Something I’ve been cooking up for quite some time is about to pop. This mongoose of a project almost didn’t take flight because furocious winds threatened to blow its pages all over the place. A larger than life gust of wind came out of nowhere and almost caused this determined bird to almost drop out of the sky and onto the ground becoming a pile of lifeless feathers.
What was the cause of such a soul shaking blow to my book baby?
I’ll tell you what did it. It’s actually not an it, but a who. Her name is Jen Sincero and her book You Are a Badass: How to Stop Doubting Your Greatness and Start Living an Awesome Life had me doubting my greatness and crushed my awesome life.
Bitch.
Here’s the story: Galavanting leisurely around town, I felt something wet hit me on the tip of my nose when the skies suddenly opened up. As the rain literally rained on my parade, I bolted like the lightning that was about to strike into the store closest to where I was. The establishment I threw myself into happened to be Urban Outfitters. Wasting time as I waited for the storm to pass, I scanned the vinyl section and noticed the Meghan Trainer album. I took a mental note to remember that in December when it was my husband’s birthday. He loves her music.
As I put Meghan back in her place, out of the corner of my eye, I spotted the book section. Being that I finally put the finishing touches on my book that day and was about to design a cover, I danced over to check out the inventory for inspiration when I felt a jolt so big, I couldn’t move. I saw Jen’s book. Feeling so many things, I just about puked up the lentil soup I ate for lunch.
What was causing my visceral reaction? At the time my book was titled, The Badass Self-Help Book: 12 Steps to Ignite Your Awesome. Everything was in to my publisher and all systems were a go. Until that moment that is. My title had two of the same words as Jen’s and those words weren’t common ones; Badass and awesome. Shit. That last one wasn’t one of the words, but how I felt.
Opening Jen’s book with ferocious rage, I read her super inspiring words and messages and felt pissed off and personally attacked by each one. After torturing myself, I put the book back and ventured back out in the storm. I’d rather be soaked to the bone than be in that store with that book.
Temper tantruming my way home (which is a mile and a half walk), I was totally freaking out! Feeling defeated, I decided that since my book already exists, it was just written by someone else, I should give up on my book altogether. Even though I had spent a couple of years working on this project, this took the sparkle out of my party pants. After throwing myself the pity party of the century for a couple of days, I took out my hypothetical glitter and dumped it over my head Flashdance style.
My first reaction to seeing Jen’s book was my ego totally trippin out and venturing down a rabbit hole. Blind at the time, I didn’t see that her book would be just the blessing I didn’t know I needed. Jen, just like her title suggests, inspired me to be a badass and to stop doubting my greatness and to start living an awesome life. I reread my book hundreds of times and finally figured out what my book truly had to say and boy, was it unique. My book, just like me, is obsessed with live music and in the game of rocking your life! It’s purpose is to show you that it is possible to maintain the live music magic in your everyday experience.
If I hadn’t been punched in the gut by Jen’s book, my book wouldn’t have evolved into the divine masterpiece that it turned out to be. Thank you Jen! I’m sorry I called you a bitch. You’re a goddess! You and your book are both amazing and even though we’ve never met and you have no idea who I am, you had an epic impact on my book which is now titled, How to Rock Your Life: Maintain the Live Music Magic in Your Everyday Experience.
I’ll be taking pre-orders soon so stay tuned. Does that excite you as much as it does me? Leave a comment and tell me. Sometimes I need a little cheerleading magic. ❤️
The magic in me sees the magic in you,
Taraleigh
