Guess what ??!! I only went and wrote a freaking book!! A real one. I’m still in shock myself, that the queen of procrastination and blocks managed to get something this big out there. It’s not only more than 10 pages long, but you can actually buy it in its physical form and hold in your hands!! I’m really not sure how it happened but it did and it only took me 4 years to get it out there. Just a little bit of sarcasm there. 

The book is called Dare to Sparkle. It is a journey into self care bravery. What I mean by this is that I am guiding women to make themselves, their needs and their wants a priority. A means to focusing on our own happiness and letting that guide us so that we can show up fully in our own lives. A chance to create habits and rituals that take our power back. So many women are afraid to say yes to the things that light them up and too afraid to say no to the things that others need of them. We often give our power away by letting someone or something be responsible for our happiness.   

The book is split into 30 days of self care habits and rituals. Guiding women to carve out time for themselves every single day. Self care, I have found is an easier Segway into up levelling our self love and self worth. When we truly love who we are and feel worthy of all of our desires and dreams we can achieve anything. We also will see a shift from self care feeling like a luxury to it being a daily necessity.   

I have worked with women in many areas of my current and previous businesses over the last 15 years. Time and time again I have seen them self sabotage, get overwhelmed, give up on themselves or not believe they were worth the effort. I felt the calling to take my own journey with myself and with mentoring others and share those lessons.  

Dare to Sparkle asks you to stop playing small (irony here as you read the rest of this post) and to show up brightly for yourself and others. When you shine brightly, you actually inspire others to do the same.   

Ok here comes the irony in not playing small. In my defence I’m still a student of life and what we preach is often the work we are struggling with and still working through too. So the truth is that this book took 3 years to hotch potch it together. Seriously it went through so many versions but that is the life of most perfectionists. It then took most of 2020 (because of covid) to actually get it published.  

When the final draft was ready I felt like I might vomit. Sitting and reading it through from cover to cover seemed so daunting but I did it and I actually had that moment of ‘did I really write that ?’ In a good way. You see I had forgotten most of what I had written because I had sent the copy to my editor back in March and I had thought that’s it, it’s gone, it’s done and I don’t need to worry over it anymore. It was kind of like that school paper you hand in that you have read and reread to the point that you hand it in so you don’t have to think about it anymore. Yes that’s it but I did have to think about it again.   

If this is news to you – I mean the part where I said that I wrote a book – that’s likely because I didn’t really run with it. Nope I did not shout it from the roof tops or roll out the red carpet. In fact it was like a little whisper that you aren’t even sure that you really heard. If I’m truly honest I’d say that at best it was a pretty small launch aka my friends nagged me to tell them more about it when it slipped out in conversation. I mumbled my way through what it was about and they bought it anyway. It was not an eloquent synopsis at all and still they loved on me.  So a huge thank you to all my friends and family for the love. 

It launched in October 2020 and I had a mixture of excitement and vulnerability. Hello imposter syndrome!! I think we have all met you before at some point or another. Once the wave of my immediate community had bought it, I sat and waited. I’m not sure what I was waiting for. The confirmation that I really wasn’t a writer and it was a nice try but don’t try again. What if no-one likes it ? What if I get no feedback at all ?  

Writing a book is a huge journey in letting go. So that is exactly what I did. I let go of all the feelings that were not serving me and what I received in return was priceless. Women sharing their self care adventures and stories. Women telling me about the chapter they were on and how it was going. I was getting photos of them with their book. The stories were wonderful. This was truly a gift to me.  

When I wrote the book, my hope was that at least one person that needed permission to show up fully in their own life and prioritize their own happiness would appreciate the ideas the book was gifting. That was my goal and that is what I received.  

We are all learning and growing with each lesson we are gifted in this lifetime. I know I am not for everyone and neither is every one for me. I also know that my book will not be for everyone but for some it will be the key to a life long journey of self care, self love and self worth. I am ok with all of that. I’m so ok with all of that in fact, that another book is being written by me and I’m hoping to release it this year. It’s pretty fun when you can step out of ego and just serve.  

My message here, folks, is if I can write a book then anyone else can too. Let’s get something straight here I didn’t just wake up one morning with an idea and say hey let’s write a book. I didn’t have a life long ambition to write a book. It just kind of happened. In fact the book concept came much later after the idea had percolated for a good long while. I’d tried a few different avenues to get this content out there. A book didn’t seem to be in my future until it was. I firmly believe that everything has its time and place.  

The book was inspired by my life as a people pleaser. I was one and I know a lot of women who are too. 

We want to be needed, useful and liked. We are often empathic but lack the strength to say no even when we are tired. We say yes before we have even thought how that makes us feel. We often gain our very self worth and self love from being useful and wanted by others. That is until someone gives us permission to stop. 

Dare to Sparkle is my permission to every women to stop. To give themselves the space to ask does this make me happy, do I have the space or energy for what is being asked of me and to lead their life through love for themselves. 

My book is available to purchase and pickup from me directly if you are in Vancouver Canada or you can use the button below to buy it online.

Thank you to all the beautiful beings who share their love and light with the world. 

Blessings, 

Lou 

Xo