Writing The Art of Being Human
What was the process like?
Exciting. Deeply fulfilling. Incredible. Incredibly challenging. A dream come true. At times, truly overwhelming.
The Art of Being Human has tested me on so many of the levels I write about inside it. As I’ve talked about both online and in the book, it’s my story but also my legacy. It is everything I have learned in a lifetime of personal development learning and implementation.
Contrary to what many think (indicated by comments like '“you can’t write a book that fast”) TAoBH has been years in the making. It has been sleepless nights, 3am wake ups, second guessing, reinventing and bold creation. There is as much passion put into it as has gone into my own healing and growth journey.
It began as an idea when I was starting to pull out of my deepest, darkest times. A framework that I had used to build the ladder I used to climb. This, I thought, is what I need to share with the world. I got to work, building outlines and simplifying, analyziing what I had done and breaking it down into simple enough terms it could be adopted by anyone who needs it. Finally, I had the makings of a book, which has always been my dream.
Unfortunately, I paid someone far too money to tell me it was a complete waste of time. Why would I spend my energy on a project like that?
From there, The Resilience Method© was born.
An online version of the paperback I truly wanted, it saw mediocre success. Unfortunately it fell prey, as any business will do, to the weakest link. In my case, it’s my unwillingness to do what feels wrong to me… shameless salesmanship. Coupled with a rocky relationship with social media and, as much as I was present online, my content just never taking off.
One day I woke up and decided I was tired of waiting, tired of listening to everyone else.
I packed a bag on a whim one afternoon and drove 4 hours out of Kelowna. I set up in a hotel room. I opened my laptop. And I started to write.
Day after day, with no distractions around, I poured my heart into this book. With fires burning, with the smell of wildfire smoke in my nose, I used that energy to fuel me. Fire is powerfully symbolic for me. I found flow and I wrote. Everything happens at the right time, unfolding as it should. I drew gratitude from the fact this book hadn’t happened earlier, that the person I’d listened to helped me delay it until a time where I was more capable of sharing the entirety of my story.
I blended all of The Resilience Method© course content with more of my story than I initially intended to share. All the lessons, all the darkness, all the pain and growth is now in full context of what I had to experience in order to heal. It has taken all of me to build what I have and I am extremely proud of what this book has become.
Clearly, a book isn’t written in three days, so my laptop and I ended up back in the city, facing all the distractions that wanted to pull the mind away from its primary focus. When you’re creating, you have to fight for it. It doesn’t always come easy. Carve the time and disappear from the world if you want to make a dream happen.
I was worried parts of the book would be fragmented, the broken result of writing and juggling life. Those who have read it have since said otherwise.
It’s interesting, sharing so much of myself in a book that is so spiritually and psychologically revealing. Much of the book was written in the wilderness so I could be alone with those parts of myself as I found the right words to perfectly articulate the deepest struggles and processes. The forest and lakes gave me exactly what I needed… peace and power. A reassurance that it felt right, that I just need to have faith that from the time the book leaves my hands and enters yours it will do just what it’s supposed to.
I want it to help the world redefine itself, one person at a time.
If you read it, I want you to make it your own. Integrate it, practice it, let the information catalyze powerful change and growth in your own experience. Master yourself first and you will fully embrace the world around you in all its beautiful imperfection. Find love for yourself and you can love others for who they are.
Together, let’s create change. The world needs it. The world needs more people to believe in themselves and their ability to make a difference.
Fast forward to now, with my finger over the publish button, it feels entirely surreal. I am standing on the brink of realizing a childhood dream, and in doing so stepping into a new version of myself. I welcome both with an open heart. I’m also filled with gratitude, for this process has been met with an unprecedented level of support from those around me. The Art of Being Human belongs to all of us.
On that note, thank you for being here. I appreciate you.
Now…
Standby for lift off. Three, two, one…
