Lamisha Serf-Walls

Letting Go Of The “How”

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Yesterday I set the date for action on writing my first children’s book.  I was excited, a little anxious, but mostly excited.  The words were forming in my head and if it weren’t for my day job, I would have immediately grabbed a pen and paper and started writing.  One of you wonderful readers called me brave for setting the date and I hadn’t even written one word yet.  I was feeling far beyond optimistic.  I had decided my dream would come true and nothing was going to stop me until….

I started wondering (more like worrying) about the “how”.  How am I going to get this writing contract by the end of the year when I didn’t know the first thing about getting a book published?  Do I need an agent or can I just send my proposal and manuscript on my own?  Where do I find the right publishers?  How long will it take?

The questions just wouldn’t stop and as I started researching the “how”, I became frozen in fear.  There were so many websites saying how hard it is to get a book published let alone a children’s book, and how long the process takes.  The rejections will come flying in or you won’t hear anything at all.  As I read all I kept feeling was my dream slowly deflating.  I wish I could say I was easily able to brush it off and find my positive place again, but I can’t.  Instead I fell into a fog of disappointment and fear that carried over to this morning.

I woke up feeling uneasy, overwhelmed, and just off.  I couldn’t put my finger on it but as soon as I began writing this post the fog began to lift.  I then remembered this…I don’t have to know the “how” right this second.  I don’t have to figure it all out right now.  If I can float on my excitement and creativity and keep my dream alive, the Universe will conspire to help me.  With a positive attitude I will be led to the path that is right for me and while so many naysayers (online at least) have stated the difficult road that lies ahead, I am choosing to believe it doesn’t have to be that way.  Just as easily as so many other pieces in my life have fallen into place, this will too one way or another.

I don’t have to know the “how” in order to believe it is possible.  In fact, no knowing the “how” makes it that much more exciting.

Setting The Date For Action

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I have written a lot on my blog about flowing with the current of life and being in the moment because these are two things I personally need to practice daily.  And while I believe them to be key components to living a happy and fulfilling life, I also know a good dose of action is important as well.  The key is balance.  So as a piggy back to my post about revisiting resolutions, I am setting a bit of a plan for one of my resolutions.

I decided in 2012 that I really wanted to take my writing to a new level and accomplish my dream of writing a book.  I came up with a non-fiction book idea for adults, but have since decided to get my feet wet first with writing a series of children’s books.  In January I made some progress by inquiring about prices for editing and incidentally made a contact for a possible illustrator for the books that have yet to be written.  In the excitement of finding not only an editor, but also a potential illustrator, I decided I wanted a book deal by the end of 2013.  (Insert face of surprise and butterflies).

The idea that I would be a real life, published children’s author is far beyond my wildest dreams and somewhere in my mind, I wondered if it were possible.  Can I do this?  Can I really write a book that will be successful etc?  Those questions and so many more have led me to put it off and find many excuses for why I haven’t begun.  The ideas are floating around in my head, but nothing has made it to paper…yet.

I have since decided it is time for me to put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard) and let my ideas come to life.  The book isn’t going to write itself and we are already 3 months into the year, so if I want a book deal for not just one book, but for the entire series, I better get moving.  So, here I am setting the date for when I will begin working on my first book of the series (March 20th if not before).  The loose plan is to have the book written and ready for the editor in a month and off to the illustrator shortly after that.

I realize I am diving into uncharted waters now and there is a certain amount of fear that is natural, but the bigger part of me is excited for what I am doing.  I dreamed this dream for a reason and am so excited to get the ball rolling.  December will be here before you know it and I can’t wait to share with you the good news of my book contract, because I know without a shadow of a doubt it will happen.  🙂

So tell me, have you set a date to begin any of your goals/dreams for this year?  What are you waiting for?  Don’t let fear stop you from moving forward even if it is just a teeny, tiny step.

Letter To My Future Self 2013

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I have a confession to make.  I had the best intentions to get this letter completed in the first or second week of the year, but time got away from me.  Life happened both at work and at home and things just got plain busy, however I made a commitment to myself (and to you) that I would write this letter and so I have chosen to share (and write) it here.  There is a part of me that believes it wasn’t pure lack of planning and busyness that caused me to wait, but maybe a deeper knowing in what I wanted to say in the letter had to brew awhile before it was ready.  Well, ready or not, here it is…

Dear Lamisha,

When I look at the woman standing before me I am amazed.  Not only in the confidence you exude, but also the pure peace that emanates from your being.  The woman I knew in 2012 is long gone and a newer, more peaceful and centered woman stands before me, transformed.  I wish I could tell you that this transformation happened overnight, but you know better than that.  This transformation has taken place in much the same way all changes take place.  Step-by-step.  But it all started with your theme of the year.  Do you remember?  To simply be open.  To some it is vague, but for you it was a true lesson and the starting point of this transformation.

You see, by your willingness to be open to what life, the Universe, God, etc. has to offer and letting go of your control where you needed to, you welcomed in a trust you have never known before.  A trust that all is happening in the right time, for the right reasons, and this journey you are on is a wonderful adventure when you are open.  And it can be fun too!

Do you remember what your letter looked like for 2012?  Of course you do, it was cluttered with income amounts, possessions you wanted to have, and specific expectations that the old you wanted too much to control and yet very little on that list came to be and why is that?  Could it be you didn’t let go of the wheel enough to allow things to happen in their own time?  Possibly, or more likely it was all part of your path to get you here.  To the state of peace in allowing life to flow.

Please don’t think that ‘peace’ is your only accomplishment for this year, though it is your greatest, there are many other very exciting opportunities, situations, and adventures that you were open to.  Sure your blog following has grown, your book idea is no longer just an idea, your midnight hustle has developed into a more substantial income, and your life coach dream is taking flight, but even if all of that hadn’t happened and peace is all that was gained this year…it would be enough.  Because within peace lies the space to allow the magic of your dreams to come true.  And though I want to share with you every teeny, tiny, delightful morsel of your best year yet, and to warn you of some potential challenges, I will leave it to you to explore and enjoy.  Just know that as you move, evolve, and grow this year, you are transforming step-by-step into the peacefully grounded woman standing before me.

Enjoy the ride!

Very Inspiring Blogger Award

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inspiring-blogger-award

I am very grateful and excited to announce that last week I was nominated for a Very Inspiring Blogger Award by Mia at Lights of Clarity.  I am happy to know my blog is turning out to be exactly what I had hoped for, a place to share my journey and in turn inspire others to follow their dreams.  Thank you very much Mia!

The rules for accepting the award are:

1. Display the award logo,

2. Link back to the person who nominated you,

3. State 7 things about yourself,

4. Nominate 15 other bloggers for this award and link to them.

Seven Things About Myself:

1.  I am a hopeless romantic and cry at the drop of a hat when watching heart-felt movies

2.  In addition to my writing here on the blog, I also write for a kids app review site (www.bestappsforkids.com) and write book reviews for New Consciousness Review (www.ncreview.com)

3.  My creativity doesn’t just involve writing, I am also a choreographer/dancer though I haven’t danced in a few years

4.  I was once a tap dancing Santa in a holiday show, actually not one show, we actually did around 20 shows in one month

5.  I am a true book worm, though these days I am finding it difficult to fit as much reading into my schedule as I would like.  At this moment I am in the middle of at least 4 books with many more waiting 🙂

6.  I believe we all have a soul purpose here in this life and mine is to help inspire others find theirs

7.  I am a dreamer 🙂

My nominations for blogs that inspire are:

jumpforjoyphotoproject.wordpress.com

chrysalisjourney.wordpress.com

mymeanderingtrail.com

onehotmessage.wordpress.com

luggagelady.net

steadilyskippingstones.com

candycoatedreality.com

400daystil40.wordpress.com

suedreamwalker.wordpress.com

jelenaneylan.com

spiritualworldtravelerblog.com

abcofspiritalk.wordpress.com

crystalchild.wordpress.com

betweenfearandlove.com

100thingschallenge.wordpress.com

I hope you check out these blogs and enjoy them as much as I do. 🙂

Do The (Midnight) Hustle

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Over the last few years I have come in contact with a handful of innovators looking to start (or recently started) their own businesses in various ways.  Some people were following their creative hearts, while others were simply looking for a way to be their own boss and spend more time with their families, but regardless of what these people were doing, one thing was common amongst them, the midnight hustle.

If you don’t know what that is let me explain.  The midnight hustle is the way many new business owners, creators, and innovators make their business dreams a reality.  Let’s face it, not many of us have the riches to simply quit our day jobs to follow our dreams without cultivating and growing our business on the side and by “on the side”, it likely means during the midnight hours when other people are sleeping, hence the name midnight hustle.  And with that midnight hustling often comes late nights, less sleep, hard work, and hopefully amazing inspiration to keep you moving toward your dreams so you can one day quit your day job and enjoy the fruits of your labor doing something that you truly enjoy.  And while I am far from quitting my day job, I am experiencing a bit of my own hustle as I reach beyond my comfort zone into new opportunities and new territory.  It’s exciting and terrifying all at the same time.

I have talked a little bit about my dream of starting my own life coaching business, but the truth is my dream isn’t to start the business per se, it is really to help people through my business.  I thought the path would be fairly straight forward, but I am finding that I may be taking a bit more of the scenic route as opposed to the straight shot as I go with the flow of life.  The programs I have found in the last year haven’t really touched me in the way that makes me think, “Yes this is the ONE!”, so I have been researching various programs in hopes to find the one that best fits my purpose and calling.  I think I have finally found it.  (YAY!) But, with it comes a pretty hefty price tag, one that is about double the price of the last program I was going to settle on.  So, it looks like the actual training may be put off longer than expected, but as you well know I am not one to sit around and do nothing and being the jack of many trades that I am, I am following an equally creative and exciting interest, writing.

The truth is I have always enjoyed writing but I have just recently begun to make some money from it and it is becoming a bit of a midnight hustle for me.  While I only have one regular gig right now, I am learning that the key to having one or many midnight hustles is balance and knowing your limit, both things I am working on right now.  I am very aware of the amount of time I have in my days (and nights) to complete writing projects and am working on a bit of a writing schedule that will allow me to continue to share my journey here on my blog (because I love it so much), and to still complete writing projects in a timely manner.  My hope is that my current midnight hustle will help support the training I need for life coaching and things will seamlessly flow with one another leading to (one day) quitting my day job to do something I love.  But, until that day comes I am going to consciously balance my time to include self-care, meditation, and family because life shouldn’t be all about work, it should be fun too.

Do you have a midnight hustle? If so what is it?