THE LIFE-CHALLENGE SERIES: DREAMS DO COME TRUE

A little story about accomplishing a dream. In September 2003, I began shopping my first novel, One Man's Treasure, to publishing houses through my (then) agent. For more than three years, it was repeatedly rejected. Though I never lost confidence in myself or the fact that my book was definitely mainstream worthy, I was outraged with the amount of time it was taking for this dream to manifest. At one point, the upset grew into desperation, and I literally used to cry myself to sleep with my manuscript either clutched in my arms all night, or with it next to my pillow, and I used to promise my characters, like a homeless mother with children, that I would "find us a home" in the mainstream world. I can't even tell you how much "when is it gonna be tiiiiime?!" crying I did. It was exhausting, and quite pitiful, to be truthful.

But things finally changed, and here's how: You can only have (and keep) what you don't smother with desperate actions and energy. So one day, I got sick of chasing and crying over mainstream, and I set out to publish the book myself. I did that in May 2007. And I was very content. I realized that even though it would still be nice to have that book deal, I did not "need" mainstream to be successful. I sold hundreds of books on my own. Seven months later, when I was happily preoccupied with my accomplishment, and nearly done writing the sequel, And They'll Come Home, I got a call from a literary agent friend who told me that bestselling author Carl Weber was starting a line of women's fiction books, and that One Man's Treasure would be a good fit. I sent her my manuscript, and a month later, she called to tell me that Kensington was offering me a two-book deal.

For more than three years, I lost my mind trying to get one book deal, and now I had two, because I let go and moved on, happily. *Side note: I never intended to write a sequel, but the woman who convinced me to do it was one of the readers of my 2007 version of One Man's Treasure. To this day, I still declare that And They'll Come Home is my greatest literary achievement. It's very special, complex work that I had no idea I could do, and I'm so in love with it. Thanks to Angela B. Brown's convincing, I had the second book in the two-book deal almost done when it was offered to me.

Whatever you're chasing after desperately, it won't truly be yours until you can detach from it, find your peace, and move on without it, with confidence.

Now, to get them both made into movies, STAT!

READ ONE MAN'S TREASURE

READ AND THEY'LL COME HOME (THE SEQUEL)

For more information about Life Challenge consulting, please visit HONOR THE SPIRIT. 

THE LIFE-CHALLENGE SERIES: PRIORITY #1

If you desire scenario A but you currently have scenario B, it's because some part or all of scenario B is where your priority lies. Your top priority will always win out over all other desires, no matter how badly you say you want them. There's something in that scenario that is so important to you that you won't leave it.

A word of caution: sometimes the scenario you're holding on to may not be something that's bringing you true joy and peace of mind. You may not be creating value from it, and it may not be adding to the enrichment of your life and the lives of others. Rather, you may be holding on out of fear of what your life will be like without it—that you won’t be able to handle your life without it. Maybe you're afraid to make a change for the better because you think "better" may not arrive for a really long time. Maybe you think there's nothing better; but if there is, maybe you don't think you deserve it. Maybe you're holding on to save face (everyone's watching you, already judging; you can't let them see you fail; this has to work!). Or, you may be accustomed to a certain feeling or status you get from your priority that you're not ready to part with. Priorities and how they serve us are not always healthy, but they're all-powerful, nonetheless. And if you’re holding on out of fear and you can’t seem to muster the courage to let go, then you can end up feeling trapped and hopeless.

Sometimes, there's something in your scenario that is truly valuable and fulfilling for your soul, so even though there's discomfort in other areas of the situation, possibly even a little unhappiness, you deal with it because you have more peace of mind than you do misery. However, if you're dealing with it negatively, then you'll be unable to move toward a better outcome. In order to transform these types of scenarios, you'll need to shift your energy from complaint and resentment to a place of acceptance (of your reality and the fact that you're choosing it), appreciation (for the fact that this scenario allows you to do or have this great thing), and proactive reactions to your circumstances and the people in it, instead of negative ones.

Learning how to move through the discomfort in this way will eventually open the door for either complete changes within the scenario that will yield you the full peace you desire, or a new scenario that will deliver it. But unless you change your attitude and perception about the situation, things will stay the same, and possibly get worse.

Take a look at the situations you’re in that you’re having difficulty with, that you say you wanna be done with, but month after month, year after year, there you are, still enduring the challenges. Really go deep within yourself while looking carefully at every aspect of the situation(s), and pinpoint what’s keeping you there. Because the bottom line is, you have choices. You’re not actually trapped. You can move on, pursue another path, free yourself from all the hardship. But something’s got hold of you, something you either really don’t wanna give up because it’s serving you in a good way, or you’re afraid of the consequences you think await you if you leave. What is it? Once you get honest and clear about what your true priority is, and why, you'll be able to navigate your circumstances in a way that will manifest the best outcome for all involved. 

Are you ready to get with me and tackle your challenges through a one-on-one consultation? If so, then I invite you to visit my site and set up a free assessment so we can determine if we're a good fit.

CONSULTS WITH HUSTLE DIVA 

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THIS WAY TO TRANSFORMATION

My Life Challenge and Life Mission services are only for those who are truly ready to face their lives and take the necessary steps to move forward ... now, not later. They are not for those who only want to lament and not take any action to do and be better, or for those who are only seeking a comfortable or easy way to "deal." Transformation is rarely easy or comfortable, but it's always worth it in the end. Your self-esteem and confidence will skyrocket, you'll have greater peace of mind, and you'll be motivated to not only stay on your new path because the change feels so good, but you'll also want to continue pursuing advancement on all fronts.

During our consults, my mission will be:
1. to guide and advise you on how you can be consistently proactive toward your happiness and comfort in whatever situation(s) you present to me;
2. to inspire you to tap into your own limitless reserve of wisdom and confidence, and be totally honest with yourself so you can make the best choices for yourself—regardless of what others think you should do or want you to do;
3. to help you move through those trying crucial moments that can often lead you to throw in the towel on your circumstances, yourself, and even your life; and
4. to uncover the fears that are keeping you trapped in your situation.

Both services were created from two of my books: Building Faith and Character Through Life Challenges and You Are What You Say You Are: Claiming Your Life's Mission & Living Your Dream (read more about these books HERE and HERE), so the nice thing is that these services already have a solid foundation. Initially, my only plan was to offer the books to the public, but after getting such great feedback on both of them, and after assessing some of the specific positive comments I received, I realized that offering one-on-one consultations based not so much on their content, but instead on their overall individual missions, would enable me to help people in a more effective way.

Both books are offered for free with their respective consultation, but you're more than welcome to purchase one or both beforehand so you can learn about me and my experience with both subjects, get a feel for what my intention is with them, and how I've been able to build the services around them. Who knows? You might be able to get ahead of the game with your transformation. If you're in an open enough mindset, you could utilize the book(s) alone to work through your life challenge or life mission issues.

If you're ready for change now, then I'm ready to help you get there. If you're not sure you're ready yet, then I invite you to visit the Life-Challenge and/or Life-Mission Consultation sections on my website, and partake in the free 20-minute Intention and Energy Assessment, to learn more about the service(s). Details in the link below.

I look forward to helping you advance!

Consultations with Hustle Diva

To order one or both books, please do so here: Purchase Books