I love looking back at my old words so I can see how far I’ve come from that lonely, sad, angry, broken little girl I once was. I think of those years and see where I am today and realize that I can truly conquer anything. What makes me a good coach is that I’ve walked through so much that I’ve lived out the act of sharing my story authentically, confidently, and responsibly. That’s why I am so committed to ensuring others do the same. It’s also why I struggle to understand why I try to separate being a writer from being a coach. Writing is what led me to coaching. Seeing my brokenness transform into wholeness beyond what I ever thought possible for myself is something I wish to share with every human ready to embrace that journey.

As such, I announce a challenge to myself that I am going to extend outward to those of you who are ready to share your story and would like some encouragement along the way. This challenge is geared toward heart-centered writers, bloggers, and poets who would like to challenge themselves to go one layer deeper in the last quarter of this year.

If you are ready to step into your “Next”, let’s join together on the journey. We will take time to reflect back as we move forward and share the stories that made us who we are today.

Like this:

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Illusions, 1996

Rain falls slowly,
making my picture run;
the colors all flow together,
becoming one dark blotch.
The sun comes out,
and the colors dry,
slowly becoming a new picture
that is dull, yet very bright.
How can one see the sun when the rain is shining bright?
How can one see the rain when the sun is falling hard?
It all goes together.
One big world
in line around one scorching object.
The rain nourishes the flowers,
making my picture brighter.
The sun helps them grow,
big, round, and large.
My picture soon becomes one of brightness and detail,
then it rains again.

---

The little girl who wrote that poem was so lost, afraid, and broken that she truly didn’t think there was hope for a future. She was so beaten by the world that she thought her truth was that she would never amount to anything good in this world.

SURPRISE! She did.

As we step into October and conquer the last 90 days of the year, I look forward to becoming my best client and best demonstration of what I do for others. I will publicly walk with you as I figure out how to combine my writing and coaching into my platform without feeling like I need to diminish one to highlight the other. They both come from within me and the writing is exactly why I am the strong coach I am today helping others tell their story and become what they once thought impossible.

In this challenge, I will encourage you to share pieces of your story and comfortably step into being the writer, coach, business owner, and more that you are. While I am focusing on writers, all are welcome to join if you have writing to share at any capacity. With storyselling being a hot topic in marketing these days, those of you who love marketing but don’t consider yourself writers may find that you have more in common with us dreamers than you know.

If you are ready to share your story and simply need some encouragement to do so, join the challenge by filling out the form below. I will send details via email on October 1st regarding the weekly exercises that you will share on your blog or social media, depending upon where your audience is, to help you share your story in your own words, in your own way, on your own terms while being fully confident that who you once were isn’t who you are today.

Those who finish the challenge will be entered into a drawing for a complementary 60-minute Strategy Session with Shell, valued at $222, to discuss how to show up in 2021 with your writing in a way that will help you accomplish your goals for the year.

I look forward to seeing you in the challenge as I challenge myself to go a level deeper!