www.jeanettemacdonaldart.com
First of all, let me say thank you to the amazing group of people who said yes when I asked if they would consider partnering with me for the launch of my new journal, Warrior Joy, A Journal To Inspire Your Fiercely Alive Whole Self. Your “Yes” gave me the confidence and inspiration I needed. It wouldn’t be collaborative or nearly as awesome or interesting if it weren’t for all you generous, heart-felt, warriors of love and joy! Thanks for believing in me and for your time, energy and efforts.
I learned a lot from this experience. Even though I have self published two books before this one, I had never done anything like this as far as a collaboration event. I want to offer you my experiences, in hopes that it will help you if you should ever want to do something like this yourself.
Lesson 1:
Get the guidance of someone who’s been there and done that. A huge thank you to Wendy McClelland – www.wendymcclelland.com – for her assistance with every detail of this launch. She gifted me with her generous spirit and kick-ass teaching skills. When you want to do something you have never done before, make sure to ask someone who’s done it. You don’t have to do it alone, and you don’t have to reinvent the wheel. Learn from others’ mistakes and experiences and take it from there.
Lesson 2:
The process was more difficult than I thought and it paid to be organized. I had ten bonus partners and ten prize contributors. Twenty people and all the emails were a challenge. It paid to stay organized, which helped with the stress levels. I set up a separate email folder for the launch and made sure to put everything to do with it there. I also set up a separate notebook for notes and to do’s so that everything was in one place. Staying organized was key to making this a happy occasion.
Lesson 3:
It’s okay to be picky and it’s okay to say no. My coach, Torrie Pattillo – www.torriepattillo.com – has helped me understand that this is MY baby, and that everything from the partners I chose to help, to the timing of the event, to the way it all went down is important and only I can make those decisions based on my intuition. She helped me realize that I can trust that intuition to guide me all the way, and that it is important to not say yes when I mean no.
Lesson 4:
Write stuff down. Write everything down! I have learned that I can’t always rely on my memory, hence the folder and notebook from number 2. Not only does writing everything down help with organization, it gives you a place to learn from when everything is said and done. Something you didn’t think was important at the time, could help you later. Keep track of all your thoughts, inspirations, advice from others, nuggets from websites and books and ideas in a special place.
Lesson 5.
Learn the basics of the behind the scenes of your own website, or make sure you have someone knowledgeable to assist you, especially during your launch. Thank you so much Michele Frechette-Ames – www.marketedbymichelle.com – for the time, assistance, patience and extremely speedy service you gave me during the last week – it was a must! Without you I would have faltered, several times. I have decided that there are certain things it is worth paying someone for, especially when it takes an expert five minutes for something it would have taken me an hour to figure out.
Lesson 6:
Even when you have twenty amazing partners, this is still YOUR baby. No matter what project you are working on and no matter how much passion you have for it, it doesn’t mean everyone will have the same focus, passion or time to spend promoting your baby. I had to get real with myself about this. Marketing has never been my favorite thing. Even with the journal project being something that I’m intensely passionate about, it’s hard for me to share it without feeling like a used car salesman. This feels silly, because sharing my gifts should be fun, exciting, and fulfilling, and nobody will know about it if I don’t share.
Selling and promoting my baby took away from the joy that I feel about the journal when it triggered a feeling of “You are worthy only if you sell a lot of books.” I had to get over that and continue to shine no matter what feeling I was having inside.
In the end, even if you have amazing partners and/or are involved in an amazing collaboration, you have to believe in yourself and in your baby. Nobody else is going to do that for you as much as you will.
Lesson 7:
If you want to shine your light and you believe in your mission, you have to step into the arena, even if you might get your ass kicked. And you have to keep showing up again, and again. This kind of stuff isn’t for sissies. I sold 15 journals this week. I have decided to be brave and divulge this information because I am tired of secrets, of being afraid to share with others, and tired of the feeling that I am probably in the same boat as others who are struggling but don’t want to admit it.
I didn’t want to admit my less-than-desired outcome for fear it means failure, that I will be labeled selfish, or that it means I am not good enough – all things that are going on in my own head.
I have learned that there really is no failure, despite the desire I had to do better than 15. The outcome is the outcome. It just is what it is. Any meaning, failure or success that is attached to it is something I create in my mind. There are 15 people out there with my journal in their homes who believed in me, were attracted to it, and bought it. I will continue to do my thing. I will continue to step into the arena, and so should you.
We can be afraid of getting our asses kicked, but we have to show up anyway.
What I would have done differently:
There are a few things I would have done differently if I could do it over again:
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I would have given myself more time to prepare and promote ahead of the actual launch. Wendy warned me about this. I think more time would have allowed me to get more creative about how and where I might spread the word about the book and could have created a little better buzz. It would have also given me more time to schedule my marketing.
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I would have defined my target market for the journal more precisely and focused on creating a collaboration that was really geared toward that population. This is one of the most difficult things to do, but pays off in the end.
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I would have attempted to get more organized with social media and would have developed a schedule of posts based on research, rather than whenever I thought about it. These days you can schedule posts and plan a strategy that is beneficial to your project. I did not put the time into learning more about that before the launch.
And finally…Keep Dreaming!
We have so many resources available to us now. From the ability to self-publish and get our message and dream out into the world easier, to the international reach of social media platforms, to the ever expanding awareness of people in general to helping and supporting each other…now is an amazing time to achieve our dreams and positively change the world we live in.
The biggest lesson I learned is that the support and inspiration for whatever we want to do is out there. All we have to do is reach out and ask for it. I have a lot more to learn, but I am encouraged by the process I have gone through. Every moment, whether it seems good or bad at the time, can be my teacher if I remember to keep that perspective.
I know that we will continue to see successful entrepreneurs connecting and collaborating. It’s the way of the future because as society wakes up, it will be conscious, heart-felt, kick-ass soul warriors that lead the way to healing the world. We were never meant to do it alone. It has just taken us a while to figure out that a collaboration mindset beats a competition mindset any day of the week.
In the mean time, DREAM BIG, and know that there are probably a team of fellow dreamers waiting for you to reach out and ask them to come along. Do the things you are afraid to do. Ask for help. Be your brilliant self. Keep yourself in the moment, especially when your mind takes you off and tries to define your efforts as failure. Question whose definition you are listening to and recognize that voice as outside of yourself.
