The Mindset it takes to write a Motivational Self-Help Book
A call for you to write the book, blog or share your story with the world during a global health pandemic. (8 Min Read)
Your mind is a powerful thing! Did I know that I could stay committed and complete the book I had in me? Yes, I did know that I can do anything that I set my mind to. Did I think I was actually going to finish by 30th June 5 months ago? I am not totally sure if I am honest! Did I have doubts, fear, or worry about whether I could write my book and what if no-one wanted to read it? Yes, I did! Did that stop me? No! I can’t tell you that since I was 10 years old that I wanted to write a book, no it hasn’t been a lifelong ambition. What is true for me is that I have wanted to distill my experiences, practices and knowledge in a book to provide you with a guide to help you live a more optimistic and resilient life. I am proud to let you know that I will have completed the draft of my book by the close of Tues 30th June! So without further ado, I’m going to give you the book synopsis and theme song for this blog.
Be your No. 1 Cheerleader is a motivational self help book, which asks you to be an active participant in making the advice and the stories help you to become your own cheerleader. “Be your No. 1 Cheerleader” as a phrase is an attitude that actively encourages women to develop a fearless “growth mindset” approach to their business and their lives. Someone that adopts a “Growth Mindset” is open to change, learning and personal challenge. It provides a humorous outlook, advice and tools to tackle imposter syndrome from the perspective of a black, female, business owner, who is finally walking the walk! Whatever your fears, this book will give the courage, the insight and the tools you need to be your No. 1 Cheerleader in your business and in your life. You will learn to conquer low self confidence, fear and how to ask for help to enable your success. You will move from a place of wondering if you should be doing your business “to owning it” and believing in yourself and your business. If that sounds good to you, join the fan club! Now let us turn to the up-lifting lyrics of Queen Beyoncé, but who-else! From the Album, I am …….. Sasha Fierce, the powerful woman power anthem, “Diva”.
“Na-na-na, diva is a female version of a hustla, of a, of a hustla, of a, of a hustla
[……………]
I'm a diva, best believe her, you see how she gettin' paid?
She ain't callin' him to greet her, don't need him, her bed's made
This is a stick-up, stick-up (I need them bags, all that money)
We're gonna stick-up, stick-up (You see them ask, "Where that money?")
All my ladies get it up, I see you, I do the same
Take it to another level, no passengers on my plane.”
I don’t usually comment on the song lyrics, but today, I am going to ask you to pay close attention to the last two lines of the in-set lyrics. I think that that’s where you’ll take it to another level and understand my motivation in asking you to become your No. 1 Cheerleader. Without further ado, we're going to get into the topic of this blog, which is how to have the confidence to write and release your book to the world! We’ll do this by looking at the following topics:
Your Mindset
Your Why?
What she said!
Your Mindset
I believe I opened this blog by saying that your mind is a powerful thing. Well it is indeed! We need to pause and reflect. We know that sometimes we need to give our minds a “Spring Clean” to make sure that it serves us. Often people have doubts about whether they can or should write a book or tell their story. Consider the list below:
I think that people will ridicule my book
I am afraid that I am not expert enough
I am afraid no-one will buy my book
I am afraid no-one wants to hear my story
My story/thoughts or experiences don’t really matter
I am not going to say anything new
Insert your own
Did any of these resonate with you? Ok, well then guess what, these are thoughts that don’t serve you! I would kindly ask you to “not be too hard on yourself” and to “feel the fear and do it anyway!” You do have something unique to say and you should have the confidence to write it and share it with the world. It can be a lonely job, but join a group and get held accountable. You can do it! There are links in the resources to writers support groups. Most of all be kind to yourself and reflect on your “Why?”. Which brings us neatly to the next section of this blog.
Your Why?
So you have cleared the doubts and the fears and you’re ready to start writing your book. Great! One final thing to consider is why are you writing this book. Consider the list below:
So more people will like me
To get my own back on “x,y,z” person, institution or organisation
It will make me a tonne of money
Everyone who is anyone in my industry has written a book
Insert your own self-esteemed based reason here.
Look at the above list. Can you see a pattern or issue emerging? Well the reasons noted above are not based on impact, legacy, vision or desire to share something that is truly aligned with what is referred to as the “higher self”. Wow, that sounds deep! What is that your “higher self” is your higher consciousness, where you are truly aligned with yourself, the universe, your deeply held values and your true authentic self in all your magnificent glory. If you like it’s you operating at your highest self and being at one with what you truly desire and not what you think you need. Whether or not you believe in spiritual practice or other realms, the point I am making is if you are writing your book or your story to build up your self esteem as the sole purpose, you will find it very hard to write your book. Simply because you will be very much concerned with the external validation that you or may not receive by writing your book.
This is why you should deeply consider your “Why” for writing your book. If your “Why for writing your book” falls into any of these reasons or similar you will find it much easier to write the book as you are less concerned about the validation, but more about a big vision or changing lives, the planet or people. Take a look at this list:
I want inspire, motivate and help people
I want to change the planet
I want to share knowledge that will help people
I want to make a different to a particular kind of person or group
I want to raise awareness of a particular issue
I have found a new way to do something and I want to teach it a lot of people
For me, I personally want to inspire, motivate and help women No. 1. No. 2 is legacy, if I can help a fraction of the people that Susan Jeffers or Louise Hay have then I’ll be a very happy woman. I believe that I have some experiences which have changed my life for the better and have enabled me to be the coach that I am today which I wish to share with the world.
Are you inspired yet?
Today I am going to give you 4 tips on how you should get started on your own book, blog or story.
1 Choose a deadline and writing goal
One of my mantras is “make a plan, take action and stay focussed”. To write a book it is helpful to set yourself, daily, weekly, and monthly writing goals. Commit to a specific date that you wish to finish the draft of your book. Make a poster, put it on the wall and get held accountable whether that’s privately or publicly.
2 Decide what the book is about
Brainstorm and think about what you want to write about so you can stay focussed. Do some research but don’t get stuck there! There are many ways to think creatively, but the main thing here is to think about what are you really passionate about, what experiences do you have to share and what could you write about for the days and weeks that it takes to complete your book.
3 Get guidance and a book template
To write a book you will need help. Which is great, because there are so many tools and resources to help you do that depending on your genre and type of book. I would recommend reading a book about the type of book you intend to write. I would also download a free book template to help give you structure to the chapters of your book. It is really helpful to follow a structure to help you as the writer but also your reader in the long-term.
4 Be Kind to Yourself & Don’t Force It!
Like with anything serious that you want to do, you know what’s coming! It could take days, weeks, months or even years to write your book. Be patient with yourself and give yourself credit for all the effort that you make towards creating your book. Writing a book isn’t for everyone, don’t do it for the sake of doing it! Also if you start with one topic and that doesn’t feel right, then for goodness sake, please change the topic of the book and start again! It is better to have started your book 3 times with different topics until you find the one where you are truly heart aligned. I believe that you will find the book or story that you were born to write.
This is me today, 30th June looking happy knowing I have almost finished my book!