If you have a small business question that you'd like for me to answer, let me know.
Q: I've just lost my job, my husband and I are separated, and I'm in the middle of a major life transition that is both scary and exciting. I read your book, Discovering Your Inner Samurai, and know you went through a big life transition, too. I'm looking for answers, direction, and solace, and I love to read. What books did you find helpful when you were going through your life transition?A: Reading is a great way to connect with and relate to other women who have been there, done that, especially when you're going through a major life transition. In 2004, when it seemed to me as if my world was falling apart, books spoke to me in a way that made me feel heard, understood, and no longer alone in my experience.
As you know, in 2004 I went through a huge life transition. For a while after my spiritual awakening, I was able to function and operate in the world just fine, but then it became all too much for me and I crashed in on myself.
Within a short time, I quit my job, ended a long-term relationship, grieved the passing of both my parents, and wrote my book. The only two things that remained the same were my cat and my address. Other than that, my spiritual, financial, romantic, physical, and emotional worlds all went through monumental changes.
During that time I read a lot of books to help me make sense of the transition going in, around, and through me. One of the most helpful books was When the Heart Waits by Sue Monk Kidd. You may already know Sue Monk Kidd as the author of The Secret Life of Bees. (Another wonderful book, by the way!)
When the Heart Waits is an intensely personal book. Having gone through a life transition herself, Kidd openly talks about her own personal life journey and midlife experience. She shares how she grappled with the sacred questions of life, what her own emotional transformational process was like, how it almost did her in, and how she made it through to the other side.
Another book I found very helpful was The Way of Transition by William Bridges. This is a poignant, beautifully written, and uplifting story of his journey from darkness to light. Throughout the book, Bridges shows you how to not only survive a major life transition but also to embrace these most difficult moments and turn them into something positive.
Take heart. Transformation is very much a part of the inner Samurai journey. It comes when we least expect it, and comes, seemingly, unasked for. The call is unmistakable. It's the call to shed what we've known ourselves to be in order to become a greater version of who we are.
It's a journey all entrepreneurial women must take. While it may feel as if your life is falling apart, it really isn't. Instead, it's coming together in new and wonderful ways.
Enjoy these two beautiful reads!
If you have a small business question
that you'd like for me to answer, let me know.
Susan L. Reid
Inner Samurai Business Expert
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