Going After Your Dream

It’s Thursday, so I’m Crafting my Life! This year, I’m just writing about whatever is currently on my mind. I invite you to do the same. If you would like to chime in and contribute a guest post about your own journey, please drop me a line.

The second run of the Crafting my Life online class on living with intention and authenticity wraps up next week. I’ve really enjoyed it, just as I really enjoyed the first one.

I plan to run the class a third time, but not immediately. I’ve decided to take a little bit of a breather to help me re-balance, and also to work on the Crafting my Life e-book. The e-book will contain the class material – minus the audio-visual components, plus a couple of extras – in an easy-to-read format. The idea is that people who want to access the material and start their search for authenticity right now can download the book and get started immediately. It allows people to work through the life-crafting process whenever they want to, in whatever way that works for them.

Because the thing about crafting your life, is that you’re crafting your life, and so you should choose the format that works best for you.

I mentioned in my Crafting my Life newsletter that I was in the process of creating the book, and that I was on the hunt for a great editor. My good friend Marilyn saw that, and sent me an email offering her editing services. She also mentioned that she has a dream of being a professional editor, which was something I didn’t know. I hadn’t expected her email, but I have to say that I am thrilled she sent it. I followed up with her, and she will be editing the Crafting my Life e-book, helping me to hone my message about living with purpose and authenticity.

I don’t know how Marilyn felt sending me the email, but I know that it’s not always easy to put yourself out there and offer your services to someone else. It isn’t for me, anyway. At the same time, however, I also know that I never would have considered asking Marilyn to be my editor if she hadn’t sent the email, because I wasn’t aware of her experience or her dreams. So this is a really good example of how putting yourself out there can really pay off. By opening up to others, we can create an opportunity both to progress on our own journey, and to help someone else progress on theirs.

It’s the mutuality of working together with someone else to make something happen that I find really compelling. I have never worked with a professional editor before – at least not in a back-and-forth, give-and-take sort of a way. I’ve submitted articles and someone else has edited them, but I had no say once I passed it along. I’m not entirely sure that I know what I’m doing with the Crafting my Life e-book. Having Marilyn in my corner helps me to feel a little more confident. And hopefully by editing my e-book, Marilyn will also be learning and growing and working towards her own dream. We both benefit because Marilyn reached out.

It’s true that not every overture we make will be accepted with open arms. I think that’s OK, and I don’t think it means we should stop making overtures. Because every time we reach out we are making a connection and learning something. It may not pay off immediately, but I believe that it will absolutely pay off in the end. Authenticity and openness lead to great things. Including, I hope, a great e-book.

So I’d like to thank Marilyn, both for agreeing to edit my e-book, and for showing me an example of being bold, being yourself and crafting a life of authenticity.

Have you ever reached out to someone who didn’t expect to hear from you? How did it work out for you? Tell me all about it!

PS – If you want to be the first to hear about my e-book, and also be eligible for advance access and discount pricing, be sure to subscribe to my Crafting my Life mail list.

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