The Strategy She Kept in Her Journal

A Hypothetical Story That Could Be Any of Us

She had 14 journals full of ideas.

Detailed plans for programs she wanted to create. Outlines for books she wanted to write. Strategies for helping women that came to her in the middle of the night, so clear and complete she’d wake up and write them down before she forgot.

Her journals were full of brilliance. Full of solutions to problems she saw women struggling with every single day. Full of frameworks that could change lives.

But they were also full of dust.

Because every time she thought about actually implementing one of these ideas, a question would stop her cold: “But what if someone else is already doing this better than me?”

What She Was Hiding From

The internet had become her prison.

Every time she had an idea, she’d google it. And every time she googled it, she’d find someone who was already doing something similar. Someone with more followers. Someone with a prettier website. Someone who seemed more polished, more professional, more qualified.

So she’d close her journal and tell herself, “Well, I guess that idea’s already been done.”

She’d convinced herself that if someone else was already in the space, there was no room for her. That her version of the idea wasn’t unique enough, wasn’t different enough, wasn’t better enough to matter.

She was so focused on what everyone else was doing that she forgot the most important thing: No one else had her story. Her perspective. Her voice. Her specific combination of experiences that made her the exact person some women needed to hear from.

The Lie She Believed

“If I can’t do it better than everyone else, I shouldn’t do it at all.”

She’d turned her calling into a competition. Every idea had to be completely original. Every program had to be revolutionary. Every piece of content had to be something no one had ever said before.

The pressure of that standard kept her paralyzed. Because the truth is, very few ideas are completely new. Most breakthrough moments come from someone saying something that’s been said a thousand times before—but saying it in a way that finally clicks for the person who needs to hear it.

She was waiting for a completely original idea that would never come. Because her calling wasn’t about being the first to say it. It was about being obedient enough to say it anyway.

The Moment That Changed Everything

Then she was scrolling Instagram and saw a post from a coach she’d been following. The woman was sharing about a framework she’d created—and it was almost identical to something this woman had written in her journal two years ago.

Her first reaction was, “See? I knew someone else was already doing this.”

But then she read the comments. Hundreds of women saying, “I’ve never heard it explained this way before! This is exactly what I needed!”

And something clicked.

These women weren’t saying, “This is brand new information.” They were saying, “This is the first time it made sense to ME.”

That’s when she realized: Her job wasn’t to create something no one had ever heard. Her job was to say what needed to be said in a way that reached the women who needed to hear it from her.

The next day, she pulled out one of her journals. She didn’t google it. Didn’t check to see if anyone else was doing something similar. Didn’t compare herself to anyone.

She just started creating.

Operating in Her Brilliance NOW

Six months later, she’s launched three programs that were sitting in her journals collecting dust. She’s heard from women who told her, “I’ve seen other people teach this, but the way you explained it finally made it click for me.”

She still has moments where she sees someone else doing something similar and feels that old familiar fear creep in. She still has to fight the urge to google her ideas before she implements them.

But she’s learned something powerful: Comparison is just fear wearing a research hat.

She’s stopped asking, “Is someone else already doing this?” and started asking, “Who needs to hear this from me?”

Because she finally understands: The women who need her aren’t looking for the most original idea. They’re looking for the voice that speaks their language. The story that mirrors their struggle. The person who makes them feel seen.

And no one else can be that for them the way she can.

Her journals are still full of ideas. But now they’re also full of checkmarks next to the ones she’s brave enough to bring to life.

Editor’s Note: This is a composite story representing the journey many faith-based creatives experience. If you’ve been holding back because you think someone else is already doing what you want to do, what if that’s exactly why you need to do it? What if the women who need YOU aren’t finding what they need from anyone else—because they’re waiting for your specific voice, your specific story, your specific way of saying it? Stop googling. Start creating.