Choose Your Energy: Change Your Life!

So that you’ll have all seven turning points together in these blogs chronologically, this month I share again the details behind the seventh of the seven turning points during which my upcoming book from Hay House/Balboa Press, Choose Your Energy: Change Your Life, gained significant manifestation momentum. To refresh your memory, here’s a summary of the seven turning points.

The first was enrolling in a life coaching certification program offered by the Institute for Professional Excellence in Coaching (iPEC) in September 2010. The second was launching my first blog in October 2010. The third was beginning to write my clients’ stories of transformation in August 2011. The fourth was enrolling in Christine Kloser’s 2012 Transformational Author Experience in May 2012. The fifth was a combination writing retreat and vacation in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and the South Jersey Shore in July 2012. The sixth was finding New Dawn Center for Spiritual Living in Aurora, Colorado, in November 2012. The seventh was a three-week writing retreat in January 2013, during which I completed the manuscript.

The common denominator was a process of baby steps through which I embraced and transformed fear so that I might step further into my calling to foster hope and personal transcendence through the power of unconditional self-love.

Turning Point 7

When I began summarizing how this book came into being, I thought there were just three turning points. Over time, as my journey continued evolving, the Universe added three more. Then, in the final weeks of completing this manuscript, the Universe offered me the seventh and final turning point in the form of a three-week writing retreat in my Aurora, Colorado, home.

In early January, good friends were moving from Virginia to Texas. They asked if my husband, Wilson, and I could join them for the first week to help them unpack and settle in. With the launch of my radio show that week, there was no way I could be away from home without Internet access. Having retired a year earlier, my husband was free as a bird. We compensated for me not participating by having him help them for three weeks.

Originally, I’d planned to complete my book manuscript by the end of October 2012. When new revelations started coming fast and furious in October, it was clear the Universe had a different idea about the breadth and depth of the book. I revised my target date to December 30. By mid-December, when I realized that only force, not flow, was going to produce the book by New Year’s, I switched my perspective to, “It will be done when it’s done,” letting go of all preconceived notions about timing. I’d learned from experience that force is based in fear. Fear-based energy produces less-than-optimal results that rarely last, while sucking the joy out of the process. This book would be fueled by love. The Universe was in charge of letting me know when it was finished. My job was to stay tuned to the Universal frequency and keep taking dictation.

In preparation for my husband’s departure to Texas on January 14, we talked about the potential benefits of having no other humans in the house. (The cats get very upset if I refer to it as living alone; with the three of them engaged in every aspect of my life, including coaching clients, I never live alone.) Still, there were occasions when I referred to the trip as Wilson “abandoning me when I was coming down the home stretch on finishing my first book.” A few times, I even found myself moved to tears when I thought about it. What was going on? I was the one who had suggested extending his trip from two weeks to three. Where was this abandonment energy coming from?

Knowing that tears always signal an opportunity for new growth, I set my intention to receive the insight. I sat alone with my eyes closed and asked, “What form of misery are you remembering or creating for yourself with fear-based thinking, little one?” The answer came immediately. I had confused Wilson’s departure this time for his departure four years earlier, when he left for a three-month out-of-town job assignment that had stretched to three years. When he left that time, I was burned out, eighty pounds heavier, and ten years into a severe bout of depression. Although his taking the job had been a joint decision, I felt abandoned and petrified. Nonetheless, it became the portal to the greatest transformation of my entire life. A success story in every possible way. My psyche was totally forgetting the facts and channeling the residue of leftover fear-based abandonment energy it had found in some ancient dark corner. As I cleared the fear-based lies and illusions and embraced the love-based truth and reality of my transcendence, I stepped back into the light.

The day Wilson left, the writing began pouring from me at an astonishing rate. No force, just flow. Every time I’d think I was finished for the day, I’d receive more insights, run to the laptop to “make a couple of notes,” and find myself completing a new chapter an hour or two later. I continued to eat well, exercise daily, and get even more rest than had been my norm over the previous year. One night I slept for eleven hours straight with vivid dreams in which I resolved a variety of current life dilemmas and got insights into the next chapters of the book.

So what had happened? Wilson was never an impediment to my writing. He was supportive, respectful, and minimally disruptive. His heading out of town for three weeks was an opportunity to remember that I experienced the greatest transformation of my life during the three years I lived without humans in my house because it focused my energy like a laser on what needed attention in my own life. This “retreat” would be equally momentous; this time I would finish writing my first book.

Over the preceding seven and a half years, the Universe had taken me on an incredible journey from burnout and despair to hope and transcendence, to independence and wisdom, to service and community. Whether I live with or without humans, cats, or other species, I am never alone. My Divine Source dwells within me. When I remain free of fear and centered in love, I experience the Divine in every being, encounter, and circumstance. When I stay tuned to the Universal frequency, I constantly receive new insights and suggestions about where to go and what to do. As a conduit for Divine love and light, I have endless opportunities to partner with others looking for a guide on their Journeys to Wholeness. Whatever my circumstances, I know who I am and Whose I am: a unique co-creative expression of the Divine.

It is so fitting that I delivered the manuscript for this book to my publisher on Valentine’s Day 2013. Writing it has been a labor of love. I am honored to have been entrusted by the Universe to share my message of hope and possibilities with the world. And I am grateful that I had the courage, resources, and support to do so.

P.S. For your convenience, in each week’s blog post I include a link to the recording of this week’s new episode from my VoiceAmerica Radio Show, Choose Your Energy: Change Your Life! You may listen online or download to your PC, phone or other mp3 player to listen on the go. The download site also includes links to recordings of all past episodes as well as descriptions of future shows.

Episode #22 Recording 06/05/13 The Wizard of Us: Transformational Lessons From Oz

Click here for more information on joining my FREE Radio Show insider club. As a member, you’ll receive periodic updates on upcoming programs and guest co-hosts, as well as exclusive promotional offers and other bonus content.

© Copyright 2013 DJW Life Coach LLC. All rights reserved.

This week I share the details behind the fifth and sixth of the seven turning points during which my upcoming book from Hay House/Balboa Press, Choose Your Energy: Change Your Life, gained significant manifestation momentum. To refresh your memory, here’s a summary of the seven turning points.

The first was enrolling in a life coaching certification program offered by the Institute for Professional Excellence in Coaching (iPEC) in September 2010. The second was launching my first blog in October 2010. The third was beginning to write my clients’ stories of transformation in August 2011. The fourth was enrolling in Christine Kloser’s 2012 Transformational Author Experience in May 2012. The fifth was a combination writing retreat and vacation in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and the South Jersey Shore in July 2012. The sixth was finding New Dawn Center for Spiritual Living in Aurora, Colorado, in November 2012. The seventh was a three-week writing retreat in January 2013, during which I completed the manuscript.

The common denominator was a process of baby steps through which I embraced and transformed fear so that I might step further into my calling to foster hope and personal transcendence through the power of unconditional self-love.

Turning Point 5

One of the bonuses offered with the platinum level group coaching upgrade to Christine’s transformational author program was a mid-July 2012 three-day seminar in my birthplace of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The first day was a private networking session with Christine and twenty-five other platinum participants. It was an opportunity to discuss our books, receive coaching, and encourage each other forward on our individual paths to publishing. The second and third days involved joining a few hundred participants for a two-day immersion with renowned marketing and PR guru Steve Harrison on the ins and outs of publicity.

I wrestled with whether to purchase the platinum option. The cost was $697 plus travel, meals, and lodging. Well worth the price but still a substantial sum. I could minimize additional out-of-pocket expenses by covering the airfare and hotel with credit card points.

While I was weighing the pros and cons of participating, my dear friend and former colleague Anna Pettit suggested I arrive ten days early to enjoy an extended visit with her family and other former consulting colleagues from the Philly area. With the July 31 book proposal deadline just weeks away, a Philadelphia getaway would offer me the opportunity to focus on writing during the day and restore my soul by socializing with old friends in the evening. It was very tempting. When Anna sweetened the offer to include whisking me away for a weekend in my idea of paradise (the South Jersey Shore), I enrolled in the platinum program happily.

As we so often do, after making my decision, I continued to wrestle a bit with whether I had invested my assets wisely. Every time the doubt surfaced, I would stop, breathe, close my eyes, recenter, assess the energy underneath my decision (love) and the energy underneath my doubt (fear), clear myself, recommit, and keep moving forward.

In the months leading up to the Philly trip, the Universe sent two additional confirmations that I had made the optimal decision. The first came in the form of a two-hundred-dollar rebate on the enrollment fee when I won a drawing on one of the group coaching calls. Ta-da! The second was a call from my son and his fiancé, letting me know they would be joining me for the weekend at the South Jersey Shore, including a return visit to the Wildwood boardwalk.

The trip was heavenly. I spent a week with Anna and Jim at their home in Villanova, Pennsylvania. There I found myself nestled among the many landmarks of my childhood and early career:

• two miles from Bryn Mawr Hospital, where I was born

• fifteen miles from Media, where I grew up

• four miles from St. Davids, where I attended college at Eastern University

• eighteen miles from Centre City Philadelphia, where I spent the first seventeen years of my consulting career

• one hundred miles from Cape May, New Jersey, where I spent many idyllic days with my beloved nan in her tiny home on Maryland Avenue, just two blocks from the beach

The combination of a change of scenery, writing isolation by day, and reconnection with lifelong friends at night provided the perfect fuel to help my words flow forth effortlessly. Many evenings, after returning from a night of fun with friends, energized and inspired, I would begin writing again at Anna’s dining room table until the wee hours of the following morning. At which time I would go to sleep for six to eight hours, wake naturally, and begin again.

As the writing/reveling/writing/sleeping pattern continued at the Shore, I not only made substantial progress on the book proposal but also conceptualized, completed, and scheduled twenty additional blog posts I would release over the next ten weeks. My proposal was quickly becoming a book, and having launched a new weekly blog campaign in mid-June (Declare Your Independence from Stress), I was firmly established in blogging one or more times a week. There was no longer any question: I am an author! I publish!

In the company of my friends, I had the opportunity to visit nan’s grave and marvel at the miraculous expansion and rehabilitation a couple from Princeton, New Jersey, had wrought with nan’s itty-bitty bungalow. My friends and I delighted in the easy camaraderie of lifelong companions who enjoy an unbreakable bond. We have certainly had our share of disagreements through the years. Some originated in my tendency to become bossy and driven under pressure. Others in Anna’s habit of throwing whipped cream at me during seventeen consecutive company Christmas parties (which, it just occurred to me, may have been her antidote to my propensity for intensity). Nevertheless, our connection runs so clear and deep that we never stay angry with or abandon each other. We always find a way to forgive and forget any relationship missteps and make our way back to the playful and supportive intimacy we treasure.

So what was the significance of this particular turning point? With publication of a book looming, my visibility and vulnerability would be raised considerably. I might be criticized, rejected, or worst of all, ignored. Still stinging from recent censure by a friend, without knowing it, through my trip to Philadelphia and the South Jersey Shore, I had chosen the perfect remedy to any fear of rejection. I fed my sense of belonging by reconnecting with my roots. I reminded myself of this profound truth: no matter what fear-based lies and illusions I may be choosing to believe at any given time, we are all always essentially one. Whether my book sells twenty or two million copies, is a commercial success or only an important milestone on my personal journey, I am known and loved by myself, my Divine Source, my family, my friends, and my Philly tribe.

Turning Point 6

During my own personal Journey to Wholeness, I discovered, one at a time, the four inner senses and their roles in fostering the life of flow I sought (chapter 5). By late Fall 2012, feeding my inner senses of creativity, vitality, and spirituality was a firmly established way of life—a healthy new habit. My sense of belonging still required more attention. With the dramatic changes in my interests and values, some of my existing relationships had become even stronger. Others had begun to dissolve naturally. Participation in my two existing spiritual communities (Prairie Unitarian Universalist Church in Parker, Colorado, and Unity of Littleton in Littleton, Colorado) continued to provide substantial support to my personal Journey to Wholeness. After many months of introspection, renewal, and growth, I found myself seeking additional alliances that would resonate to my new core beliefs, provide opportunities for me to be of service, and support me in my lifelong journey to even greater wholeness. In the idiom of the day, I needed to find more “peeps.”

In early November 2012, I was blessed with the discovery of an additional spiritual community: New Dawn Center for Spiritual Living in Aurora, Colorado. From the first visit, I knew I had found a source of fulfilling personal relationships and a spiritual home. A group of people with whom I could share my gifts and who would help fill my desire for companionship and continued mutual growth.

The pace and ease of my writing took huge leaps forward when New Dawn licensed practitioners began supporting me weekly with affirmative prayer. Without their friendship and encouragement, I might have finished this book eventually, but it wouldn’t have been nearly as smooth, quick, or comprehensive. I am forever grateful. The day I found New Dawn was indeed a new dawn in the birthing of this book. 

P.S. For your convenience, in each week’s blog post I include a link to the recording of this week’s new episode from my VoiceAmerica Radio Show, Choose Your Energy: Change Your Life! You may listen online or download to your PC, phone or other mp3 player to listen on the go. The download site also includes links to recordings of all past episodes as well as descriptions of future shows.

Episode #21 Recording 05/29/13 Feeding Your Sense of Touch: The Power of Massage

Click here for more information on joining my FREE Radio Show insider club. As a member, you’ll receive periodic updates on upcoming programs and guest co-hosts, as well as exclusive promotional offers and other bonus content.

© Copyright 2013 DJW Life Coach LLC. All rights reserved.

This week I share the details behind the third and fourth of the seven turning points during which my upcoming book from Hay House/Balboa Press, Choose Your Energy: Change Your Life, gained significant manifestation momentum. To refresh your memory, here’s a summary of the seven turning points.

The first was enrolling in a life coaching certification program offered by the Institute for Professional Excellence in Coaching (iPEC) in September 2010. The second was launching my first blog in October 2010. The third was beginning to write my clients’ stories of transformation in August 2011. The fourth was enrolling in Christine Kloser’s 2012 Transformational Author Experience in May 2012. The fifth was a combination writing retreat and vacation in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and the South Jersey Shore in July 2012. The sixth was finding New Dawn Center for Spiritual Living in Aurora, Colorado, in November 2012. The seventh was a three-week writing retreat in January 2013, during which I completed the manuscript.

The common denominator was a process of baby steps through which I embraced and transformed fear so that I might step further into my calling to foster hope and personal transcendence through the power of unconditional self-love.

Turning Point 3

Many coaches use brief testimonials that say things like, “This coach rocks!” As Barbara and I began talking with my clients about their experiences, we found their stories were more than testimonials. They were messages of inspiration—lessons in hope, courage, and triumph. Deeply personal opportunities to share the unique lessons each individual had learned about the life transformation that is possible when you learn to love yourself unconditionally.

We were certain one of the best ways to foster hope and demonstrate the possibilities for transformation in the lives of others was to allow my clients’ results to speak for themselves by sharing their stories on my website. Barbara and I collaborated with them to write their stories, basing each on a different life lesson. I began publishing the earliest versions of these Lessons in Living under the “success stories” tab of my website in early 2012, including my own story, “The Lesson of Hope.”

As more and more clients shared their stories, in Spring 2012, I saw an opportunity to provide even greater value by creating a series of interactive self-study workbooks based on the lessons inherent in their stories. With the ongoing impact and evolution of the lessons; continued personal and professional experience, study, and growth; substantive blog posts; and a robust social media presence, my own unique life coaching perspective and voice began to emerge. By summer 2012, it became clear that pulling everything together into a book was one of the best ways to share my message even more broadly. I set my intention, and you will soon be able to hold the result in your hand.

Many thanks to Barbara and the clients who graciously invested their time in sharing with you so candidly from their experiences. While the stories are real, I have changed the names out of respect for privacy. Respecting that boundary is an important aspect of my code of ethics. 

Turning Point 4

By May 2012, the stars and planets were in full alignment for me to move into the final stage of birthing my book. I had transformed my body, mind, heart, and soul, found my calling, become certified as a life coach and Reiki master, and thanks to my blog, client success stories, and website, I had tons of content with which to seed the manuscript. I just needed a little additional nudge to start integrating everything into a book. The Universe responded with an unsolicited email (one I actually read) that pushed me across the threshold into Christine Kloser’s book writing program, the 2012 Transformational Author Experience (TAE).

Through Christine’s program, in a two-week period, I participated in twenty-six one-hour educational teleseminars led by experts in all aspects of writing and publishing, including futurist Barbara Marx Hubbard (Birth 2012 and Beyond), author Neale Donald Walsh (Conversations with God), literary agent Bill Gladstone, New World Library Publisher/President Marc Allen, and Hay House/Balboa Press President/CEO Reid Tracy. At times, it felt like drinking from a fire hose; thank God I took notes and purchased unlimited rights to replay recordings of the sessions into perpetuity. By the time we were finished, I had been exposed to every angle, aspect, consideration, and nuance of writing and publishing my first book.

As an added incentive to get serious and get moving, the program provided the opportunity to submit a proposal for my transformational book by July 31, 2012 to be entered into a contest offering amazing prizes such as agency representation by Bill Gladstone, a print publishing contract with New World Library, and assisted-publishing contracts with Hay House/Balboa Press. Knowing from firsthand experience the valuable role a coach can play in helping us manifest our deepest longings, I happily purchased the platinum level option to join Christine, a renowned spiritual guide and award-winning author in her own right, for six months of group coaching to help me sustain my commitment and momentum. If you are serious about writing a transformational book—one that, as Christine teaches, will transform your life, your readers, your business, and the world—enroll in one of Christine’s programs.

P.S. For your convenience, in each week’s blog post I include a link to the recording of this week’s new episode from my VoiceAmerica Radio Show, Choose Your Energy: Change Your Life! You may listen online or download to your PC, phone or other mp3 player to listen on the go. The download site also includes links to recordings of all past episodes as well as descriptions of future shows.

Episode #20 Recording 05/22/13 Feeding Your Sense of Creativity: The Power of Love and Gratitude

Click here for more information on joining my FREE Radio Show insider club. As a member, you’ll receive periodic updates on upcoming programs and guest co-hosts, as well as exclusive promotional offers and other bonus content.

© Copyright 2013 DJW Life Coach LLC. All rights reserved.

This week I share the details behind the second of the seven turning points during which my upcoming book from Hay House/Balboa Press, Choose Your Energy: Change Your Life, gained significant manifestation momentum. To refresh your memory, here’s a summary of the seven turning points.

The first was enrolling in a life coaching certification program offered by the Institute for Professional Excellence in Coaching (iPEC) in September 2010. The second was launching my first blog in October 2010. The third was beginning to write my clients’ stories of transformation in August 2011. The fourth was enrolling in Christine Kloser’s 2012 Transformational Author Experience in May 2012. The fifth was a combination writing retreat and vacation in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and the South Jersey Shore in July 2012. The sixth was finding New Dawn Center for Spiritual Living in Aurora, Colorado, in November 2012. The seventh was a three-week writing retreat in January 2013, during which I completed the manuscript.

The common denominator was a process of baby steps through which I embraced and transformed fear so that I might step further into my calling to foster hope and personal transcendence through the power of unconditional self-love.

Turning Point 2

Ever the persistent midwife and undeterred by my increased coaching certification workload, my friend and marketing professional, Barbara Kay Escher, continued pushing me to write my book. Using the Julie and Julia movie as evidence for how easy book writing can be, Barbara shifted her tactics to considering blogging as the path to publishing.

There was just one problem. I didn’t do blogs. Didn’t host them, contribute to them, read them—heck, I didn’t even subscribe to any. At the time, I perceived bloggers as two types of people: 

• self-absorbed egomaniacs who felt compelled to force themselves on the rest of the world or
• pitiful, shy people who only felt safe interacting with humankind anonymously. 

I, of course, didn’t want to see myself as a member of either group. In addition, I had two other problems with blogging: 

• Some people write nasty, vile comments in response to blogs. I didn’t want to help propagate any more intolerance and unkindness in the world. We already get plenty of that from political talk shows.
• I was busy and didn’t have time to author or manage anything more than I was already handling. 

Yet despite my brilliant arguments against me becoming a blogger, Barbara remained committed to getting me over the hurdle. One day, deeply enmeshed in the near-daily Barbara blog debate, she said, “I know you. Once you do it, you’re gonna love it.” Clueless as to the source of my resistance, we were both shocked when I responded by beginning to cry. Tears being a classic indicator that a big life lesson was lurking, I began to understand that this wasn’t a mental block; it was a heart block. I centered myself, tapped into my tender, wounded heart, and began sobbing even more frantically, “I’m afraid. I’m afraid. I’m afraid.” There, my friends, is the crux of the matter. There, my friends, is the crux of most of the pain and frustration we create for ourselves. The most offensive four-letter f-word I know: fear.

I wasn’t afraid of helping people spew vile stuff at the Universe. I was afraid I would break again if they spewed it at me. Thanks to my son heading off to college and my husband’s extended out-of-town job assignment, I had become one of those frightened people who was living alone and not interacting with humanity much. What life and Carole King had taught me to that point was that people were dangerous: “They’ll hurt you. They’ll desert you. They’ll take your soul if you let them. So don’t you let them.”

Not one to give up easily, Barbara persisted by suggesting I start with a private by-invitation-only blog reserved for my nearest and dearest. Intrigued, I stopped crying. On the morning of October 9, 2010, thanks to Barbara’s perseverance, my renewed courage, and the ease of setting up a WordPress blog site, I awoke and published my first private blog post. Barbara was right; I did love it. So much so that I published my second post just two hours later, when I also took the site from private to public. That’s me: in for a penny, in for a pound.

I refer to the first thirteen posts as the Starter Blog. Much like the tablespoon of starter culture that spawns a large new batch of homemade yogurt, those thirteen initial posts set in motion a process that would ultimately yield an outcome far grander than I could ever have imagined. I published no posts from mid-March 2011 until the end of June 2012, utterly consumed as I was by defining my signature life coaching approach, building my practice, serving my clients, and drafting this book. By June 30, 2012, once I was well into writing the book, I began blogging more succinctly and regularly. To subscribe to email notification of new weekly posts, visit tiny.cc/djwblog to sign up in the sidebar of my blog site.

You may access the thirteen original, highly sporadic blog posts that launched this book by visiting tiny.cc/djwstarterblog. The entries are in reverse chronological order. To read them in chronological order starting with the earliest entry, just begin at the bottom of the list and work your way up. These posts are living proof that writing from the heart with imperfect grammar can open the floodgates to serving the highest good.

Each of us has a personal story of transformation: our unique path from victim to victory, from breakdown to breakthrough. Every time you share your own story with others, you fan the flames of possibility in another’s heart. You touch countless lives with hope through the ripple effect you set in motion when you share your story with each person you meet. How might you broaden the reach of your message today and every day? The world is longing to hear from you.

So what happened? The Universe loved me enough to keep pushing me outside my comfort zone. In a moment of grace, when I faced my fear, stopped resisting, and opened my broken heart to a new possibility, I fell in love again, this time with blogging. On that day, I knew how I would begin to write my book. I would do it in baby steps, one blog post at a time.

One of my favorite movies of all time is What About Bob? The film is about the transformative archetypal journey of the hero: the lesson that no matter how broken we are, with love and compassion, a dash of courage, a pound of commitment, and a sense of humor, we can do anything. We can learn and grow into happier, healthier people. Every one of us can find deep peace, lasting joy, and meaningful relationships. We do this through a lifetime of never-ending baby steps. Bless his heart, Bob baby steps his way all over the transformative Universe. Each time he pushes past his current limits to try something new, he is delighted. After his first sailing adventure (for which they had to tie him to the mast to get him to go along), he exclaimed to all he met, “I’m a sailor! I sail!”

On the day I published my first blog post, my world expanded yet again. I proclaimed to the Universe with every ounce of the Bob joy in me, “I’m a blogger! I blog!”

There’s an old joke about a man in a flood who prays to God to save him. A rowboat passes by, but the man won’t take it; he says he’s waiting for God to save him. A speedboat, same response. Finally a helicopter, no dice. The man finally drowns. When he arrives at the pearly gates, he tells Saint Peter he wants an audience with God right away because he has a bone to pick with Him. Saint Peter obliges, and seconds later, the man stands before God. He rants, he raves, he accuses God of abandoning him: “I prayed for you to save me, and you did nothing. You call yourself God?” With gentle forbearance and a wry smile, God replies, “Fred, who do you think sent the rowboat, the speedboat, and the helicopter?”

We ask for the things we claim to want in our lives, and then we fight them because we’re frightened by the new responsibility or because they don’t arrive in the precise form we had in mind. Blogging was my “rowboat” to writing this book, touching more lives, and loving every minute of it. 

In next week’s blog, I’ll share the third and fourth turning points, with the fifth and sixth coming the week after that.

In addition to publishing the book, Hay House/Balboa Press will also be leading a global publicity campaign on my behalf during which they will promote the book for the first twelve weeks after its release to 5,000 media outlets around the world. They will also provide a video book trailer, promote the book to the 500,000 followers via their newsletter, promote the book at two of their “I Can Do It” conferences, and send a film crew to my home to shoot a video press release of me talking about the book. I’ll even be interviewed for my own episode of Hay House Radio online. The journey of writing and publishing my first book continues to expand and transform my life every day. Lots of opportunity to practice deep breathing and follow Kathy Mattea’s advice, “Spread your wings, close your eyes and always trust your cape!” 

P.S. For your convenience, in each week’s blog post I include a link to the recording of this week’s new episode from my VoiceAmerica Radio Show, Choose Your Energy: Change Your Life! You may listen online or download to your PC, phone or other mp3 player to listen on the go. The download site also includes links to recordings of all past episodes as well as descriptions of future shows.

Episode #19 Recording 05/15/13 The Power of Your Story: Becoming a Transformational Author

Click here for more information on joining my FREE Radio Show insider club. As a member, you’ll receive periodic updates on upcoming programs and guest co-hosts, as well as exclusive promotional offers and other bonus content.

© Copyright 2013 DJW Life Coach LLC. All rights reserved.

On February 15, 2013 I shared with you the seventh of seven turning points during which my upcoming book from Hay House/Balboa Press, Choose Your Energy: Change Your Life, gained significant manifestation momentum. Based on overwhelming response to what I shared, over the next few weeks of blog posts, I’ll be sharing the other six turning points with you as well.

The first was enrolling in a life coaching certification program offered by the Institute for Professional Excellence in Coaching (iPEC) in September 2010. The second was launching my first blog in October 2010. The third was beginning to write my clients’ stories of transformation in August 2011. The fourth was enrolling in Christine Kloser’s 2012 Transformational Author Experience in May 2012. The fifth was a combination writing retreat and vacation in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and the South Jersey Shore in July 2012. The sixth was finding New Dawn Center for Spiritual Living in Aurora, Colorado, in November 2012. The seventh was a three-week writing retreat in January 2013, during which I completed the manuscript.

The common denominator was a process of baby steps through which I embraced and transformed fear so that I might step further into my calling to foster hope and personal transcendence through the power of unconditional self-love.

Turning Point 1

In 2009, one of my art students approached me about becoming her life coach. Honored by the request and a little freaked out by the possibility, I declined. Logically it made sense given my professional experience and expertise, but I still had much personal healing to do before I would be ready to coach others effectively.

By March 2010, out of overwhelming gratitude for being eighty pounds lighter physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually, all I wanted to do was find a way to share what I had learned and experienced with the world. I believed my story could help others find the lives of deep peace, lasting joy, and meaningful relationships they longed for. I had been similarly inspired in October 2008 when I read Elizabeth Gilbert’s bestselling memoir Eat, Pray, Love. The author awakened in me the possibility that writing a book about my journey might encourage and inspire others with hope for what is possible.

My friend and marketing professional, Barbara Kay Escher, jumped on the bandwagon and began urging me to get my message of hope and possibilities out into the world. Yet despite a lifetime of journaling from the age of eight and a successful consulting career chock full of excellent writing, no one, including me, understood that I had become afraid to write. Or, more accurately, afraid to publish anything I had written. As a result, I continued to hide my light under a bushel a while longer.

On August 29, 2010, I told my husband that I didn’t know how I was going to fulfill the deep calling I felt to help others, but it wouldn’t involve taking tests or being judged by anyone. I woke up the next day feeling moved to Google life coaching certification programs on the Web. Smack dab at the top position of the ever-rotating list of sponsored Google sites was iPEC. Over the next two days, I researched their qualifications and approach, talked with their director of admissions, was accepted into the program, paid my admissions fee, and signed up for a nine-month life coaching certification program that makes boot camp look like a stroll in the park. Writing my first paper—a thirty-three-page review of my entire life—was sheer unadulterated terror. So much for no more testing or judging by third parties.

In next week’s blog post, I’ll share Turning Point 2, the story of how I got over my fear of publishing by launching a blog. What’s love got to do with it? Everything! Every day, my life continues to provide living proof of what you can accomplish through a series of endless, courageous baby steps fueled by love-based core energy.

One morning a few weeks ago I woke up reciting out loud my latest Divine Download. After a few minutes, I realized I’d been sent my new, simplified job description:

• Show up.
• Bring your “A” game.
• Trust the details to God.

Or, in the words of my favorite country western muse, Kathy Mattea, “Spread your wings, close your eyes and always trust your cape!”

P.S. For your convenience, in each week’s blog post I include a link to the recording of this week’s new episode from my VoiceAmerica Radio Show, Choose Your Energy: Change Your Life! You may listen online or download to your PC, phone or other mp3 player to listen on the go. The download site also includes links to recordings of all past episodes as well as descriptions of future shows.

Episode #18 Recording 05/08/13 You CAN Make a Living Following Your Bliss!

Click here for more information on joining my FREE Radio Show insider club. As a member, you’ll receive periodic updates on upcoming programs and guest co-hosts, as well as exclusive promotional offers and other bonus content.

© Copyright 2013 DJW Life Coach LLC. All rights reserved.

This week I’m thrilled to share From Burnout to Bliss, the brand new spotlight article on my personal Journey to Wholeness just published by Brock Media in the 2013 Aurora Guide. Being selected as one of two local Colorado residents to be featured in the annual publication is another wonderful example of synchronicity at work—the Universe’s way of saying to me, yet again, “You’re on the right path.”

In 2012, I became active in the local Aurora Chamber of Commerce. Late in the year, I was approached by Sandi Ausman, a marketing rep of  Brock Media, concerning purchasing advertising space in the 2013-2014 Chamber Directory for which Brock is the publisher. With the growth of my life coaching practice, a weekly Internet radio show launching on VoiceAmerica in early January and my first book in the works for release by Hay House/Balboa Press in the spring, it was the perfect time to commit to greater visibility. Following my typical “in for a penny, in for a pound” style, I purchased their premier ad: the full-color 8.5″ by 11″ back cover.

As I worked with Sandi to finalize the Chamber ad, we became friends. Turns out we have a lot in common: Sandi is a long-time energy healer and emerging animal communicator with her own inspiring “victim to victory” story. As I shared the story of my transformation with Sandi, she concluded my message of hope and transcendence would make a great feature in the annual Aurora Guide, another Brock Media publication. Brock’s management agreed and assigned freelance writer Mary Lynn Bruny to interview me and write the story. Click here to read Mary Lynn’s delightful retelling of my Journey to Wholeness and work in the world. Click here to view the complete 2013 Aurora Guide.

Many thanks to Sandi Ausman, Tom Brock, Mary Jarrett, Mary Lynn Bruny, Hilary Stojak and Peggy Doyle of Brock Media for helping me spread my message of  hope and possibilities. It takes a village!

Sandi Ausman has appeared twice as a guest on my radio show talking about her life journey and experience as an animal communicator. For inspiration and entertainment, click here to view her profile and listen to recordings of our radio episodes together.

P.S. For your convenience, in each week’s blog post I include a link to the recording of this week’s new episode from my VoiceAmerica Radio Show, Choose Your Energy: Change Your Life! You may listen online or download to your PC, phone or other mp3 player to listen on the go. The download site also includes links to recordings of all past episodes as well as descriptions of future shows.

Episode #17 Recording 05/01/13 Finding Your Voice: The Power of Radio

Click here for more information on joining my FREE Radio Show insider club. As a member, you’ll receive periodic updates on upcoming programs and guest co-hosts, as well as exclusive promotional offers and other bonus content.

© Copyright 2013 DJW Life Coach LLC. All rights reserved.