On the Road to Clarity...

Manifest Destiny

This has been a very interesting week. I think that I am finally in a place where I am clear about what I want to do with my life and I am beginning to manifest that reality. Not only have I been writing more consistently, I am beginning to see the personal narrative and the theoretical aspects of my book weave together nicely. Every phase in my life opened up my awareness and, upon reflection, I am uncovering the bases for the propositions I put forth in "The Other N Word."

I also secured my first writing gig, nothing too sexy, but definitely an opportunity to become more disciplined about my writing, make some extra money and potentially turn the opportunity into something more substantial down the line.

Flexibility

So, at the beginning of this process I set three goals: 1) write a draft of my book, 2) launch Muse, and 3) work with Sheila Johnson. I now realize that Muse doesn't need to be "launched", it has now been in existence for two years. Sometimes we get so caught up in how we thought something would look when it happened, that we are blind to the reality. I Am The Muse and every endeavor that I pursue falls under The Muse umbrella. I have decided to focus on myself as my main client and my book as the project and Muse is moving right along.

As for working with Sheila Johnson, this is still on my goal list but I have decided to be bold and go after what I really want instead of thinking of random projects that we might work together on or trying to jump on the bandwagon of something she already has going. Maybe like a year or so ago, I had a conversation with one of my mentors, Kathy McCampbell Vance, about how I might work with Sheila Johnson. At the time, I was a bright eyed, bushy tailed "baby-preneur" so I dared to asked for what I really wanted. At the time I could not believe that I said it out loud, but I had randomly heard that Sheila Johnson was interested in writing her autobiography or telling her story, and I declared that I wanted to be in on that. I have since envisioned myself taking part in making this a reality. She is the first black female billionaire and barely anyone, outside certain circles, knows her name. Because I am so intrigued by her, I seem to have attracted people who have known her at various points in her life dating back to when she used to teach music before BET and all of her worldly success all the way to present day. I decided that "The Other N Word" is my opportunity to show that I am a serious writer and can complete an autobiographical work and this will lead me to my opportunity to approach her about helping her realize her dream of getting her story written.

So, in the end it all comes together and everything is pointing toward me needing to focus on writing my book in order to open the door to everything else. My doubts and fears surrounding this endeavor are melting away and I am building the confidence needed to complete this task. I am beginning to have the feeling that I had when the Muse vision was revealed to me and this time I am in complete control of the outcome. The other day another piece of the puzzle came to me regarding the potential publisher of my book, so I am very interested to see how that turns out.

Needless to say, the number of pages written needs to grow at the rate of my unfolding vision for the outcome of the book. Today I plan to do some significant damage...I awoke this morning at 4:30am motivated and anxious to write. I read through all my blog posts and felt inspired by my honesty with myself and the fact that each of my posts provide motivation and content for my completed book. I think I will try to get back to sleep and wake up renewed and ready to work.