Always Tired? What it Takes to Shift Inner Gears

When I wrote my first fiction novel I was adamant about getting it published immediately. I had heard there were months involved when sending your work to a large publishing house. It could also be rejected by several before it was ever published and that could involve years. I wasn’t willing to wait. I researched self-publishing companies and settled on one that was local. I had great results and the release time was perfect.

Being self-published means you either have to hire that publishing company to do your marketing at an unexpected high fee, hire an outside publicist, or do the marketing of you yourself. I chose to hire my own publicist and after 3 months I let him go. He did very little for a lot of $$. I then proceeded to do my own marketing by setting up book signings, personal talks, a video for my web site, and writing my own press releases. After all, I am a writer!Ipass out business cards wherever I go, even to the cashier at Wal Mart! I market my book with pens and temporary tattoos as handouts at book signings. That went well locally.

Nationally, I just wasn’ta big enough name to open any doors. Now I am spending several hours each day researching the internet for ways to market my book beyond the Indiana state line. The results I find are infinite. It is mind-boggling at how many venues there are to getting published and reviewed. I send emails, make phone calls, write letters, and send books off to foreign countries for reviews. My progress is slow but I am not discouraged. During all this, I am a teacher and I am writing book two of my trilogy. I manage to fit life in on the side! I do all this in hopes ofretirement with days filled with writing and reading.

I am now looking into hiring a Public Relations person to do the leg work so I can concentrate on writing. Ifeel very positive about this one! I realize there are still many things I will need to do on my own to take my books to the level I am seeking. I am more than willing to do this.

One of my main goals is not to pad my pockets, but rather to use my good fortune to share with those less fortunate than myself. I have family and friends who are struggling in this economy. We rescued a little Yorkie from a puppymill last year and I would love to be able to donate to shelters for animals. I feel drawn and blessed to be able to use my talents and abilities to entertain others throughbooks. Working towards this does not frighten me.I started my writing career later in life than most. Who would of though a 59 year old grandmother would be writing about vampires? Vampires are hot right now and mine are smokin’! I accomplish all this with clean language throughout my books so as to reach a wider audience.I have addedinteresting twists to thevampire world not done in any other series. I even use my deceased relatives as my characters. They can’t complain or criticize my work!

If you would like more information on Vampires from Indiana you can find it at www.asilentheart.com.
My motto: Do not take no for an answer and don’t give up!
Roberta Hoffer / author / Silentheart

Always Tired? What it Takes to Shift Inner Gears20659Always Tired? What it Takes to Shift Inner GearsToo pooped to put one more foot in front of the other? Is your favorite part of the day the moment you get to dive into bed and shut the world off for a few hours? Does the mere thought of the days ahead suck the life energy right out of you?
I know how that feels. I’ve been there — for years. I complained I was tired all the time. People said I needed to eat more. Tried that, still felt the abyss of an energy void.

Of course I thought my exhaustion was an effect of my career. I was doing some international consulting and was sure that my energy would come flooding back if I cut back once my contract ended at the end of the month.

Free at last without seemingly not a care in the world I was still too spent to do much of anything. I got plenty of sleep and I was still lethargic.One day I simply had enough. I was sick and tired of being sick and tired.

If it wasn’t my food intake, or lack thereof, and it wasn’t a result of my career why was I tired all the time? A visit to the doctor told me I was in good health so what was the problem? Maybe a new wardrobe would renew my spirits.

Nope, that didn’t work.

A face lift?

Too chicken to go under the knife.

Seeing too many friends in a zombie like state from popping too many Mother’s little helpers steered my away from any interest in a pharmaceutical solution.

Maybe I need to find something to do, get a new client. Perhaps that would renew my spirit.

Yeah, right. I conveniently forgot that I had been in that revolving doorway of busy client load and time off over and over again and it did little, if anything, to rejuvenate my life force. As Einstein said, “Doing the same thing over and over again expecting a different outcome is the very definition of insanity.”

This time the universe conspired to give me the wake up call I needed.

The phone that rang often with lucrative offers stopped ringing. If I wanted more work I was going to have to get up off my tushie and find something to do.

What do I want to do?

And then it hit me. I had no idea what I really want to do. I was clueless when it came to the question, “What are you passionate about?”

I had a job to do! I was on a mission to find out what would make my heart sing.

Sounds simple, but it wasn’t. Being disconnected from what fed my soul for so long I struggled for many months examining one possibility after the other and none of it relit the fire within me. It finally dawned on me that in order to get in touch with my passion I had to know who I am. Who am I? I had no career so how do I define myself? Wife? Mother of two rescued cats? Sister? Aunt? Who the heck am I?

Realizing that I really was out of touch with my ‘truth’ was my watershed moment.

Today I enjoy a very active and productive life. I have all the energy I want or need. What changed?
I turned around. Instead of swimming upstream in the flow of life, I learned how to flow with the current. It’s exhausting to swim upstream day after day. No wonder I was tired all the time!

For the first time I no longer looked to external things and people to make my life better. The path I choose was an inner journey to reclaim my truth, own my power and command my stage. This shift in how I showed up in my life wasn’t an overnight phenomenon. It took a year or so to get my inner engine firing on all cylinders. But what a ride! I highly recommend it.

When you know who you really are – stripped of all unrealistic expectations and early conditioning that just doesn’t work for you – life flows. You know, with certainty, what you really want. With this power you think, speak and act towards this purpose – instead of away from – each and every day. It’s the life force that allows you to command your stage in life – be the master of your opportunities instead of the victim of your circumstance.

Dare to dance to the beat of your own drum. Have the guts to sing your song out loud. Muster up your moxie – the confident courage to achieve and express your authentic greatness – no matter what anyone else thinks.

I invite you to be willing to shift how you show up in your life. By saying Yes to who you really are you naturally have the life force to fully express your potential. It’s what you’re here to do. If I can do it, so can you.