#GODO: A LESSON ON PURPOSE
A NEW CHAPTER
After five years claiming a literary "work in progress" -- one part ideas growing in my mind, and the other part an endless sequence of words living on my 13" Macbook Air -- I'm finally on the heels of publishing my first book.
I've always dreamed of being a published author. I imagined the entire experience would, sort of, help me stand a little bit taller as I slid into a notably rewarding phase of my professional (and personal) life.
Back then, I guess I believed that stepping into this role as a soon to be accomplished writer and author would bring a new level of significance to my already full life. And as I close my eyes today, I still get swept away by to the image of joining the writers communities of the real world, rather it be online or in the noteworthy crevices of infamous bookstores du jour.
THE TIME IS HERE
As far back as those early days dreaming, and as early as today, I've always envisioned that I'd write a book, a body of work that would be shared with the world.
And that day is finally here. [Exhale...]
By this time next month, you'll have "#goDo: How to LIve on Purpose" in your hands. The book is a reflection of what my life has looked and felt like for the past (almost) ten years, along with the hard and important lessons I've learned in the process. It is a synthesization of learning strategies wrapped in personal short stories and anecdotes that are given strength with the help of deeper research and social proof.
The best part of this new chapter of my life and professional career is how it naturally lends itself to me getting the chance to reinvent myself. I love the opportunity to create a new version of "me", the great fortune of pushing against all preconceived ideas and perceptions of who I used to be, combined with this new struggle to break through and transform myself into a new character.
MY NEW "JOB"... AHEM, PURPOSE
A writer's job is to do so many things. I believe good writers are honest, hooking you with their storytelling genius and seemingly natural ability to go further, faster. Great writers take you there, a place you only wish you could be brave enough to expose yourself to revealing. This place is a world of faceless and endless criticism, which is just as quick and readily available as words of praise. The absolute best writer would teach you something you've never considered possible. Their words would expose you to something new, a duly descriptive moment of breakdown or breakthrough, all while inviting you to sit down, get comfortable, and enjoy the best seat in the house. Each story is a narrative birdseye view into what it means to be, well, human.
My book, #goDo: How to Live on Purpose, is no different. I open the book with a supreme gut check - an evaluation of my own resolve. For the first time ever, I share my brutal commitment to go and do, with respect to a particular course of action I decided to take in my life at a moment when I was, quite obviously, losing it all. This opening, the Preface of my book, recalls the hardest day of my life, and how people, places, and things like a simple song selection on a mixtape helped to gently push me back towards a life on purpose.
The next several pages and chapters walk you through a set of six principles that I live my life by to this day. This is a lifestyle to me, as words like purpose, character, obstacles, and targets take shape, serving as both definitions and prescriptions to take in daily doses -- sometimes up to three times a day. This isn't just a book on goal setting strategies, it's a how-to manual for living life to the fullest, of and on purpose, one decision and one day at a time.
Are you curious? Are you ready to learn what it means to #goDo? Do you want to live on purpose?
I hope so. That's the reason why I wrote this book. This book was really written for YOU.
DARE TO GO...AND DO
On that note, I'm grateful for the time -- five long years -- that it has taken for me to write this book. So many things have changed since I started writing the book back in 2013. Not only has the world around me changed, but I have changed. My thoughts have changed. My circumstances have changed. My opportunities have changed. And, thankfully, my heart has changed.
But no matter what changes have taken place over the course of these past five years, one thing has remained a constant -- I am wholeheartedly someone who believes in living a #goDo life. This lifestyle means that in the face of fear, doubt, and uncertainty, I am always willing to go and do. That will never change.
It is now my hope and dream that you will join me on this journey. I will make it worth your go and your do. And together we will #doGood--do some good--in this world. We, my friends, will dare to #liveonpurpose.
How exciting is that?
Great, let's #goDo.
