When I initially decided to write Not Afraid of the Fall, it was fueled by both competition and fear. I grew up in a community of overachievers and highly successful people. Many of my closest friends own companies, restaurants and nonprofits. Many are studying to be lawyers, doctors and coaches. My girlfriend is an strong women, who dedicates her to time to molding the minds of children to be successful. My Dad is a CMO for a global IT company and my mom founded her own pharmaceutical safety company. My sister earned her masters in social work while studying in New Zealand and is helping refugees find homes My brother in-law is a consultant with two masters and speaks more languages than I care to comment on, and my brother found his true calling in life as a chef.
I spent many sleepless nights in Europe laying awake fearing that I would never reach the level of success of those around me. What could I do to equal these successes? I convinced myself that if I wrote a book, I would be successful. I would have achieved something substantial. I could compete.
What I didn’t realize until the end of the journey was that it wasn’t the outcome of a book I needed, it was the process of writing it. By allowing my thoughts, feelings and views on life to spill chaotically into my journal every day, I was self-medicating. I realized that I just happened be surrounded by amazing people. I am so lucky to be able to call these people my friends and family.
Writing this book saved my life. Not in the literal sense that I would have died if I didn’t write it, but in the sense that it allowed me to really start living. I no longer quantified my own self-worth by comparing my life to others. My goal for this book is to help any of those that are struggling with the same issues to reach their own peace.
48 days to go....Let’s make this happen.
