It’s finally here! Book release week. I am published on Amazon, Kobo, Google and McNally Robinson. This is a bigger achievement than I originally set out to capture. I would so appreciate your support in purchasing my book here.
So to answer the question I have been asked the past 3 weeks: How did you do it? How did you make time for this while running your other businesses and volunteer positions?
We all have the same number of hours in a day – so it comes down to what we do with it. The average adult spends more than 3 hours watching TV – EVERY DAY! (statista)
The average adult also spends more than 5 hours on their phones daily! (Source: ZD Net)
I made a decision to watch less TV and set my phone down more often and magically, the time was there in my day.
I set this goal in November 2019 that I would write this book by the end of 2021. I set myself a BHAG – Big Hairy Audacious Goal. The kind of goal that makes you anxious about if it’s possible, the kind that scares you to think about. I took the time to map out all the steps. I consulted others who had written books. I asked all the beginner questions:
- How do you get started?
- How do you choose a book style?
- How do you know if the topic is interesting to others?
- Is my idea even something others would read?
- What if I actually don’t know how to write?
Then, as I have been telling you all along, I went and found a coach. Yes, a writing coach! There is a coach for everything!
I found someone to help me map out the chapters and get the ideas down for each chapter.
- Someone to tell me how many words I needed to write
- Someone to whom I was accountable to get the words written
- Someone who would evaluate my work as I went
- Someone who would tell me when I was off track with the idea, content or both
I was cruising along totally on target until Match of 2020. The big Virus came to town and set everything off-kilter. It threw my plan into the get it done later bin and I didn’t pick it up for a whole year. Then in December of 2020, I looked at my goals and decided I was not going to write this BHAG down one more time. No matter what Virus came to town, I was going to get this done. I doubled down on myself.
I started writing on my weekends, I reengaged my coach and asked her to hold my feet to the fire, even if I was not nice to her when she did it. “I am not responsible for the things I say when my coach reminds me who I really let down”, lol! Just kidding, I am totally responsible and I want her to know she is a very special person to me.
All this to say, if you set a goal and you give yourself all the tools to achieve it, there is no reason you can’t achieve it. As I mentioned in a previous blog, there are coaches for everything – yes event to write a book in a pandemic, ESPECIALLY in a pandemic! You are not meant to achieve your big goals without learning and digging deep along the way.
In fact, if you are able to achieve your goals easily and without much effort, sorry, but you are just not dreaming big enough! Your goals should make you sweat when you think about them. They should be a big hairy frog eyeing you every morning when you get up. Now get out there and build a plan to achieve that BHAG!
As always I am here to help you get to the next level in your business.
Reach out for a free coaching appointment with me to see how we can work together to transform your business.
Learn so much more from Tara in her new book: Teaching Ambition. Order yours today here.
