Risa Leigh, Author
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If I start the journey of a thousand miles, what happens if I falter at mile 10…or 20 or…

2/21/2016

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            My book came out this week.  What an amazing journey!  To go from a spark of an idea all the way to a book you can hold in your hand.  I’ve dreamed about this since I was in the fifth grade.  I’m thrilled, absolutely thrilled, especially when I think about how many times in my life that I gave up.
            Don’t get me wrong, I knew I had to write.  That was a given.  Even if I never published, I kept scribbling because I have a deep need to express myself.  It was my joy in the act of writing that allowed me to start so many times, sure that this time I would make it to the end.
            I did what the motivation experts suggested.  I surrounded myself with like minded people.  I joined writers groups and I formed them.  I tended to be most sympathetic with those people who procrastinated…like me. I put up motivational sayings everywhere, but it seemed I wrote more motivational sayings than manuscripts.  I set goals only to watch myself abandon them.  Nothing seemed to work.
            Then I lost some precious people in my life.  Finally the fear of time running out pushed me passed my self-doubt.  It was a wake-up call to get serious about my writing.  This time I pulled out all the stops.  Julia Cameron’s The Artist Way became my bible. I believed and practiced the habit of writing every day, even if it was morning pages.  I still procrastinate some days but I find a way to make it up in other days.  I used Wayne Dyer’s suggestion from Wishes Fulfilled to Photoshop a “cover” for my book, and I put it by my computer.  Every day I had something to focus on.  I really needed it during the agonizing process of revising.  And all of this took a long time.  A really long time.
            If I’d known how long it would take, would I have quit?  It would have been tempting because I still carry those bits of self-doubt.  Sometimes the only way to keep going is to think about how much I’ve already invested and fight like hell not to waste it.
            I persevered and now I have a beautiful book to hold in my hand.  Even though I faltered and stumbled and wanted to stop, I made the journey all the way to the end.  One of those sayings that I still rely on is this one: “The day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.”

1 Comment
Jo-Sandra
2/24/2016 05:55:04 am

Risa,
Achieving your childhood dream is something that few accomplish. You have been an inspiration to me throughout your journey.
Congratulations.

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    RISA LEIGH

    A woman with a pen, a story and a mission.

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