Writing A Book Changed My Life. It Will Change Yours Too

Shani Jay

Shani holds a mirror to your soul, so you can…

I dreamed of writing a book since I can remember.

But I never really believed I could do it. Until I did.

And writing a book changed my life.

I’ve written and published four books so far. I’ve got plans to write many more in the future.

And I’m no genius.

If I can do it, I promise you can too.

I’m not saying it won’t be difficult. Because it definitely will be.

But if you choose to show up for yourself every day and consistently put in the work, you will get there.

You will reach the day when you’re holding a copy of your book in your hands for the first time.

And it will feel electric.

So the question is, are you ready?

Are you ready to write a book and change your life?

Here’s how writing a book changed my life.

It strengthened my self-belief

For as long as I can remember, I’ve been someone who has lacked belief in themselves.

A period of bullying at school crippled my self-confidence, and I spent the next decade trying to rebuild it.

When I sat down to start writing my first book Bloom, I was riddled with doubt. But I still chose to show up and keep writing.

I pushed through it. I decided to start trusting myself and my intuition. And in the process, my belief in myself began to grow.

I didn’t notice it while it was happening. But each of those tiny steps I took each day added up, and ultimately helped me climb the peak of a mountain that I thought was out of reach.

Writing a book requires hard work, discipline, self-motivation and courage. And I never knew I had the capacity to master all of those things.

But I do now. I would dare to say that I believe in myself, from the roots up to my crown.

And I’ve carried that inner strength with me in everything I’ve done since.

Writing a book helped me fall in love with life again

While writing my first book, I was still working my 9-5 in the fashion industry, which I had grown to hate.

I wasn’t helping anyone with the work I was doing. And I couldn’t help but think none of it mattered.

If the company went out of business tomorrow, it wouldn’t matter.

If I didn’t get out of bed today and go to work, it wouldn’t matter.

I knew the only choice was to leave, and eventually I did.

But I had to stick it out for a while until I saved enough of a fuck off fund, and figured out what I was going to do with the rest of my life.

And writing was a beautiful release for me. A much needed escape and distraction.

It gave my life meaning again. It filled me with joy and purpose that had always been missing.

Waking up at 5am before sunrise so I could get some morning pages in before I had to go to work was a privilege.

Writing a book helped me rediscover that magic again. The kind that can only be found by following where your soul desires to go.

It helped me figure out what I wanted to do with my life

Like a lot of people, I didn’t always know what my purpose in this life was meant to be. But I felt pressured to figure it out, and quickly.

At 8, I wanted to be an accountant like my dad. I quickly got over that dream.

At 14, I liked the idea of becoming a psychologist.

Then at 17, I decided fashion was my life. So I went to university and studied it.

Three years – and minus £30k – later while in my first real job in the industry, I knew something wasn’t right.

I couldn’t shake off this feeling like I was in the wrong place. But I didn’t know where I was meant to be going instead.

Then I started writing. Just for fun. Because I remembered how much I loved it when I was a child.

And every time I wrote, it would strengthen a knowing within that this was what I was meant to do.

It made me realise that if we just follow what lights us up, and do more of the things we love, we can’t go wrong.

It helped me understand the importance of finishing things you start

While I don’t like to admit it, the truth is I used to be a quitter.

If I wasn’t good at something instantly, I didn’t want to do it anymore. And if I got bored, which happened frequently, I’d move on to something else.

Over the years, I started diaries, articles, blogs, and fashion lines. And I never finished any of them.

All of that potential and what could have been wound up in the trash, before I gave it a chance.

What’s worse is, I got into a real toxic habit of quitting, which was probably rooted in my fear of not being good enough.

Writing a book changed my life because it was one of the first things I ever saw through to the end.

I’m good at writing, which obviously helped. But there were times when it became really challenging. Sometimes I wondered if I’d ever complete it.

But I did. And those difficult moments made the achievement taste even sweeter.

And now I can’t help but think, what if I’d given up halfway through?

My life would be totally different. Less fulfilling for sure. I wouldn’t have my own business. And I might still be sat in a dreary cubicle somewhere pretending to work.

Writing a book helped me confront my deepest fears

Throughout the process of writing my first book, my inner mean girl would show up and spit things like:

“Who are you to think you can write a book?”

“No one is ever going to buy it.”

“What if it’s shit?”

That’s just our fear of not being good enough showing up, probably because somewhere along the way we learned to believe it.

I was terrified of writing a shitty book that didn’t help anyone.

And I was even more terrified of no one buying it.

Or worse still, someone buying it, then leaving a terrible review.

And guess what?

I did get some bad reviews.

Find me a book on the planet that doesn’t have a bad review. Even timeless masterpieces don’t escape the critics.

At first, bad reviews used to effect me. But then I realised something.

I realised that when you create art from your heart, you can only take responsibility for fifty percent of it. How people respond to it once you birth it into the world is the other fifty. And that’s totally out of your hands.

The only tragic thing would be to allow how people respond to stifle you, or stop you from doing what you came here to do.

The heroic thing would be to keep going. Keep writing. Get better every day. And not allow fear to hold you back.

Every time I write a new book I face a new set of fears. Each time I show up and write another page, I confront my fears head on. And I realise they don’t hold any power over me. Not unless I choose to hand it over.

It made me a much stronger writer

Nobody becomes great at something by doing it every now and then, when they feel like it.

Greatness is achieved by consistently showing up every day, and practising. Even when you feel uninspired, or you’ve got a lot going on, or you feel like you’ve already done enough.

Writing a book changed my life because it required me to show up every day and write.

If you don’t get into this habit, then it’s easy for days to turn into months, and quickly to years.

You’ll look back and wonder where time went, and all you’ll have to show for it is the first page or chapter of the book you still haven’t finished.

So don’t want until you’re a better writer before writing a book. Start writing a book today, and you’ll become a better writer.

It helped me quit my job, travel the world & start a business

I don’t enjoy being told what to do and I love being in charge of my own destiny, so the idea of running my own business always appealed to me.

But I had no ideas for a business, let alone a clue on how to run one.

Then I wrote a book, and everything changed.

Writing that first book filled me with the confidence and belief to back myself.

I was making passive income from my book while I slept. Not much at first, but over time this grew.

And I began to realise the message in my first book was what I wanted to be the heart of my business: I wanted to inspire and empower women from the inside, out.

Eventually, I was able to quit my job, and I earned money as a freelance writer.

So I wrote more books, started coaching, and hosted women’s retreats. And I travelled the world at the same time, hopping from Bali to Sri Lanka and Thailand.

My business grew steadily, as I threw spaghetti at the walls trying to see what would stick.

Last year, I launched my own publishing platform She Rose Revolution, so I could empower even more women, and help them find their voice and share it with the world.

All of this was birthed from one action: writing a book.

And it changed other people’s lives too

Every day, I have women reaching out to me via email or social media. And every time I’m blown away by the messages I receive.

I came across the book Bloom which changed the course of my life. I was so inspired by the author that I flew to Sri Lanka to attend a retreat the author held and this retreat set me free.

— Samantha

I purchased your book and I’m gonna take it to well-being at my school, and tell them that if any girls come in and talk about their insecurities or how they aren’t good enough, to give them this book, and you might just see how much weight has been lifted off her shoulders. Because truly, this book has made me feel so much lighter, and I’m only going to go forward from here. I also wanted to thank you for doing this for girls and women, because we all deserve to love ourselves.

— Hailey

A stranger on a plane gave me your book, and didn’t even know how much I needed it. When I’m done, the book will be passed along, to another beautiful stranger in need.

— Lydia

I still get chills when I read these messages today.

If there’s ever a moment when I’m doubting myself or thinking of giving up, I allow these to be a weighty reminder of why I started, and why I must keep going.

You don’t realise it, but everything you do matters. And by waking up each day and pursuing your dreams and passions, you’re having a positive impact on someone in the world somewhere.

You see, writing a book won’t just change your life, it’ll change other people’s lives too.

And that’s a beautiful gift the world is in need of.