As a young girl writing love letters, my 150th podcast guest always had an inkling she'd be a writer.

It's funny though, that although Linda Sivertsen was always obsessed with books, she didn't think she was smart enough to write her own. 

As she grew her dog walking business, she contemplated something more. Then she had a series of dreams and felt like she'd been tapped on the shoulder to write books. 

But how? She didn't know anything about it! (I can totally relate. But anything is possible.)

She didn't stop there.  She learned the rules. (Sounds like curiosity to me.)

Hmm, she thought, "It can't be that hard - I'll figure it out."

Turns out that she became really good at writing for others, and at book proposals because she kept getting rejected. (Resilience.)

And then she kept being asked to help others write their proposals (through connections).

She learned, and researched, then she shared with those inquiring, and eventually found herself with a thriving book writing business.

How'd she do it?  Through dogged effort. And with these thoughts in mind.

• Each little successful moment builds momentum, which creates excitement.
• If you stick with it long enough, you'll have more wins.
• Because it's not always a clear path, you need to know what you love and follow what you love (joy). Without that fuel you won't continue.
• You can't escape it, if you're meant to do it.

Thankfully Linda learned all she did. Because now there are many more people being shown the beauty of writing a book, and on their way to changing the world with their hearts and their art.

As Linda told me during our conversation, "I don't do it half ass."

Thank goodness for that!

And so many of the themes in our conversation are related to my book chapters.  Imagine that?

More about Linda:

Linda Sivertsen, “Book Mama,” is in LOVE with books—reading, writing, and selling them. Her titles have won awards and hit all the lists as an author, co-author, and former magazine editor and ghostwriter. But her driving force has been to publish sustainably. Naïve and optimistic enough to believe in magic, she’s on a mission to save forests via her role as a Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) Ambassador. When she’s not fostering literary love matches on her Beautiful Writers Podcast (a favorite stop for writers on tour), writing, and promoting Beautiful Writers, or midwifing books at her Carmel or virtual writing retreats, Linda can be found on the back of a horse or running with her dogs. She and her husband live on their ranch in Scottsdale, Arizona.

www.bookmama.com. 

And check out my bestselling book:

Peace, Possibilities, and Perspective:
8 Secrets to Serenity and Satisfaction in Your Life and Career

https://2possibilityandbeyond.com/my-book

As a young girl, her parent's separation was a life-changing event.

But attending camp at age 7 ignited a new found curiosity and fascination with nature.

Toni Anderson knew she'd found her happy place.

Through her life and career, she marched on and struggled, becoming scrappy along the way.

Over the course of her career she began:

• Helping teams understand human relations
• Escaping to nature
• Healing, nurturing, and offering love

And when she'd struggle, she didn't know those moments were gifts. Who ever really does?

She explains that challenges are entry points to possibilities.

You are not being derailed.  You are getting clarity.

She learned to be radically honest with herself.

What are you scared of, she'd ask herself.

What do you desire and WHY?

For crying out loud, ask yourself WHY.

It's the ultimate question.

More about Toni:

tonianderson.life

And check out my bestselling book:

Peace, Possibilities, and Perspective:
8 Secrets to Serenity and Satisfaction in Your Life and Career

https://2possibilityandbeyond.com/my-book

From thinking she’d be a pediatric cardiologist to becoming a cyberspace engineer, my guest this week reminds me that life sometimes takes you in different directions.

We all know that right?

Marilyn Barrios was searching for more than a job. She wanted to help people, have an impact and help others be their best in the moments that matter.

Turns out she was great in an early sales role. Soon technical methods, engineering solutions and solving problems were her wheelhouse. She was enthralled with those concepts.

Now she's a senior leader at Motorola, but not by accident. She arrived there through many winding roads. Each time she made a change and was thinking about a new role, she asked herself how she could find something she was drawn to in that new place.

She told herself: I can define that role and develop what I want it to be. Bring your strengths to the role, she reminded herself.

• Be open, who knows what doors will open for you?
• Be prepared, but you don't have to know it all.

Do you feel fear?

That means it's a stretching opportunity for growth. Your development will always feel that way. It will be a little stretch and a little fear.

If you think about your life as being mission driven, it's easier to line up with the opportunities and not let fear get in your way.

Marilyn had so many missed opportunities and wished she would have learned that sooner.

In general, she wishes she had discovered sooner that you're not always going to be happy. You might feel crappy for a while. That's OK.

Think about how long it will take you to process and give yourself that time, and then ask yourself: what can I control?

You don't need to know it all.

Just sit with the things that are uncomfortable and ask yourself:

• What can I learn from this?
• What's the plan moving forward?
• Where will I be empowered?

Much of the time, you have a lot of control over the outcomes.  Look for those opportunities. 

You don't need to know it all.                                                       

More about Marilyn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/marilyn22/

And check out my bestselling book:

Peace, Possibilities, and Perspective:
8 Secrets to Serenity and Satisfaction in Your Life and Career

https://2possibilityandbeyond.com/my-book