A week after launching my third book, Woman Rising: A True Story, I went live on Facebook with Ross Brand of Livestream Universe.
What’s super cool is he set aside a whole hour just for me to talk about my narrative nonfiction book. (He usually has three or four guests for each show!)
During the interview, we talked about:
- How I escaped an abusive religious cult and went on to build my multimillion dollar company, Express Writers.
- The key to staying focused despite fear and negative comments.
- How I healed from the pain and trauma of the past (and how I continue to heal, day by day).
- The reason I wrote this book.
- My advice for people who work hard at content creation but aren’t getting the results they want.
Don’t have time to watch the full interview?
Read the key takeaways below.
5 Key Takeaways on My Facebook Live Interview with Ross Brand
Besides the laughter and fun stories, Ross and I took a deep dive into my new book and dug up its motivation, message, and meaning.
1. A Story of Hope
The story of Woman Rising is one of hope.
As Ross mentions, my story is uncomfortable to read. It’s painful. It’s about a child growing up in a claustrophobic environment of terror and torture.
But as Charles Swindoll says in his book Grace Awakening, “Life is 10% what happens to you, and 90% how you react to it.”
So, more than being a story of pain, Woman Rising is a story of hope. It’s about digging for the light, no matter how dark it gets.
In fact, those early years in my parents’ house greatly shaped the writer I was to become.
“In an environment of extreme trauma,” I tell Ross in the interview, “the outcome is usually in favor of your skillsets…because your skillsets become your only outlet for happiness.”
2. The Reason Behind Writing Woman Rising
For a long time, I didn’t want to write this book.
I’m an entrepreneur with my own successful brands. I’m happily married and have a lovely daughter. Life has never been better.
Why dredge up a dark, evil past?
But three years ago, as I was talking to a friend on Twitter, I had an epiphany.
I was telling her about my early life in my dad’s cult: the dress codes, the beatings, my escape in the middle of the night.
“You need to write a book about that,” she said.
And it came to me then: the book’s title, the plot, everything.
A year later, after connecting with various victims of abuse and survivors of the cult, I decided to start writing it.
No, it wasn’t easy.
As Anais Nin said, “We write to taste life twice, in the moment and in retrospect.”
To write the book was to relive my dark past.
But I had to do it. It was a calling. I did it for myself, for other victims of abuse, and for you, if you’re struggling to escape any kind of traumatic past.
3. How I Achieved Healing in Eight Years
My story has a happy ending.
I escaped the cult, built my own successful brands, and married a gentle-hearted man with whom I have a precious daughter.
But it’s different for everyone. No two journeys will be the same.
For me, healing came from three major actions I took.
1. Breaking Away from the Toxic Environment I Was In
“They say family is everything, family is blood,” I tell Ross. “NO. I’m here to say, if they’re toxic, they’re bad for you…so cut out all the voices that are speaking trauma and any abuse form into your life.”
2. Setting Routines for My Mental Health
For me, it was journaling, meditation, and prayer that brought calm to my troubled mental state.
No matter how distracted I get, I make sure to stick to my routines.
3. Leaning on New Faith
Faith gives life a greater meaning, and it’s something to fall back on when things get hard.
4. How I Grew My Brands and Accomplished My Goals
When starting out on something huge, you can get derailed by doubts and questions.
What if it doesn’t work? What will people think? What will be the repercussions of doing it?
The key is to focus on doing what you love. Follow your gut instinct without second-guessing yourself. Don’t listen to the noise around you. This is a sure recipe for success.
In fact, it’s how I built my brands, wrote my books, and created my online courses.
5. My Content Advice for 2020 and Onward
My best advice for content creators who aren’t getting the results they’re looking for is this: focus on the one thing you do best.
A ton of content marketers think they have to learn it all. Blogging. Podcasts. Email. Video. Social media. Plus, there are a ton of tools and formats out there, making everything overwhelming.
The danger is, if you try to do everything, you master nothing.
“Mastery in content is where success really lies.” So, pick one or two formats and platforms and focus on mastering them.
Get Your Copy of Woman Rising on Amazon
Sitting down with Ross for this live interview made me SUPER excited to share my book with even more people.
It made me realize that I can inspire people to escape their past and live their dreams.
No matter how impossible it seems.
Don’t have the book yet? Grab your copy on Amazon today!
Keep rising! <3
