Putting Yourself Out There: When Authenticity and Risk Collide!
This is a story about a book, a book about what happens when authenticity and risk collide.
I started writing my soon to be released book, I Could Love No One Until I Loved Me in early 2009. At the time, I was going through a pretty traumatic time in my life. It was the onset of what some called the ‘second depression’ and my business had been significantly impacted. In what felt like a matter of days, we went from having our best year ever to having one of our worst … overnight. At the same time I was ending a 7 year marriage and while it was quite amicable, it didn’t negate the feelings of sadness and loss.
One day as I was journaling, an idea for a children’s book for adults seemingly came out of nowhere. As I started writing, the words began to flow so effortlessly it was as if the book was writing itself. It is almost in its exact form as I wrote it that day.
I was fortunate to find Kenny Durkin, an amazing illustrator, and he began creating the images and bringing the story to life. However … at about the half-way mark I got scared.
I started listening to those voices spinning round my head telling me that this was a stupid idea, nobody would read it, and it had nothing to do with my ‘real’ business as a speaker and coach. Even more so was the belief that I would totally destroy my business credibility by sharing such private aspects of my life in such a public way. So I stopped the process and tossed the book to the side … unfinished. Little did I know the lesson I would eventually learn.
4 years later the idea to finish the book began popping back up, again what felt like out of nowhere. I did my damn-est to suppress it but it would not go away. The harder I pushed it down the harder it pushed back up, apparently it was going to get birthed with or without me.
When someone asked me, “How long did it take you to write this book … originally I answered … 4 years? In retrospect, it has taken a lifetime to date.
It is my story, and in sharing it with you it is my hope that it will lead you to the discovery or at least a greater awareness of your story. After all … our collective stories are just pieces and parts that make up the greater story that has been written since the beginning of time and continues to be written as we speak.
The book will be available for pre-ordering for delivery before Christmas it would make a great gift for someone you love … you should buy yourself a copy.
You can order it here starting today: untililovedme.com
And one more thing …
A portion of the proceeds from the book goes to support the Best Buddies Organization of Arizona. Best Buddies is an organization dedicated to helping people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
