A New Beginning

After the sickness and the shift, which included losing my job and then realizing we could no longer afford our condo in the city on one salary (plus the fact that having a child in an open concept loft was not the most ideal setting for a sleeping child), we made the decision to relocate.

This was in 2016 when working from home was not as common as it is now. My husband asked his employer if they would consider allowing him to work remotely and they agreed! At the time this was revolutionary as this truly allowed us the ability to live where ever we wanted!

We contemplated our possibilities and thought it would be best to move to Muskoka where my husbands’ family is from. This was a big change for me being a “city” girl. I recall when I first met Mike while we were dating and telling him that I would never leave the city saying, “What would I do there!?” And now, years later, I know remote work is not only possible but also best suited for my personality. I am so happy we moved! We agreed that Mike would stay at home to work and I would also stay at home to be with our daughter. (Which ironically is now a new normal only 4 years later!)

Moving north, again a more common trend recently, we had the opportunity for more space, a simple lifestyle and support with family close by.

After the first workbook I designed was published, I was tremendously fortunate to be asked to create more workbooks. All because of the book that started it all.

• Brittany found out about Judy’s book and was inspired to have a book with journaling prompts to compliment her self-help memoir that she wrote when she was 15 years old.

• Andrew coincidently met Judy at a conference and found out they both live in the same city and a passion to write not only a book, but a workbook! And of course, Judy referred Andrew to me!

• Susan was given Judy’s workbook from a friend. Judy hosted a workshop that both Susan and I attended. We ended up sitting next to each other and she was excited to be sitting right beside the person who designed Judy’s book and asked me if I could convert her writing workshop into a workbook. I was honoured.

In 2018

Do The Work Books

was inspired.

Do The Work Books “came to be” exactly when I was reading Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert. I woke in the middle of the night with a BIG MAGIC MOMENT. It forced me to sit up and write in bed a rough business plan and in turn created the name for my company. I had a “Jerry Maguire” like epiphany and felt inspired to write the mission for my business. It was magical!

During the time of the Big Magic Moment I had several thoughts about my vision for my business.

• A book store.

• A paper shop.

• A publishing studio.

• A periodical publication.

While all this sounded delightful, what really go me excited was what I was ultimately trying to achieve. To get people to do the work. This included myself!

I wanted to achieve this by creating guided content books such as planners, trackers, guided journals, activity books or systems manual.

—

As much as I hated to call it work…it is what it is.

It IS work. It requires effort. There might be some resistance. 

It is like exercise. It is like healthy eating. 

There are temptations and distractions all around fighting for our attention. But we must preserver and continue to do the work. Focus. Go within. Find your centre. Connect. Integrate.

Or

Without the work you can lose yourself. Lose your motivation. Lose your purpose. You can get lost.

Until…

You remember your work still needs to be done and try again. And again. Until it is integrated. Embodied. Connected and now part of you. 

And once you share your work by collaboration or connection, it will then be part of them.

—

Have you ever heard the line “Write the book you need to read”?

How about “The book you want to write is the book you need to read”?

I believe people write books because they want to share their message but also because they need to validate it. Not only that, by writing their message they further learn from it. The best way to learn is to teach. So by writing their book they are reaffirming their knowledge. 

Teaching others is the best way to learn.

I also think the same goes for workbooks. 

At first you might think that the workbook you want to create is for them, the reader, or in this case the participant of the workbook who will be doing the work.

But then realize that you are creating the workbook for yourself and as your own personal journey to relearn, or again in this case, rework the work you are sharing. 

The workbook you create is the work you need to do to better understand yourself, the message you believe, and the work that supports it. 

A workbook is another good way to learn because you practice doing it.

So, what does Do The Work Books mean to me?

Do The Work

Doing the work is the process of honestly looking at your inner self and exploring who you are and who you want to be. It is the continual process of being a better you.

My vision for Do The Work Books is to provide the space for growth and transformation in a variety of personal development areas to heal the body, mind and soul from whatever kind of trauma that has been limiting growth and expansion.

My mission is to do this by creating tools to facilitate the self learning process and implementation techniques by fostering an integrative approach to do the work. I plan to do this exclusively with the use of books.

But my mission does not stop there.

My passion is to do this with pen to paper by head to heart connection.

Analog over Digital

I know I am not alone when we see how the digital economy is effecting us as adults let alone our children. It disturbs me when I realize that I have been on my phone for too long and it pains me when my kids have been on the iPad for too long. It's all very consuming. My fear for this new world is real for many but can be easily overlooked. What I hope to achieve goes back to the love and pleasure in offering an alternative to digital learning and personal growth by self reflection and exploration by means of pen to paper. 

And yes, I realize it is not new, this whole workbook thing! Many remember school days with duo-tangs and photocopied worksheets. Am I the only one who can remember the smell of freshly photocopied sheets of paper and the warmth they briefly felt?

What I am advocating is balancing our digital consumption. Creating harmony with our body, mind and soul by not overloading, overwhelming and over consuming our digital intake. 

I believe there is power in writing your work down. To write your dreams and desires. To write your plans and passions. To write what you teaching and allow others space for their thoughts. A collaborative writing experience.

My wish is to support the sharing of transformational teachings into an integrated experience. My goal is to allow workbook participants to slow down their body and mind to activate their heart space and give them the inner work so they can achieve the outer work and embody unique lessons for personal growth and wellness.

In order to achieve this vision of mine…we all must…do the work.  

The 3 C’s Values

Do The Work Books values Creation, Connection, Collaboration.

I felt like I needed to narrow down on what Do The Work Books values and these are concept that I am personally still trying to work on.

#1 is Creation.

This comes easiest to me as I have always loved creating things. So I want to encourage creation in any creative form to others who feel they need some support. That is why workbooks help people because it offers support if you need the guidance. The author of a workbook is a creator because they brought it into being. The participant of a workbook is a creator because they brought the rest of the book into completion. I believe we are brought to this earth to create in some form or another. Our purpose on Earth is to try and figure out what that is.

#2 is Connection.

This value is harder for me to work on but is just as important as the first. Connection to one self is paramount. You can’t connect with others unless you are connected to self. Learning about yourself, knowing yourself, understanding yourself and believing in yourself. I have felt low self awareness for most of my life and and continually getting to know myself as the years pass the longer I live with myself. It’s a relationship that never ends and you hope to grow fonder of not indifferent to. I also believe, although still struggle to do as a content introvert, that connection with others is another reason we are here as a human beings. To experience life with love.

#3 is Collaboration.

This is a value that very well might be the combination of the two before, creating and connecting. Coming together, working together and creating something with passion and purpose to promote for the service of others. Whatever that is for you and what you believe to bring good into this world so we can all live with peace during our time here.

I was compelled to write my Origin Story Part 1 and 2 as a way for me to reflect on where I came from and realize where I want to go. It is amazing what we can re-learn about ourself when we take the time for introspection.

Below is a guided worksheet to reflect and connect in all areas of your life to better understand and uncover clarity for your Why.

Through your life’s journey, maybe you thought about writing a book to help others? Imagine if you not only wrote a book but created a workbook that would share and teach your lesson as well as support your readers to apply and integrate your message.