Gratitude and Getting Ready
I am SO GRATEFUL.
Grateful to family and friends and fellow bloggers who have supported me and encouraged me on this epic journey of fulfilling intentions.
Today is August 31. My big intention for the month of August was to PUBLISH.
It’s in the nick of time, no? I mean am I a master at procrastination or what?
Hehe, just kidding. I’ve had the files done for about a week, but the process of uploading to CreateSpace, looking at the them, going back and correcting any glitches (which, in my case were these little random lines that would appear at the edges of images), and probably 43 PDF versions later, I ordered a proof on Saturday, August 26.
The proof got here Tuesday and I thought I was good to go. I had family look at it, and today, I brought it to work and had colleagues look at it. It wasn’t until someone said, “hmm, it looks like those words are cut off on that first page,” did I catch any tiny mistakes.
Ayiiee!
So, here it is, Wednesday night (although this post will be published on Thursday after the book is released) and I’ve uploaded a new file, which takes 24 hours to process.
I’m mindfully cool as a cucumber.
It’s a process, step by step with predictable bumps.
But it’s all worth it. I have produced something I’m extraordinarily proud of and genuinely hope others will enjoy.
About the Journal
Friends, I gotta say, I always feel a little dorky on videos. Ha!
But, this has been a labor of love!
A friend recently asked me, “where did you get the inspiration to put this together?”
I had to think all the way back to the original Tree of Life post that I did at the beginning of the year. And that tree still stands in my living room – with the ornaments gently reminding me of the intentions I’ve set for myself.
When it came to creating the journal, I took what I considered to be the most important parts of my personal development journey and compiled them into what became this journal.
It was a process of self-discovery: for the eventual journal owner, but for me as well.
The journal pages occur in sets of five, for a total of six sets of the following activities:
- Setting intentions
- Expressing gratitude
- Coloring
- Active mindfulness/meditation
- Introspective writing prompt
So, yes, there are coloring pages inside, and I’ve sprinkled the whole book with poetry, haikus, personal thoughts, doodles and more – all this from the feedback from my coloring book launch party.
The Process
Starting in June 2017, I began brainstorming ideas and prompts for the journal.
Slowly, but surely, it all came together on 84 slides in PowerPoint.
From there, I added designs – in modified form – from the coloring book as a point of departure.
Then I went to my drawing notebook and began to create more coloring pages, doodles, lines and little drawings that would put the perfect touches on each page of the book.
I created poems and haikus over many summer afternoons. And occasionally while traveling.
Then, when I thought I was finished, I exported the journal into a PDF.
And you know the rest of the story: uploaded a new file with the fixed text. 24 hours later, everything’s approved and it’s on the market!
Also, a special thank you to Melanie who’s mentioned in the book for her edits.
The Journal’s For Sale!
I wanted to publish this post because I can say the book is available.
I hit the publish button 30 minutes ago.
But, it’s not on Amazon just yet: it takes 3-5 days to appear on there.
So, it’s in the CreateSpace store. And the Amazon link is here.
But, I’m publishing NOW so that you all can be sure that I fulfilled the requirements for the LIFE Project this month. I take this project very seriously and want folks to know when or if I trip up and when I’m successful.
If you’re subscribed to the blog via email, I’ll send out the first activity for free (that is in the journal) tomorrow afternoon in the weekly newsletter.
What a fun process. On to the next project! Updates for the September part of the LIFE Project will go out with a regularly scheduled post on Monday. I’ll be starting my forays into a plant-based diet tomorrow.
Thank you, Dear Ones. I’m so grateful for you all!