The Title: I Knew It the Instant I Saw It

The following is the third in the series of how my book, 52 Week Game Changer: How She LEADS, went from vision to reality.

Game changer!  I was browsing through the Internet. I don’t even remember what it was that I was looking for.  But all of a sudden, there it was in bold letters as a title on some webpage.  “Game changer.”   I ran into the next room saying to my husband Russell and my dog Bruno, “That’s it!  Game changer.”  Both looked at me quizzically, not understanding the significance of the moment, but none-the-less cheered me on with “You Go, Girl!”  I knew the moment I saw those words, that they reflected the spirit of my new-to-be book.  The book would be a game changer for helping women to believe in themselves, honor their individuality, and valuing their strengths. It would be a game changer serving as a companion, confidant, cheerleader, supporter, and sponsor to women as they cultivated their leadership potential.

I knew that “Game Changer” was only part of the title.  It wouldn’t be an overnight game change.  Changing the game meant cultivating, growing, and feeling comfortable in leadership over time.  Discovering, acknowledging, and honoring personal strengths and values would be the book’s core.  Finding and then being inspired by a personal vision and motivated by purpose, developing confidence, and finding a voice would require reflection and exercise.  Committing to goals, setting accountabilities and keeping them, would mean taking simple steps on what would be a game changing journey, not a singular event. 

The title of my new-to-be book, flowed naturally:  52 Week Game Changer:  How She Leads.

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Next blog:  Revealing the Game!

From Chaos to Inspiration

The following is the second in the series of how my book, 52 Week Game Changer:  How She Leads, went from vision to reality.

The heart of my book had been revealed, but to fulfill its purpose, the book needed structure, organization, and arrangement.   Over the next couple of weeks, ideas for the book’s content, like Ping-Pong balls, popped into my head endlessly, and at the oddest times. Sometimes the ideas magically appeared while I was strolling in my town’s historic square, or when I was walking the dog, or when I woke, tossing and turning at 3:00 AM in the morning.  I ceaselessly catalogued all of them in my mind.  I doodled sketches on notepads, and wrote ideas on post-its, the grocery list, and even on the phone message log.  I struggled constantly in trying to find the right balance among the infinite thread of ideas.  Chaos seemed to reign.  But one day inspiration hit like a fireball…..the clues had been there all the time, I just hadn’t noticed until now.

I have been a career advisor, mentor, and sponsor to hundreds (and perhaps even thousands) of women over my 40 year career.  I have worked with women; I have been in a professional field made up of over 90% women and I have seen women struggle to try to make it up the career ladder.  I’ve been there myself, for goodness sake! 

I’ve seen and experienced the structural and cultural barriers that hold women back, but I also know that for many of us the center of what drives us forward in fulfilling our potential is frequently also the same as what holds us back…..it is ourselves. 

This is the inspiration that hit me like a fireball and created form out of the endless rain of ideas.  The book’s structure would be framed around ourselves….the celebration of personal strengths and values, and the discovery and commitment to a personal vision, purpose, mission and goals.  Leveraging these —strengths, values, vision, purpose, mission and goals—is the essence upon which leadership rests and when activated will not be stopped. 

In the end, we cannot truly lead others until we are inspired and can lead ourselves.

Next installment of the series:  Discover how the title of my book almost fell into my lap!