I sometimes marvel at the resilience of my book-writing clients and their ability to persevere through some mighty difficult experiences. You might have found that in your own life and I invite you to look at how, in spite of all you’ve been through—all the hurt and pain and emotional angst and disruption—you are, on at least one level of life, AOK. How did that happen? Well, for sure it is no doubt true that you are strong and resilient and determined and very clever. I also believe that the Universe has also had your back. The Universe still has your back.

Here’s an example from my own life: My husband was a currency strategist and he was extremely good at his work. One day I looked at him and said, “Sweetie, you’re really good at your job, aren’t you?” And he puffed his chest out as only a currency strategist can do, and said “I’m one of the best in the world.” And I think he was probably right about that.

And so I said, “Well, does that mean you could do your job anywhere in the world?”

Steve puffed his chest out a little more and said, “You bet I could.” So I said, “Well, could you do it from a quaint European town?” It took him a little longer to answer that one, but ultimately he said, “I guess I could.” And so I said, “Great, let’s move to Europe. Can you start looking now for a job that would let us do that?”

My husband loved the idea of moving to Europe, so just like that he set about looking for a new job. Ultimately, he found one in the gorgeous town of Lugano in southern Switzerland. But the plan didn’t go together well. The finances weren’t a perfect fit, there were issues around schooling for our two youngest kids, who were still quite young at the time. There were health insurance issues and language issues and visa issues, and a whole host of other struggles. But we kept plugging away anyway and rather than see all these snags as evidence that maybe this wasn’t the world’s best plan, we pushed harder to make it all work. Finally, the week before Steve was supposed to get on an airplane to go start his new job in Switzerland, the plan fell apart in the most spectacular way imaginable. I still cringe when I think of it.

Staying Resilient Amidst Book Writing

I cried for two whole days. I had had my heart set on moving to Switzerland and raising my kids in a quaint little town where we could sit at outdoor cafes and walk among the cobblestones of an historic city.

But you know what? Six months later, my wonderful husband was diagnosed with terminal stomach cancer and three months after that he died. You can imagine how shocked I was and how grateful I was in that terribly traumatic time that I didn’t have to tend a dying husband in a foreign country. I would have had no family nearby, I would have had to navigate a medical system that was based in a language I barely spoke,  and, as it turned out, Steve would not have been eligible for health insurance because he had a pre-existing health condition…just to name a few of the nightmare conditions we avoided when we were not able to move.

So although I felt that not getting to live in Switzerland was a perceptive disaster, it was actually a huge blessing and yet another example for me, in a long line of examples, of everything working out OK even when it did not look as though anything was ever going to be OK again. That’s what I call the Universe having my back.

And there’s a footnote to that story: Steve’s death provided the impetus I needed to complete the novel I had started years earlier as I realized, in a very stark and dramatic way, that we have no guarantee around how much time we get on this planet. If there is something you want to do in life, is it OK if I suggest that you do it sooner rather than “Someday?”

If you’re ready to take a few more steps towards the completion of your own book, why not book a complimentary consultation with me to find out what the range of possibilities are for you? I’m ready if you are!