The REAL story intro- What writing a book is actually like…

Have you ever wondered what it’s like to become an author? I can pretty much guarantee you that the idea in your mind is TOTALLY different from reality.

I think of it like this. ——————->

First, I’m excited because over the next few months, we’re going to dive into all the juicy behind-the-scenes of the book-writing process. This was a gigantic project that taught me a lot about myself, brought up ALL my stuff, and required continual uplevel. If you want to write your own book or you’re looking at some other big project, buckle up. It’s worth it and insane all at the same time.

“Why?” 

This is the question most people miss when they start. Why take on that project? Why start that business? Why sell that product? And for me, why on God’s green earth do I want to write a book? 

And it’s a good question. I’m a mom with 2 small-ish kids and a 2-year-old business with a full client load. I host a podcast, I sing at church one weekend a month, and I’m generally busy. Not “busy as a status symbol” busy, but life is full and it’s usually intentional. Which means that if I’m choosing to take on a new project that requires a significant amount of time and energy, I better have a solid reason. Ps. Being that intentional and questioning my motives flies in the face of the impulsivity that often accompanies ADHD. But that’s a story for another day…

Anyway, back to why. Here’s what’s interesting - I met a lot of authors over the last year. A LOT. And a lot of “would-be” authors. And a lot of “I’m in the middle of writing my book and have been for 8 years” authors. And a lot of people who think it would be cool to write a book someday. Guess what separates the ones that do from the ones that don’t? 

A part of it is this - the ones that do have a reason why, and that reason is usually bigger than their ego. Here’s what that looked like for me: I’d gone on a faith-led journey of walking out of burnout, fear, and a total lack of fulfillment. I’d rediscovered who I was and why I was here, and I moved out of a life that was misaligned with that identity and purpose. I’d stepped into my calling, finding excitement for life again, a sense that what I was doing mattered, confidence and self-worth, and breathing room. There was a process that showed up in that journey, and that process was also changing the lives of my clients in profound ways. But more people needed that clarity and transformation than I could support in a one-on-one capacity. How could I do that? How could I walk massive numbers of people through, step-by-step, that journey of fear to freedom?

A book!

If I wrote a book, I could empower more people to live their purpose and love their lives. To wake up and know what they were doing matters and to be passionate about not only their work but their whole lives. And more people living that way makes the world better, more filled with love, more compassionate, and more just. Well, that’s simple enough right? I’ll sit down and map out that journey, write down a bunch of stuff about each stage, and then I’ll have a book right? That’s cute… and entirely not the case. And this is where it can either turn into a “something I’ll do one day” or an actual commitment. Guess what happened? I put a tab in my task manager named “Book”, added a few tasks, and pushed their due dates continually for about 6 months. I fell right into the camp of “I should do that at some point… I’ll wait until I feel REALLY called and then I’ll do it.” 

photo cred: Emilie Iggiotti

It’s embarrassing, but true. Coach Juli, who is living her calling and continually stepping through fear and getting out of her own way, got in her own way and let fear drive. How could I write a book about empowerment if I was still getting stuck? Who would want to read it anyway? What if I wrote it and people thought it sucked? 

“Why” isn’t enough on it’s own because of FEAR. At the core of it, I loved the idea of being an author. I loved the idea that I could spark and support more people. But I was scared. I would have told you that I was scared it would take too much time and energy (which was true, but not the main thing). Or that I needed to learn more to make sure I was equipped to do this (which was an excuse). Or that my business needed to be more stable first (also an excuse). But really I was scared of failure and rejection. 

As it happens fear of social rejection is the #1 fear people have, period. And it was up in my face. So I let myself be distracted for a while. It’s easier to be distracted than lean into the discomfort after all. But that couldn’t hold - because I did have a why. 

In September of 2021, I had an opportunity to participate in a 5 day “Map Your Book Out” challenge that one of my author friends was speaking at. I wanted to support him so I popped on for a few sessions, downloaded the worksheets, and tried to put together an outline. And that’s when I realized how tough this was going to be. 

Let me explain. My thought process pretty much looks like this —————->

So despite my client work, guiding people through a journey largely by intuition and feel (and definitely not a consistent linear path), I was faced with trying to put everything I do in some kind of order. I wrote ideas on the planning pages. I rearranged those pages all over my office floor. I sat and stared at them. I added ideas. I stared at them some more. I got frustrated and walked away. I came back and added more ideas. I rearranged them again. I got frustrated again. And then decided to start over and plan on the computer. I figured, maybe if I tried something that’s a system, it might work better for my brain. This is normal for me - you should see me write a talk. Anyway, it was like living in a brain that’s imploding from too much input and not enough capacity to organize the information.

Eventually, I sorted it out, found a system that worked for me, and mapped something out that resembled a book outline. It would change about 86 times between that point and publishing, but I had a start. And then, like the time I left my 500k/year real estate business in the dust because I got the “Go Now!” from God, I got a “Drop everything and write the book”.

SIDENOTE: The nudges or pulls in your soul to go after something often come with opportunities to take a step if we watch for them.

Now, I’m a service-based entrepreneur, and all service-based entrepreneurs know that the most important thing we do (other than taking care of existing clients) is finding new clients. I had a plan for that October to be networking and relationship building. I’d signed up for all the events I could find, planned and advertised a masterclass, and set up a bunch of coffees. My social media was planned out. My newsletters were planned out… It was going to be an epic month for my business and the people I would have the chance to serve. And all that planning meant that “Drop everything and write the book” was met with an “Are you kidding me?!?” 

I also knew though, from experience over the last few years, that when I’m called it’s better to not fight with God. So I dropped everything. I missed events. I postponed coffees indefinitely. I cancelled my masterclass (that one hurt my pride and I mulled it over for days before I pulled that trigger). I cleared my schedule as much as possible and built “no for now, but not forever” boundaries. And then I signed myself up for book writing Bootcamp because I know that I need accountability and deadlines to move on things. I also needed to be in an environment where I would be continually brought back to “what’s the next step?” Instead of focusing on the big picture that was TOTALLY OVERWHELMING at that point in time. Yup, even coaches need coaches. 

And then the writing began. Which is where we will (likely) pick up next month. Stay tuned, that process included a lot of time, tears, wasted time, and imposter syndrome. 

Xoxo,

Juli

Written by: Juli Wenger

Author of Fired-Up, Fulfilled, And Free

Follow Juli at @juliwenger

————

What if you could ditch fear, leave “not-enoughness” and “too muchness behind,” and answer the questions “who am I?” and “why am I here?”

What would it be like to live a life that you know matters? To have real fulfillment? To confidently and fearlessly step into the purpose you were created for?

This book is a roadmap back to yourself and a guide to help you get out of your own way so you can live that purpose with fearless confidence. To help you step out of your patterns and your commitment to not-enoughness. To be reminded that you are worthy because God put you on this earth and He makes you worthy. There is an assignment for you that can’t wait any longer.

This is your invitation into a life that is Fired-up, Fulfilled, and Free.

Heather Bowie - Flare Mortgage Group

The mortgage process can be intimidating for homeowners, and some financial institutions don't make the process any easier. I’m here to help!

With a background as both a small business owner and Chartered Professional Accountant my goal is to help people with their mortgage whether they are purchasing their first home, growing their family, finding their forever home or adding rental properties. I love the direct impact of helping clients by providing education to ensure they are confident in their decision resulting in happiness with their home purchase!

Heather Bowie

(780) 919 3025

Sherwood Park, Alberta

EMAIL

WEBSITE | INSTAGRAM | FACEBOOK | LINKEDIN

Meet Food Packaging Change Maker, U of A's Amanda Hardman.

Interviewed by Mohamed Warsame, VFC Student Intern from Edmonton, AB

Hello and welcome to YBB Connect’s Student Feature. My name is Mohamed Warsame and today we are speaking with Amanda Hardman. She is a second-year sustainable agriculture student at the University of Alberta. Amanda has developed a biodegradable lettuce packaging prototype. This clamshell package was made from sugarcane fibre and was designed to be more sustainable and produce less waste.

Q1. What made you interested in sustainable packaging?

I was looking to do a science fair project for my grade 12 year, and I was having a hard time deciding on a project topic. I was really interested in putting new use to waste products or underutilized products. I was also very interested in Tentree and how they use algae to create padding for their sports bags, recycled bottles for their clothing, etc. I was trying to think of a way to incorporate those two aspects into a project focused on sustainable agriculture, and after some research, I landed on using cellulose nanocrystals for food packaging! 

Q2. How did you acquire the resources needed to make the clamshell package? What were the costs associated?

I was able to find someone at Alberta Innovates in Edmonton to help me acquire liquid cellulose nanocrystals. I bought a 50 pack of bagasse (sugar cane) fiber to-go boxes to use as a substrate for the liquid cellulose. The people at Alberta Innovates were nice enough to spray the crystals on the boxes for me, so I only had to worry about purchasing the boxes! 

Q3. What was it like speaking at the Ag Summit? Was it your first public speaking event?

Due to the size and format of the event, participants didn’t have the chance to speak at the event. Because of the current pandemic, we participated in the summit via an online livestream over the course of two days. They had some fantastic speakers from various backgrounds to share their experiences in leadership and agriculture. It was very interesting to hear about their work and their experiences.

Q4. What steps do you think are needed to make your product ready to be marketed?

I would need to work on the design of the packaging. I only had two months to experiment on the proof-of-concept, so the aesthetic of the boxes has a long way to go. I also want to see if I can make the packaging more effective for perishable food storage.

Q5. Can you share any memorable experiences that happened at the Youth Ag Summit?

Hearing about global agricultural issues was super interesting to me! I often hear about Albertan or Canadian agricultural issues, so being able to hear about problems that I don’t normally consider was a welcome change. 

Q6.  Have you been approached by any NGOs about your product? If so, have you collaborated with any of them?

Besides receiving help with my science fair project with Alberta Innovates, I was approached in my grade 12 year to participate in the BEST Lassonde STEM Bootcamp in collaboration with Youth Science Canada. The three-day program was focused on moving our projects from a science fair project to a more business-focused project. It was a very fun experience to meet other innovators from across Canada and to learn more about STEM business development!

Q7. Can you explain further why you think your product would not work in some countries as intended? 

In less consumer-heavy countries, this packaging would be less useful. This packaging was made with countries like Canada, the U.S. and the E.U. in mind, where consumer supply chains are such a big part of how we live. In countries where this is less prevalent, there would be less of a need for this type of packaging. 

Q8. What’s next for Amanda Hardman? Are you working on any new projects?

Besides getting my degree, I’m not sure what’s next on the horizon! I know I’ll continue to work in sustainable agriculture, but who’s to say where I’ll end up!

We are excited to feature students in our community thriving and making an impact that direct effects the way we all live our daily lives. Thank you to Amanda Hardman on being our first guest and our student intern, Mohamed Warsame for leading this project for us. - YBB Co-Founders