Bust Through Limiting Beliefs to Write Your Book

by Jamie Shapiro, PhD, CEO and Founder, Connected EC, author of Brilliant: Be the Leader Who Shines Brightly Without Burning Out (Modern Wisdom Press, 2020)

(The following is an excerpt from the Foreword to Awaken Into Flow: The Soulful Leaders Guide to Writing a Transformational Book by Catherine S. Gregory.)

It was a Thursday afternoon, and my introductory call with Catherine was in ten minutes. I had my entire speech prepared to tell her all the reasons we couldn’t work together. I had done my research and knew she only worked with authors who wrote their own books. I would tell her how nice it was to meet her but explain that I wasn’t a writer. The truth was that I had completely given up on writing my book, and the only reason I was having this call with Catherine was that a friend of mine had made the introduction.

I had previously spent two years with a ghostwriter trying to get my book into the world. Sadly, those two years failed to produce a book that felt authentic to my voice. I took a deep breath before the meeting started—it was time to let go of this dream of becoming a published book author once and for all.

Catherine and I started our call right on time at 3:00 p.m. Her warmth, professionalism, extensive publishing experience, and energy made me relax immediately, but not back down from my prepared speech. We spoke for about ten minutes before I started down my prepared path of telling her I was not a good fit for her publishing company since I am not a writer. Two minutes into my speech, Catherine asked me, “What makes you think you are not a writer?” After I explained I am a speaker, not a writer, and offered other various excuses, she asked me one of the most powerful questions I have ever been asked: “How is not being a writer working out for you?”

I was stumped. She gently suggested that the story I was telling myself was the exact self-limiting belief holding me back. Even though I am an experienced executive coach and teach Fortune 500 executives the importance of recognizing the beliefs that get in their way, I could not see my own. I had been holding that I was not a writer since I first found out I had dyslexia as a high school student. I believed I was a speaker who was unable to write my thoughts.

In our work together, Catherine beautifully helped me see how wrong I was.

From that first Zoom call, she held the space for me to step into the possibility that I could write my book and utilize her framework to make it joyful. I believe every person comes into your life for a reason, so I decided to dive in.

What I learned through our work together helped me change my story. The combination of structure, internal reflection, visualization, and process created the conditions for my book to pour out of me. It was unlike anything I had ever felt or experienced. I would wake up early in the morning excited to write and become immersed in states of flow in the writing process. I truly felt joyful writing my book.

Catherine’s guidance was the key to unlocking something I never knew I had inside of me. The combination of touching my soul’s work with the needed organization to make it come out effectively and with flow was pure alignment. If you had told me I would feel this way before meeting Catherine, I would have laughed out loud. Writing my book had not been in the realm of possibility for me, but the structure that Catherine shares in her new book transformed my reality and my life.

(See below for access to Catherine Gregory's new book, Awaken Into Flow: The Soulful Leader's Guide to Writing a Transformational Book, which shares the FLOW Method she created for her transformational book coaching program.)

The FLOW Method creates the access point to your highest self in the writing process. It unlocks the barriers, elevates your mind, and creates an energetic flow to allow your inner wisdom to shine through. Awaken Into Flow has an incredible combination of tools that speak with science to the intellectual mind and inspire the heart and spirit with soul-connecting practices that will remind you of your strength and wisdom that your future readers are waiting for you to share. Catherine guides you every step of the way to reach your potential as a writer and a person.

Writing my book with the FLOW Method was the first step in unlocking so many of my dreams. My book even won first place in the category of Inspirational/Motivational books from the Colorado Independent Publishers Association. After that incredible accomplishment, I decided to pursue getting my PhD, and now I have my Doctorate in Positive Organizational Psychology. My company, Connected Executive Coaching, has grown significantly since publishing my book to include a full coaching team and a research institute. Writing my book with Catherine’s guidance was the first step in knowing that all my dreams were possible, and it gave me the ability to share my knowledge more broadly with the world. I’m now embarking on writing my second book.

When you commit to the foundational practices you’ll learn in Awaken Into Flow, you’ll be able to overcome the obstacles holding you back and be that much closer to having your long-awaited book in your hands.

A Note from Modern Wisdom Press:

If you are serious about your commitment to serve by writing a life-changing book, it’s time to examine whatever may be holding you back.

If you’re ready to stop stalling your calling and bust through writer’s block, self-doubt, limiting beliefs, and other obstacles to finishing your book, you can find Awaken Into Flow: The Soulful Leader's Guide to Writing a Transformational Book, on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Bookshop.org, and other online booksellers.

For your inspiration and forward momentum, download Chapter One for free here.