Hello! I’m so excited to meet you here in this blog. Thank you so much for taking time out of your day to be here.
I thought I’d take some time to introduce myself and share the thinking behind my new (and so far “only”) book called Authenticity Reawakened: The Path to OWNING Your Life’s Story and Fulfilling Your Purpose.
Like most people I can’t be summed up in a few words. I’m a person who wakes up most days deeply appreciating that I’m here to experience this life. I’m blessed to have a wonderful family, great friends, a home and a lifetime of amazing work experiences. I’ll talk about all these aspects of my life in future blogs.
I am the youngest of twelve children, although I only grew up with one of my siblings. This is a long, complicated story that I won’t dive into here. My parents did the best they could in life, and I love them dearly, but they struggled with alcoholism and that made most things in my childhood inconsistent and unpredictable. We often didn’t know where the next meal was coming from and they weren’t equipped to help us with things like developing good study habits or preparing for work.
It takes a village to raise a child and without a doubt my life was better simply because of where I grew up. I had great teachers at my local public school and saw families where parents guided their kids to go to church, to study and to have life aspirations. They went to their kids’ events and rooted for them in countless ways. I knew that when I had kids, I wanted to do the same.
You’ll hear a lot about my career in the book. I’m so proud of and grateful for the work that I was able to do in areas such as Finance and Human Resources. What I know now is that my childhood experiences, especially those that were the most challenging, equipped me to do well at work. I appreciate the importance of spending money carefully and as the child of alcoholics I learned how to read people quickly and how to lead others because I’d been leading myself since I was eight years old.
After leaving my job in 2020, I wanted to realize my lifelong dream of writing a book. I chose the topic of authenticity because after forty years of working, the one thing I know for sure is that you really can’t be anyone other than who you are. Sure, you can fake it for a while, perhaps even years, but eventually it becomes apparent that the path to your purpose is paved with your values and authenticity. You’re the only “you” there will ever be on this planet. Spending time as anyone else is a slap in the face to the universe.
While I learned to be myself at work and have shared examples in the book, I didn’t just write about my own experiences; I did a ton of research and have shared what I learned with you in the book as well. I learned so much and know you will as well.
I’ve always loved books. They saved me more times than I can say. I now realize that when you walk into a bookstore or a library and you look at those books on the shelf, know that each one is someone’s dream and their gift to the reader.
My book is a dream come true for sure and it’s my gift to you. I did my absolute best to write something that would be helpful to you. Thank you so much for joining me here. I hope that you will continue to do so.
I’m so honored that you’re here. Thank you so very much.
Now I’d like to learn something about you! Can you tell me something about yourself that will help me know you better? I truly want to know you and your stories.
Until next time my friend, be well!
