I sat diligently in front of the computer all day yesterday, watching the rankings for Follow That Arrow climb from #897 to #1. As the book climbed higher and higher, it became harder and harder to believe.

Stop right there.

Why is my reaction that it’s hard to believe? Is it hard to believe that I wrote and published a book? Not really. Is it hard to believe that my friends and readers came out to support me in a big way? Not even, my readers are the best readers. Is it hard to believe that some of you out there actually liked the book? Well, ok you got me there.

Stop again.

Let’s not play this script all over again. Where I say something like, “I’m just so lucky, I’m not sure how this happened to little ole me.” Because I do know how it happened, it went something like this: I sat my butt down and wrote everyday for a year, I polished and edited and deleted and rewrote until my eyes bled, I took a giant leap of faith by leaving my coffee shop behind to focus my time and attention on this book. That is not luck. Luck is finding a $20 bill lying on the street.

And most importantly, I haven’t done any of this alone. You can’t move all over the country, open a business, close a business, write a book, publish a book, and take care of a baby all on your own. All of that takes some serious man/woman power. And that power comes from all of you. It’s no miracle that Follow That Arrow is the #1 Adventure Travel New Release on Amazon. It’s because you all made that happen. Don’t buy into that idea that there are those among us who have it all. No one has it all, no one can do it all. Lots of us try to keep up appearances (guilty as charged), and for what? It’s complicated right?

But I felt guilty. About not working. About my credit card bill. About not keeping the house cleaner. About being unproductive sometimes. And as I write these thoughts, it occurs to me. This is crazy. I am a writer because I want to be. It makes me happy. So I say to myself, self, this is ok. It is ok to need to sit in the park and stare. It is also ok to share our strengths with the world, it is ok to be brave or smart or agile or well-read. And it is ok to say so.

Well so, let’s agree to make it less complicated. Let’s not hide ourselves, let’s shine. Let’s be proud of our gifts and be willing to share them. Let’s be strong. Let’s be badass. And let’s share it with each other and celebrate what makes you, you and me, me. You’ve been given gifts, and I have to. So sing your song and dance your dance and be proud of the life you breathe into this world.

Let’s start now.

Hey, I’m Gwen. I have fearlessly invested my savings into publishing a book because I want to share my story and writing with the world. Two years ago I pressed the reset button on my entire life because I woke up and realized I had been ducking out of living my truth, my joy, my heart song. I am an interesting person with lots of stories to tell.

Your turn. Who are you? What are you all about? None of this, “I’m just a mom,” stuff. I want to hear your braggiest, shiniest, most confident words. Leave them in the comments below or send me a private email or message. Blast it!