“You know, sometimes all you need is 20 seconds of insane courage. Just literally twenty seconds of just embarrassing bravery. And I promise, something great will come of it” ~ Benjamin Mee, We Bought a Zoo.

That Mee guy was right. It’s amazing what you can achieve when you are running out of time to prove yourself.

This time three years ago I had no idea what lay ahead of me. On maternity leave with my first baby and struggling daily with post natal anxiety, it’s no dramatisation to say I felt like I was stood on a burning platform - my return to work, to a role I had never loved and was now dreading, was looming, while at the same time I lacked the confidence and self esteem to draw the strength to step into the unknown and create an alternate future.

I felt trapped, but equally sure that I desperately needed to find an outlet that could allow me to build the next version of myself.

Fast forward those three years and, remarkably, I have established a successful creative business working with clients ranging from beautiful local cafes and stores to brilliant giants like Westfield, Seek and CrossFit.

Back then I was due to go back to my job as a Finance Manager in Melbourne’s CBD and had a handful of weeks left before my return date to figure out who the hell I was now. This isn’t a spiel about the many trials that being a new mum brings, although there’s enough material on that for a few more publications.. No, this is a lesson I’m sharing that taught me if I was ever going to transition into motherhood without losing my identity, I’d have to take a few (measured) risks.

When I decided that I was going to branch out from my hobby of chalk lettering in the hope of ‘real’ businesses letting me loose on their specials boards, I was pretty certain that I could do a decent job of it. What I wasn’t certain of was how to broach the subject with said businesses, what the conversation would go like and how on earth I would ever get over it if they laughed in my face and told me to ‘do one’.

Herein lies the lesson: get over yourself, for 20 seconds.

I was faced with a do or die decision in my mind (die being return to my day job wondering whether I could have pursued a dream had I switched off the negative voices in my head). This gave me the push I needed to give myself a chance, step into the unknown, and truly back myself.

My advice; take one deep breath and start talking before you have chance to back out. All it takes is a few seconds of crazy bravery and it can open doors that you didn’t even know were there.

The first nerve-wracking time I put myself out there, resulted in me lettering specials for a super cool bar and I got a few bottles of wine out of the process - bonus! The second time I threw my shyness out of the window, I ended up lettering a whole wall of menus, which led to me being ‘gifted’ one of the cafe’s exterior walls for my very first mural. That mural became part of my local community, got me noticed by heaps of businesses, and was published in a book about street art. An actual book!

Adopting this ‘method’, I’ve managed to build connections, collaborate with like minded souls, make friends(!*) and create pieces of art that I’m so proud of. And get paid!

And what’s the worst that can happen? Yes they might say no or laugh in your face, but for what it’s worth that hasn’t happened to me yet. And actually, if they laugh at you that’s their problem, AND more often than not, in my experience, the people who say no maybe don’t need what you’re offering right now but may well do in the future or know someone that does, and they’ll remember you, you crazy-brave, confident-sounding human!

Now as I wish you all luck in that big wide creative world, just wish me the same as I navigate this process in a new country..!

*Side note - this is very weird for an introverted finds-it-hard-to-make-friends type person like myself.

Jessica Riley is a lettering artist and illustrator formerly based in suburban Melbourne, now forging her way into business in the Northwest of England and is excited to launch soon in buzzing Greater Manchester.

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"All It Takes is a Little Crazy Bravery" - with Jessica Riley