2015 was an amazing year for me. I learned a few things on the way.
1. DO IT SCARED – The biggest lesson I learned in 2015 and one I will continue using is that I can do it scared. There were a lot of things that scared me in 2015 but I didn’t let the fear control me or stop me. I continued to move forward. I did it scared.
2. Be Ready For Opportunities – My local librarian sent me an email about an event at the main library. I contacted the host and was the last person to sign up. I could have procrastinated on the event and missed out on an amazing time in my life.
3. Being A Coach Is An Amazing Experience – Yes I’m am the teacher, but I also can be the student, something I loved. My clients taught me so much and I look forward to learning from my new clients this year.
4. Appointments help me from being a procrastinator – I teach using a calendar in your promotion, but I learned I needed to make an appointment with myself or I would push the to do thing over to the next day and before I knew it, I didn’t complete it. So appointments help me complete my to do list.
5. Listening Is Good – I’m a talker and sometimes I forget to listen. As I learn to be a better coach, I’ve learned to listen more. It also has helped in my family life. I had a habit of half listening, now I’m giving my all attention.
6. Me Time – I need to do better at making time for me. I need my monthly massages, and pedicures. I deserve them, so I’m making appointments on the calendar instead of saying I’m going to. It never happens.
7. Being A Published Author ROCKS – Why didn’t I do this a long time ago? I’ve been in two anthologies, so I’ve been a published author for a few years, but I guess it didn’t feel like it to me because my name wasn’t on the book. Seeing your name on the book, takes you to another level.
8. Selling Books Is Hard – I knew this but it really sank in when it was my turn to sell books. It’s all about the right reader. My mission for the rest of my writing life is to find the right reader.
9. Promotion Is A Daily Practice – I teach my clients this and I had to have a few Virtual Tea With LaShaunda sessions for myself. Because some days I was in I don’t want to mode, but you can’t meet new readers in the I don’t want to mode.
10. A Letter From A Reader Can Brighten Your Year – My first reader letter came from Tesa Irven. It made all those days of rereading the book, dealing with fear of nobody would read it or buy it, pushing forward when I wanted to give up, so worth it all. She let me know that the book I wrote to help writers was doing just that, helping her meet new readers. I’m still smiling.
Bonus Lesson – Social Media Works – I started a new platform, Periscope last summer and it opened me up to a new audience. It also let me have conversation with different people, one of them happen to be Chandra Sparks Splond, who requested for me to submit my book. This girl is going to be a published FICTION author. That was the best lesson ever.
What lessons did you learn in 2015?
