I wanted, for many many years, to be a mystery writer. Finally I wrote a mystery novel. I got a ... novelist to be my mentor and help me with the rewrite. I got an agent. They sent the book o
I wanted, for many many years, to be a mystery writer. Finally I wrote a mystery novel. I got a best-selling novelist to be my mentor and help me with the rewrite. I got an agent. They sent the book out. And sent it out. And sent it out. And it went nowhere.
I tried writing another book, and my mentor told me to dump it and start a third book. I did, but couldn’t get into the idea and the book never materialized.
Which is all okay, because today I’m a life coach, something I’ve wanted to do for a long time and which allows me time to write if I want to, and I never would have gotten here if that book had been published.
You see, I can write part-time while I coach as a profession, but if that first book had been published, I would have seen myself as a mystery writer and nothing else. That’s the mindset I had at the time—“I’m going to be a mystery writer full-time.”
Now, having failed at something important to me, I realize that I don’t have to do only one thing. I don’t even have to do anything for the rest of my life. I may coach for five years and say, “I’m done.”
What my failure as a mystery writer taught me is that I have choices about what I do, and I’m never locked into any one thing. That was a gift I could never pay for or find anywhere else.
The REAL Secret of Success
I used to see a ... who handed out a little leaflet entitled “Dr. ... Guide to Success in ... It was very nice, had his picture on the front and was ... printed. On thDo You Have Your Best Life?
For many years I had a good life. My illness was ... under control, I had a nice ... with my husband, I did work I didn’t hate. It was, as I said, a good life.But there’s a saying thatWhat Balance Looks Like for You
... in an online group, we talked about ... and an article one member had read decrying the demise of balance ... We all had ... ideas about what balance is and how to reach