Have you thought about writing a book that shares your wisdom with others, but you aren’t sure you should?
Maybe you worry it isn’t the right time… or you fear what you have to say isn’t “good” enough or “important” enough.
You might even have naysayers in your life who say, “Who are you to write a book of advice? You aren’t an expert or a doctor.”
But there are many books on the market by people without degrees. What they do have are lessons learned from difficult life experiences, and by sharing those lessons, they help others who are struggling with similar issues.
I believe if you’re being called to write a book, it’s your job to follow that call—wherever it leads you.
Here are six clues that the universe is tapping you on the shoulder and saying, “Pssst…write your book!”
1. You have gone through painful experiences and learned a great deal. As a result, you often reflect on how your life is much better now than it was in the past. You believe others could potentially emulate what you did, healing in a similar way and improving the quality of their lives.
2. People often ask you for advice. They want to know what you would do if you were in their shoes. They come to you for solace and nurturing, asking you to help them make sense of the complicated circumstances in their lives. They seek your guidance in figuring out how to improve their self-confidence, smooth over conflicts, or make better choices.
3. You’ve thought about writing a book, but you aren’t sure how to go about it or if you could pull it off, so you keep putting it off. You tell yourself you don’t have time or that you’ll add it on the to-do list next. Then, it ends up on the to-do list a year later… and maybe the year after that. You might have even started your book once but abandoned it, leaving it like an orphan on your computer or in a drawer—something you’ll return to “someday.” Yet, even if you don’t think about it all that often, it eats at you.
4. You admire authors whose books have changed your life and the lives of others for the better. You secretly long to be one of those authors, leaving behind your own legacy of hope.
5. You have a strong impulse to express your authentic self, finally stepping into the bigger version of you that you know you’re capable of becoming. When you fantasize, you might even see yourself on a stage in a big ballroom talking to a large audience about your book and your message.
6. When you think about helping people, your heart sings. Your deepest wish is to make a difference in the life of even one person. If you could offer help in this way, no matter how big or how small, you feel you would fulfill your life’s purpose.
I believe if you’re hearing the call to write a book in any of the ways listed here, there’s an audience for your message—readers who need to hear exactly what you want so much to tell them.
But what if you don’t love to write, or you don’t write well? To a large degree, that doesn’t matter. If writing isn’t your strong suit, you can get help with your book. The most important thing is that you have a message to share.
So, if you’ve received even one of these taps on the shoulder, consider writing your book. It isn’t as daunting a task as it seems. It simply starts with one sentence at a time. And the end result can bring you years of personal satisfaction, grateful readers, and a legacy of helping others.