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My book SHIFT: How Change Can Bring True Meaning in Your Work and Your Life, is done! Well, all the writes and re-writes are. It's with the Copy Editor now, who checks for everything from correct use of semi colons to quotes, resource checking and crediting, spelling and the occasional bad word.
I started to freak out. Done? Now what? Back to business as usual? That feels weird.
Writing a book is like having a child.
First comes the idea, which, like a baby, starts as a seed. As the idea grew I became more aware of the signs that came across my path. I loved the long process of interviewing people and writing the book, and gained regular confirmation on the direction and content of the project.
Like a child growing inside, I paid a lot of attention as to how I felt during the entire process. If someone's story about their life shift didn't feel good in my gut, I nixed it. The ones that ended up in the book flowed and morphed with ease. The process was effortless. The edits were minimal.
And then, after many iterations, I was done. Just like that. I could have rewritten ten more times, but at some point the baby is ready and you have to let it come into the world.
My role now will be more of collaborating with the publisher on the cover, the inside jacket, the back cover, the quotes.
During the next several months I will be building up my media and social network efforts and will be loading up video interviews to give future readers a glimpse of what they will get out of SHIFT. I have already been invited by organizations to speak about the book.
When you make a shift in your life to a new job, an entirely new career or relationship, you change. There is no doubt about it. You are no longer the person you were before the shift. I think that is a good thing.
It is not the strongest or the most intelligent who will survive but those who can best manage change. --Charles Darwin
Some people hate change. Habit is so much easier.
But change is good.
According to the Attitude is Altitude organization, change helps you grow, teaches you to be flexible, gives you confidence and, among other benefits, makes you more compassionate.
When my second child was born and we learned that he was mentally delayed, my life shifted in a way I never thought. Yet through the challenging years of raising him while holding down consecutive careers as consultant, investment banker, executive recruiter and author, I found strength.
•I wrote a song about him that aired on the radio.
•I started a Non Profit that raised money for Special Education.
•I got him into one of the leading living facilities in the country which happened to be in my community.
Out of all the shifts in my life, it was the shift of raising a disabled child that gave me the greatest perspective. Much of that perspective reflected back to me as I interviewed CEOs, Venture Capitalists, Non Profit Entrepreneurs, Wellness Coaches and Spiritual Leaders in the writing of SHIFT. Many of the messages that they offered were so similar to those I felt deep inside while raising my child.
•When you have purpose, you find happiness.
•Loosen up, don't take yourself so seriously. Have fun in life.
•We all go through internal struggles. No one is spared.
•Control only that which you can and go with the flow.
•Have a belief in something greater than yourself.
•Serve others; it is a key to finding meaning in your work and life.
The most interesting revelation in the entire process of writing SHIFT was the realization that my son already knew all of these things, and at 24, he has the mind of a young child.
- Learn from others along your way to your brass ring in life. Don't be so hard on yourself. Don't be afraid to make mistakes. You will only get better. Pay attention to the signs along the way; they will appear when it is time to shift and you will know to follow them.
Here's to everyone birthing a project, a child, a purpose, a dream.
We are all capable of doing and being anything we want in life.
So if you are in the midst of a shift, or have just made one, don't freak out. Embrace it. Change is inevitable. We will all change at different times in our life. Shifting never ends and that is a good thing.
Jody B. Miller is the CEO of C2C Executive Search & Strategic Management. She also writes books about work/life balance, articles for The Huffington Post and LinkedIn about topics we think about (yet don't always talk about), and novels about love and friendship. Her new book; SHIFT, How to Find True Meaning in Your Work and in Your Life, will be in stores in late 2016...