This 6 year old facebook post showed up in my memories yesterday... It was from when I was finalizing my first book.
It prompted me to reflect on my experiences writing, illustrating and publishing my book, Moment Meant to Savor.
The journey of Moments Meant To Savor began two+ years prior to this post (and the dream of writing a children’s book many, many years prior to that)... and it was fraught with lots of self-doubt, insecurity, and stop-me-in-my-tracks FEAR. I often wondered, “Who did I think I am to write a book??!!” And I was certain, at times, that I had absolute NO business in illustrating a book - I was not an artist!!??! I also constantly wavered between having confidence in the books OR thinking that it completely sucked and no one was ever going to read it.
Also, lots of people were encouraging, lots of other people were, well, not... and still others were down right skeptics and told me so.
That book... that experience... taught me so much!
Here are a few of the lessons that I learned...
- I learned that fear would be there...and I could choose to live IN fear and be paralyzed, or I could choose to live with fear and do it anyway.
- I learned to listen to myself... and became pretty good about sorting out which advice or ideas rang true to me and which I needed to discard.
- Perhaps the biggest lesson was that I learned that I deserve to pursue my dreams and if I got out of my own way, I could do just that!
Little did I know where that book would take me. But it certainly opened up the idea that anything is possible.
I loved the illustration process... so I have continued to pursue my art and put it out into the world. Life is good.
Who knows... maybe I have another book in me... it is something that I have been considering recently.
Regardless of what is in my future, today I celebrate Moments Meant to Savor.
What journey have you been on do you want to celebrate??!!
Make it a HAPPY day!