What Was I Thinking?

Have you ever asked yourself, “what was I thinking?”!!

That moment when you can’t turn back but you are struggling to move forward.

Just over 12 months ago I remembered ( in a rather quirky way which I’ll share in a minute) that a dream of mine was to write a book to share my life experience and story to hopefully help others.

Darn you dream! I had never written anything before, it a was total opposite to my career and I was someone who is not good at sitting still, so writing was not my first choice….ever! Definitely was not a journaler, blogger or FB poster!

What I did know, was that it was important for me to leave a legacy and if I could help change one persons life for the better, all would be worth it.

As with the story I wrote about in my ebook Let Your Inner Rebel Rock, Your Backstage Pass to the Career of your Dreams, sometimes dreams get buried for a long, long time. Then randomly choose to reappear, at rather strange or inconvenient times!

From my experience when they appear there is absolutely no mistaking that you have to act on them. Even if you have no clue, like me, how or where you are going to start.

I have worked freelance for many years and always on the look out for ways to work for my self. A friend suggested that becoming a funeral celebrant was one such option! Being a funeral celebrant means performing funeral ceremonies for those that are not religious or just prefer to have a celebrant.

What the heck, why not give it a go. So I signed up for the training and off I went.

In the training it was necessary to do a mock ceremony. Starting with interviewing a "grieving family" (ie. the other people in the course) and then write about the deceased from that garnered information for the service and eulogy.  We then stood up in front of the class and read out loud what we had written.

Well as I was reading about the dearly departed “ Fred” who loved fishing and was a pillar of strength to his family and the community, loved by his mates, family friends and trusty dog Bluey alike. That’s when my random moment dream recollection happened….yes the old aha moment….

“What the…! I had totally forgotten that I wanted to write a book and speak to groups, inspiring people to do what they love in their career”. Sharing a rather devastating life lesson I learnt in my twenties and hoping that I would in some small way save people from the pain that I had been through.

Have you ever found that when you start to think about something, clues and next step options start to appear…just like when you buy a new car, you start to see your same car everywhere on the roads?

Well I had an email come to my inbox. Do you want to be the next New York Times best selling author and speak on an international circuit? Well with my new found aha…I was all “ sure I do”!

The email was about a conference Enlightened Bestseller Mastermind happening in San Diego with three New York Times times best selling authors Janet Bray Attwood, Marci Shimoff, Chris Attwood. Within a week I was jumping on a plane with just my little idea in my head and an unfulfilled dream.

I did not leave home however without some interesting resistance and negative comments from some peeps …those critics are always there to test you following your heart and your dream, no matter what age. Sometimes it does come from genuine concern but still does not make the resistance any easier.

The conference was amazing. They did not laugh me out of the room when I presented my idea…so off to a good start. I learnt a lot, but best of all realized that yes I could and would write a book.

Since that conference, I have asked myself many times….”what was I thinking???” surely it was easier to turn back. What had I gotten myself into?  I thought I would just pen to paper and that would be it!

No, there were websites to build, social media profiles to make and post to, learning HOW to write, what did I want to say, make videos, learn how to speak to a room, ahhhhh it’s all been such a huge learning curve for me and still is everyday. There was definitely more involved than I had ever imagined…but I have made things happen. I can now, on about a grade school level, edit my own website, handle all social media, write, speak and make videos! (of the G rated variety)

The biggest event only 17mth after the conference and something very special is about to happen.

A new book is being launched, 12 Sept that wait for it….I co authored!  Yeaaaah! And Look who the fabulous other authors are!

It’s called “Breakthrough! Inspirational Strategies for an Audaciously Authentic Life” by NY Times bestselling authors Janet Bray Attwood, Chris Attwood (they also wrote “The Passion Test”), Marci Shimoff (from “The Secret” and “Happy for No Reason”), several other transformational authors… and ME!

Today not only will I be a published author but in a book with those great peeps! Very excited and happy! Hard work paid off. Follow dream and continue, check.

So, next time I ask myself… “what was I thinking”, I will trust, that just maybe it is a pretty good thought after all.

What are you thinking?

Would love to hear your comments and feedback below.

Check it out  Breakthrough! out Sept 12^th 

Enlightened Bestseller Mastermind Program check it out.

*Will keep you posted as to when my personal book Loud Proud and Unstoppable, The Rebel's Guide to a Dream Career will be out.