“Stay focused, go after your dreams and keep moving toward your goals.”
― LL CoolJ
In the midst of the chaos of selling and buying a house and doing things I’ve never done before, my desire was to stay focused on my priorities. One of those priorities was finishing the book I wrote in 2017. The book is called “Fruitful Leadership: Leading by The Fruit of The Spirit.” This was one of the big unknowns that we talked about a couple of weeks ago.
http://www.empowermentmentor.com/janmcdonald/conquering-the-unknown/
I’ve never published a book before. There’s nothing like an unknown to add to the feeling of chaos.
When our home went on the market, the book was with Lauren, my editor. Who would’ve have thought that editing would be so time consuming? I ended up reading and revising my book twice and it’s not short–279 pages. There were concepts and grammar that Lauren and I argued about, to which my answer was, “It’s my book.” Her answer back, after squabbling awhile, was, “Okay, we’ll keep it that way, but if my name is going on your book as editor, I’ll need to footnote my choice of words and grammar.” She did, too, which still makes me laugh.
Then came the part of formatting, choosing a cover and uploading all of it to Amazon KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing.) I am technologically challenged, and the thought of formatting and uploading nearly paralyzed me. I chose to tell myself that I was smart and creative enough (truth in advance,) and “You can do it!”
Between serving my clients, looking through a million homes (okay, it seemed like a million,) caring for Dennis and Truffle, I had my cover created, uploaded the book and the proof will be here this week. Here’s how I kept my focus:
1. I kept my preferred vision for me top of mind–one of those imaginations is becoming a published author. I had to discipline my thought life.
2. My steps forward were tiny so as not to be paralyzed or overwhelmed. I promised myself that I could only work on the book for ten minutes. Once I sat down with that tiny goal in mind, I often found myself working for way longer.
3. If ten minutes were all I could muster, I celebrated that little win big time. Discipline–giving yourself a command and then carrying it out–does wonders for your self-image and confidence. It keeps you moving forward in the direction of your dreams and goals, too.
Actually, that’s why I wrote the book. I can be an expert in everyone else’s life, but leading and disciplining my own can be challenging. And if I can’t lead myself, how can I lead others? I couldn’t think of better characteristics to grow in than love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and, especially self-control. That last one keep me focused.
Still moving forward,
Jan
Jan McDonald
The John Maxwell Team
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