Day of Hope #135 - Wednesday March 13, 2024
Goal: Celebrate becoming a published author and recognize the power of never giving up on myself.
Quote: “It always seems impossible until it's done.” – Nelson Mandela
I Am Officially a Published Author! I DID IT!
After years of writing, editing, rewriting, questioning myself, and continuing to move forward, my book, A Day of Hope, was officially published on March 10, 2024!
I am a published author. An actual published author! Even writing those words feels surreal. My book was now available for purchase through Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other online bookstores. My story was officially out in the world for anyone to read. Holy cow. This is really happening!
I had worked so hard to get to this point, and suddenly everything was moving faster than I expected. For years, this book had lived in my journals, on my computer, and in conversations with the people closest to me. Now it was real.
And I was feeling just about every emotion possible. Excited. Proud. Nervous. Grateful. And, if I'm being completely truthful, a little scared. Because writing your personal story is one thing. Letting the entire world read it is something completely different.
But I had done it. And I wasn't going to let fear steal this moment from me. Time to Tell the World!
I spent the first several hours of my Day of Hope sharing the exciting news. I posted announcements on social media, sent messages to family and friends, and started creating marketing graphics in Canva. I wanted everyone to know!
My book was finally available!
There was so much to do, but I also made myself stop for a little while. I wanted to sit with the feeling of accomplishment. Not rush past it. Not immediately start worrying about book sales, marketing, or what I needed to do next. Just enjoy the fact that something I had dreamed about for years had finally happened.
I was proud of myself. Really proud. And I wanted to give myself permission to feel that.
From Published Author to Board Documents
Then, around 11:30 a.m., reality came knocking. I had to go to work. Yep. Here I was, celebrating one of the biggest accomplishments of my life, and I still had Board documents to finish. Ha! Apparently, becoming a published author doesn't automatically excuse you from your corporate responsibilities. Who knew?
I had made a commitment, and I needed to follow through. So I put my author excitement on hold and headed to work. I couldn't help but think about how different my life might look someday. Maybe one day I would be preparing for Board meetings for my own company instead of someone else's. Wouldn't that be something?
But for now, I was grateful for my job and everything it allowed me to do while I continued building Hopes Highways. I could be thankful for where I was while still being excited about where I wanted to go. One chapter of my life was helping me build the next.
A Celebration With My Daughter
That evening, I met my amazing daughter for dinner to celebrate. We went to Oak Barrel in Eagle, Idaho, and enjoyed pasta, wine, and some wonderful time together. It was the perfect way to end such an exciting day. There is something special about celebrating an accomplishment with someone who has watched you work toward it. My daughter had seen so many parts of this journey. The writing. The dreaming. The planning. The determination. And now we were sitting together celebrating the finished book.
After dinner, I headed home, journaled about the day, and went to bed. What an incredible feeling.
Wait. I Have to Buy My Own Book?
There was just one little problem with becoming a published author. I didn't actually have a copy of my own book yet! Seriously. My book was available for the entire world to purchase, but I didn't have one sitting on my own bookshelf. The publisher needed additional time to print and send my copies. So what did I do?
I ordered my own book from Amazon. Ha! I couldn't wait. I wanted to see it. Touch it. Hold it. Turn the pages. I wanted to know what it felt like to hold something I had worked so hard to create.
And when my copy finally arrived, it was emotional. I just sat there looking at it. A Day of Hope. My name. My story. My words. An actual book. I opened it, turned the pages, and thought about everything that had led me to this moment.
The first Day of Hope in January 2013. The years of journaling. The memories. The difficult seasons. The laughter. The tears. The decision to start writing. The editing, and re-editing. The moments of doubt.
And all the times I could have decided this was simply too much work. But I didn't. I kept going. And now I was holding the result in my hands. I still couldn't quite believe it.
Bonus: New Connections and New Opportunities
There were a couple of other exciting things happening this month. I started attending events with Women's Collective as part of my efforts to introduce Hopes Highways to more people. I absolutely loved the women I met. The conversations, encouragement, connections, and support were wonderful. I enjoyed the group so much that I decided to become a member in April.
I was beginning to realize how important it was to surround myself with other women who were building businesses, following dreams, and supporting one another along the way.
And then there was another exciting surprise. A woman I worked with told me she was going to use A Day of Hope for her book club! My book. In a book club! I couldn't believe it. Someone was going to read my story and then sit around with other people talking about it. How amazing is that?
When I first started taking my Days of Hope, I never imagined anyone else would be interested in reading about them. Now people were buying my book, sharing it, and planning conversations around it. That meant so much to me.
Never Give Up on Yourself
As I reflected on this month, I kept coming back to one thought. I am so grateful I never gave up on myself. There were so many opportunities to quit.
I could have decided I wasn't a writer. I could have convinced myself that nobody would want to read my story. I could have let the editing process overwhelm me. I could have told myself I was too old, too busy, or too inexperienced to become an author. I could have let fear make the decision for me.
But I didn't. I continued doing the hard things. One page. One chapter. One edit. One decision. One step at a time. And now, after more than a decade of taking a Day of Hope every month, I was holding a published book that told the story of how those days had changed my life.
What started as something I did to find hope for myself was becoming something I could share with the world. And maybe, just maybe, someone would read my book and decide to take a Day of Hope of their own. That would make every difficult step worth it.
I don't know exactly where this new road will lead. But I know one thing for sure. I'm glad I didn't stop driving. I'm a published author! And this is only the beginning.
My Lesson of Hope: Never give up on yourself or the dreams that matter to you. You don't have to know how everything will work out, and you certainly don't have to feel confident every step of the way. You just have to keep going. Do the hard things, take the small steps, and allow yourself to celebrate when those steps finally lead somewhere wonderful. Most importantly, don't rush past your accomplishments while chasing the next goal. Stop. Look at what you've created. Be proud of yourself. Sometimes the greatest hope comes from realizing that something you once only dreamed about is now something you can hold in your hands.
