I’ve had my head down for months now, quietly working on my book (it’s coming together, though there’s still a ways to go!). But I was thinking of you this morning, while drinking my coffee, and wanted to share some of the cool things I’m learning from the process that might be helpful for you.
These lessons don’t just apply to writing a book. They are the same principles I applied when I founded a children’s charity that built schools and toilets in Asia helping hundreds of kids–which of course I had no idea how to do when I started.
As always, my desire is to encourage and inspire you to move forward on your highest visions for yourself and others.
Here we go!
- Start where you are (You will never feel ready! Accept you don’t know how to do this thing, but trust you’ll figure it out along the way).
- Brainstorm a rough plan based on what you do know right now. You always know more than you think.
- Create a timeline with milestones for moving forward. A lot of this will be guesswork, and that’s okay.
- Add those dates into your calendar as real deadlines.
- Act “as if”. Move forward as though this is a real thing that is actually going to work, even though you really don’t feel that way at all. (No one ever does.)
- Create a plan for consistency. Decide what daily habits will need to be created for this thing to happen. For the book, I decided I’d have to create a habit of writing every day. To make that easier, I added that into my morning routine, and made it non-negotiable, like brushing my teeth. (If you struggle with daily habits, I highly recommend reading Atomic Habits by James Clear.)
- Set the bar low and celebrate every little achievement. For me, I decided I would commit to 1 pomodoro of writing every morning. That’s 25 minutes. Then, no matter how it goes, I check it off my list and celebrate!
- Use pomodoros. These are a game changer for focus and productivity. You can use this free Tomato Timer. I personally use Toggl as a way to track all my time on projects.
- Use the Vision Tool I gave you for free when you signed up for my newsletter. When my clients use that consistently it creates incredible breakthroughs for them in ways they never imagined possible. It creates clarity and focus around what you want and why. And if you do the exercise at the end daily, it transforms your identity to become the person who can have that thing you want, much more easily.
- Notice your inner blocks and do the work to clear them. The most efficient way I know of to do this is by learning to install a wise, loving, encouraging part of us who takes care of the other (confused/freaked out) parts. We can do half as much work outside when we do twice as much work inside. I have lots of free blog posts to help you, and of course if you feel called to do that on a deeper level, I can help you get those breakthroughs faster.
This is the same 10-step process I used back in 2006, when I co-founded a charity in Laos that built schools and bathrooms for children. I just discovered that my old blog is still live, with all the pictures of the schools we built.
It made me cry. I’m so proud of this old version of me who took those risks and trusted her heart to do things she had no experience doing. There was so much fear. But whenever I saw those kids faces it gave me courage.
Now I help other leaders who do things like run charities and build business changing the world to do that a lot better. In a way it feels more efficient, and I’m making a much bigger impact…but when I see this I can’t help but miss being out there on the front lines
(Not enough to do it again, mind you LOL; it’s a hard job raising thousands each year, then dealing with gov’t corruption and bureaucracy and complex cultural + language differences to get things built in another country, all for zero income …)
Here are two fun pics from 2008. Check out the short hair!! :)
I share everything I share with the hope that it will inspire you to trust yourself enough to do those things your heart most wants you to do, because the world needs you to have the courage to do that.
If you are thinking about creating/launching some new thing, I’m running a beta test of a new offering. I have a number of long-term clients (who completed my 6-week intensive first) who have been doing these monthly Idea Incubator Brainstorming Sessions with me on-and-off for years, and swear by them. So, I’ve decided to experiment with offering them to the public.
I can hold that safe space and ask the right questions. Also, because I’m a clairvoyant, I can help on many levels that you’ll probably have to experience to believe.
I know it’s been a hard year, but I also know we always have a choice on whether we see life as happening “for us” or “to us”. And since we are the meaning makers of our lives, we become much more powerful when we see every experience as a gift to allow us to grow, so we can step into our higher potential.
We still have a few more months to navigate Covid 19 and all its lessons, but that doesn’t have to hold us back from moving forward on our highest visions. The world needs us to do that more than ever.
Shawn xo
