My Magnetism Used to Be Fleeting Until Lacy’s Work
There have been many times in my life that I have felt in my magnetism. And yet, these periods are typically fleeting. It's one of the reasons I have been drawn to Lacy's work. To understand how and why I have been magnetic, and how to more consciously (and subconsciously!) cultivate it.
Ever since I was 18 years old, I wanted to write a best-selling nutrition book and be on Oprah. I started on the path, going to university for dietetics, and kind of got bogged down in the day to day of going to school and make a life. However, I have always been a list maker. At the top of the list was my book, owning my house (I had never lived in a house before!) and having my own TV show. Throughout my 20s, my lists felt like distant fantasies...but when I was 30, something shifted when I gave birth to my first child. The birth of my son made me feel incredibly potent. Creating a life was the ultimate expander for me. If the body could do this, without any conscious input, what could I do with real effort and intention??
I was working in a job that in my 20s, felt like my dream job...but over time, it started to feel like a grind. Like I was spinning my wheels - and I didn't want to spend the rest of my life doing the same thing. I thought that I could start writing while I was off on maternity leave but the reality was that I had very little time to my sleep - and very little time for creative thought. It was frustrating, but I just went back to work because hey, I needed a pay check! It took me about a year, but I started getting interesting pings from the universe, like a call from a someone I had never met who worked for a national health food brand who offered me a spokesperson gig. Then another one, two weeks later!
I said yes, and was so energized and excited by the work. Then, I received an interesting test: someone called again, out of the blue, to offer me a 4 city speaking gig. When I asked for the time off, my boss said no. He said that all of these side projects were starting to get in the way of my work. I was so upset. I couldn't stop thinking about it - it made me even more discontented with my current job...and then one of my spokesperson clients called to offer me another job! This felt like a very strong ping. But it didn't feel right to step into another full time job when my dream was to write the book, so I spoke with my husband about counter-offering for a more part-time relationship so that I could try and write my book. We agreed that now was the time. I could abandon my 70km commute and 55 hour work weeks to follow my dreams and have more time with my son.
So, in January of 2013, I started writing 2 days a week, and the work I needed to start paying the bills started filling up the other three days. By April, I was about 90 pages into my book, trying to research how to find a literary agent and how to get a book published and I was feeling particularly frustrated by how slow the process felt, so I scribbled "All I want for Christmas is a book deal." and walked away to go make a cup of tea. When I sat back down at my computer, I checked my email as a way of procrastinating with writing...and in my inbox was an email from a publisher in New York asking if I would be interested in writing an anti-inflammatory nutrition guide for them. It was insane! I started shaking, I couldn't believe it. It sounds fake even to write this...but it's exactly what happened.
