“Sometimes what you’re most afraid of doing is the very thing that will set you free.”
I’m not going to lie. Sitting at my desk for eight hours a day for 6 straight months was hard for me… In fact, I think being a desk warrior and publishing a book was even harder for me than training for the Irongirl triathlon! Really! But like anything in life, the rewards that come from doing something scary and uncomfortable bring the greatest joy.
When I was in health coaching program at IIN, the school offered an additional course called “Launch Your Dream Book”. My first thought was “That sounds cool …but I can’t write a book.” My second thought was “I should do that”. My next step was to immediately sign up for the program. After which I instantly got cold feet and thought “This scares the crap out of me. It’s too hard!” … and I actually tried to bail on the whole book writing idea. Bail! Warriors don’t bail!!! But this is what fear does to our minds. Fear of failure is why we make excuses. Fear tells us we can’t. Fear holds us back from taking action.
“Courage doesn’t mean you’re not afraid. Courage means you don’t let fear stop you.” – Bethany Hamilton
As I soul-searched to figure out if I should quite the book writing program, I came across this Ancient Sanskrit Mantra that I had written in one of my yoga training notebooks…
May all beings everywhere be happy and free. And may the thoughts and actions of my own life contribute, in some way, to that happiness and to that freedom for all.”
After I re-read that mantra, I knew I needed to finish my book and share my story. And so I did.
Instead of bailing, I dug in at sat at my desk for 6 months straight, in between studying, clients and teaching… from fall during some of the most beautiful days of the year, through the busy hustle of Christmas, snow storms and the doldrums of winter (while my husband watched football, I’d be up in my office typing away)… all the way to spring, when I birthed my book “Find Your Flexible Warrior: think, stretch and eat for balance and resilience”. By the way, I didn’t have an editor. Actually, I had about 30 editors, including my mom, some good friends and an editing class at a local collage! Yes, this was a low-budget production all the way around!
It wasn’t easy, but I published it on time for the program deadline. There was NO WAY I was missing that deadline! And good thing I didn’t, because publishing my book on time made me eligible to win the IIN Top 10 book competition (which won me free tuition)! Within the first 6 months I sold over 500 copies!
I knew I had a message to share. I knew if even one person benefited from my book, that all the work would be worth it. And I knew from past experience, that anything worth having doesn’t come easy.
What I loved most self-publishing my book with Amazon CreateSpace was the complete freedom. Indie authors are free-spirited, ambitious dreamers and are of course independent, which is a perfect fit for a Flexible Warrior girl like me.
Special thanks to the IIN Launch Your Dream Book program, especially Lindsey Smith and Joshua Rosenthal. Without that program, my book would still be notes in my journal.
XO & Namaste
Karen Dubs
