Patricia, an infinite amount of thanks for allowing me to step onto the yellow brick road known as your blog. I have to apologize for all the apologies I’ve written in this space over the last few years. The blackmail, the threats … I’ve turned over a new leaf with this very post.

By the way, I sprinkled catnip in your sock drawer. Good luck with that.

Let’s journey to Oz. No, not the HBO prison series which left many male viewers covering their waist areas with steel plates. This is the Oz of the Good Witch, the Wizard, flying monkeys, and a little girl named Dorothy who had no fashion sense. Ruby red slippers with a checkered dress? How gauche!

We’re not heading over to Oz for them – though I wouldn’t mind a flying monkey as a pet. We’re taking the Tornado Express to meet up with the Scarecrow, the Tin Man, and the Cowardly Lion. Of course these three are symbols for powerful human traits – Brains, Heart, Courage – which Dorothy needed in order to get back to Kansas and complain about the poor Internet and lack of a Whole Foods. For authors, these characters represent important components in their writing success at any skill level.

In my new podcast, The Leap, I speak with people who listened to their inner voices, in the form of Self, Soul, or Heart, and decided to make the jump to a new career or other life-altering experience. In order to make this happen, these people had to apply courage, heart, and brains to maintain their momentum. And it was critical for all three components to work in conjunction with each other. This applies for authors who wish to embark on careers writing everything from press releases to book series.

First, courage is required in order to make the jump into a new venture. This is necessary, for if an author doubts what their self is telling them to do then courage is sure to falter. Next is heart, which is required to bind courage so the author continues to listen to their creative soul. You know how warm and secure you feel when under your favorite comforter? This is what the heart does for courage.

The last component is the brain. Not the portion which practically screams its doubt at you on a regular basis. This is the section that helps with creative troubleshooting to get past the difficulties to reach your goals. Yes, there are going to be difficulties and setbacks, but that’s why courage and heart are needed – to let you know everything is going to be okay and the universe will provide.

I see you shake your head in disbelief on this. How can I see you? Oh, I have a NSA account, but that’s not important. What is of importance is you believe this is nothing but mumbo-jumbo, bull hockey claptrap. Well, let me provide you with an example. Have you ever had a moment in your writing life where the words seemed to flow from your fingertips? A time when you were ensconced in your created world and you could see, feel, and hear everything? An instant of minutes where your hands seemed to be typing on their own thanks to the help of … your creative soul?

Ah, I see you’ve stopped shaking your head. Um, you might want to cover your camera with a sticky note.

It has taken courage and heart to connect with the brain to make the wonderful past, present, and future works of authors explode on the page. The next time you stare at a blank piece of paper, think of Oz, the Creative Trifecta, and Dorothy’s horrible choice in shoes. You will shock yourself with the revelations that come from your self.

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Rich Keller is the founder of Wooden Pants Publishing and host of the podcast The Leap and literary talk show Between the Pages. In January of 2016 Rich took his own leap, quit his IT job, and devoted his time to his publishing company. You can find so much more about Rich at the Wooden Pants website, the Wooden Pants Facebook page, and the Wooden Pants Twitter feed. You see a pattern here, right?