’re seeing it the way they see it. There’s a reason. We live in our own head so we know all the context to why we’ve created something a certain way. But the consumers of our “thing” don’t and if upon initial review they see it one way, it’s up to us to refine what we’ve had in our head and make our message a little more clear.
This process has been full of moments where I could have easily said, “I’m done. It’s just not worth it.”
First came the creation of five journals.
Then the hunt for commercial printers, followed by the discouraging “shelf” season where it seemed I’d never find one.
In January 2025, I rediscovered the files and began searching again.
I bought heavy-duty printers—twice—thinking I’d produce them myself. Both times, that proved to be the wrong solution.
Then I discovered Polly Payne’s Print School around March, which set me on a new path: combining journals, redeveloping them, learning Adobe InDesign, and pushing through months of trial and error.
And now it’s September. I’m so close I can taste it. Yet even in these past few days, my computer, printer, and InDesign decided to lag and mess up my document and all around waste hours of my time troubleshooting issues that I still don’t even know are fixed yet.
The point of my going on about this is that persistence is so key when finishing out a project.
We know this logically with our minds, but it is a whole other ball game when you’re walking this out.
One of my biggest fears is that people who’ve followed my journey will finally see the journal and think, “This is what took you so long?” I know no one would say it out loud, but the thought still lingers in the back of my mind.
So mindset is another big piece of persistence. You must work through the doubts to keep going and not let those unhelpful nagging thoughts stop you from finishing it out and producing what you’ve worked so hard for.
If my journal helps even one person learn to dream again, then it was worth every delay, edit, and setback.
It sounds cliche I know, but it’s true. We only get this ONE life to create and make a difference. Right now, for me, it's to create a journal that points people to Jesus through learning to dream again after disappointment. This product is a piece of my life puzzle as I continue searching for the remaining pieces I so desire to find.
You have pieces to your life story too that will require deep and abiding persistence. I hope you read this and take that dream of yours back off the shelf, blow the dust off, and try again.
There are things that people will tell you are the keys to success - and persistence is one key I would give a money back guarantee on. You keep trying in life and eventually your efforts pay off in some way, shape, or form. It’s inevitable. It may take much longer than you think it should, but it will happen. What you have to remember is the second half of that previous sentence - some way, shape or form. In other words, if you try to make it into the NBA through persistence and dedication, you may not make it into the NBA, but you will make head way and become a better athlete. It’s inevitable. You can’t always control the exact outcome you want, but persistence will ensure you will gain traction and be further along than you would have otherwise.
What you gain then, ends up being far more than a result, it becomes transformation that you take into every new thing you go after. Transformation of your mind, body, heart and spirit is invaluable.
So, remember, if at first you don’t succeed, try, try, again, friend.