Think you don't have time to write a killer ebook?
Check out how our amazing client Carrie Huberty fit it in amidst her busy psychology practice, servicing schools, teaching yoga and a million other things.
She almost had a panic attack. 🙂
Listen in and let me know what your biggest takeaway is.
PREFER TO READ? HERE’S THE TRANSCRIPT OF MY INTERVIEW WITH CARRIE HUBERTY
Sylvie: Welcome everybody, it's Sylvie McCracken from sylviemccracken.com, and today I have one of my incredible clients, Carrie Huberty, who is the author of a book that is almost done. Almost coming out, which is called, I have to read it, “Hectic World Happy Life: Turn Stress into Serenity in 5 Minutes a Day”, and as a psychologist and yoga teacher, welcome, Carrie.
Carrie: Thank you.
Sylvie: Yeah thank you for being here, so I wanted to start by just asking you, maybe you could share with people that are watching, tuning in, who might be fellow psychologist's, or psychiatrists, what were you doing before when you find out about our program? What was your day to day like?
Carrie: I've been working in the school's for over 15 years now. And I really just was struggling day to day, so trying to figure out how to open my own business. And make it what I want to do. But then in the back of my head, I've always had that I wanted to write a book. There was just something nagging at me, and I had done a lot of different trainings on mindfulness out of my own initiative. So it wasn't actually part of my job, but I just saw so many people struggling with stress. And just being unhappy every day, and I knew that it worked for me, so I really wanted to take that initiative. And when I saw the program, and I saw you, Sylvie, it really resonated with me. And you resonated with me, and I thought that lady sounds like me, I can do that.
Sylvie: That's hilarious, I don't hear that very often. Because usually, I hear, you're a little more hardcore than I am. That's amazing, so what is it, so in your day to day, tell me a little bit about what a day in the life of your day job looks like.
Carrie: Yeah, it's a lot of testing, observing students, a lot of things that I didn't know I was signing up for, I'll say that. I have switched jobs, I was a district person, where I would go to several different schools a day and I would look after their intervention teams, and really try to help support them with supporting students. So in essence I was actually working with the adults, and not necessarily the kids. But as we all know, we're all interlinked, and so the kids obviously, if the adults aren't healthy, then the kids aren't gonna benefit as much as they could either. It's a high stress job, it's fast paced. I definitely come home every day and I have to unwind myself from going into that every day, because you do see a lot of things that maybe the everyday world isn't always exposed to.
Sylvie: Yeah, no doubt. And that's something I feel like we hear a lot, is sort of you have all this experience and expertise in your field, and then you feel like in your day job you're not really able to even apply it because you have all this regulation, you have to make sure you're in the boundaries, and working within the lines and whatnot.
Carrie: Absolutely, that defines it perfectly.
Sylvie: Yeah, so how long have you wanted to write a book for?
Carrie: Well, I would say, I've been complimented over the course of… I even remember back in high school where my teachers were even saying, “you write so well”, and I just, a teenager doesn't really pay attention to that, that's not what I wanted to do. But then it kept coming back to me over and over again and that's something I do every day, is I write about students and about their situations. And then I'd say about 12 years ago, it dawned on me that I might actually be able to write a book because I heard a principal bragging about her son. And how her son had wrote this amazing book, and I thought, “her son wrote a book? Oh, well that must mean I can do it too”. And so that just stuck with me.
Sylvie: Yeah, that's amazing, and so you kind of thought that then, and you had that first little seed, but did you take any action on it before joining our program?
Carrie: No, not at all. I had no idea how to do that.
Sylvie: Okay got it, so you needed a system to take you through and be like, okay, now we're gonna take this from idea to actually get it done?
Carrie: Yes, and I really honestly wouldn't have thought that that would ever fit into my day. Like, my days already so full, that I never even thought that would be a possibility.
Sylvie: That's actually a great point. What is your schedule like? What are your work hours like?
Carrie: They vary but it's basically like an 8 to 5 type thing. A little bit less hours when the kids are in school, but there's a lot of work before and after as well.
Sylvie: Got it, yep, that's a classic. Okay cool, well, you joined the program, and that was about 8 weeks ago. Because you just graduated a minute ago basically, and so tell me, well first of all, in that 8 weeks, if I remember correctly we've got your idea completely refined. We've got your outline completely back and forth approved and everything else. You have a great title, you have a great cover, you have a sales page, right?
Carrie: Yes.
Sylvie: You have everything other than you have some writing still to do, basically?
Carrie: Yes.
Sylvie: Okay got it, so that's amazing first of all. So want to definitely honor that, because it's a heck of a lot to progress in 8 weeks, considering you had a full time day job throughout that whole time, right?
Carrie: Yes, that's right.
Sylvie: So what would you say in that 8 weeks, what would you say was the maybe framework, or module, what was it that you found the most helpful?
Carrie: I definitely think for me, two things were most helpful. The group calls, and the Facebook page, where you got to cheer other people on. And I'm not sure if a lot of people would say that, but for me, it was really all about, I knew that I needed help from other people. So I was always trying to fill other people's blanks with other things that I could help them with. So we shared what do you think about this title? And what do you think about this topic? I always wanted to make sure I was helping other people, and then in doing that, I started to build relationships with them. And then other people were cheering me on, and I needed that, so that was really, really important to me. And then also to be able to see, on the group calls, what other people were doing was huge, because it just gave you more ideas and it also helped you just say, “oh, I can do that, that doesn't look like its too hard, I think I can handle this”.
Sylvie: That's amazing, I love hearing that because I feel like you touch on something that's so important which is for a lot of people having that cohort and having that accountability. And a little positive peer pressure too, of like, I'm doing it, where you sometimes take a day or two off, and then you're like, oh, man, I better get back to it. And having that momentum of people posting saying “I got my outline approved, I finished my title”, or whatever, really gets you back into action. So I wanted to just honor you for that too. Because you were really such a positive light in the group, and I noticed that. We can see that, the team can see that, of you really adding just constantly posting celebration's, thanking our coaches. Which I absolutely, we have the best coaches in the world. But the way you showed up with them, and the way you were grateful every step of the way, it says a lot about who you are, Carrie. So I have no doubt knowing that, like seeing that, I have no doubt that you're going to be successful in everything else you go and do. So that's amazing, and in terms of the group calls, getting that feedback is critical. I feel like one of the things that's so key, is most people have on their bucket list, write a book. But a lot of the times, people would just get stuck on one thing, and quit altogether. So, I love that you showed up, you really made use of the support, you reached out for help every time you needed it. And so that's amazing as well. So what would you say, is kind of the biggest shift that you've found in yourself? And you noticed in yourself during the 8 weeks? Because of course, we're here to write a book, but most of the time what ends up happening, is something a little different as well.
Carrie: Yeah, so just a lot of the mindset work that we do, that you talk about from day 1 was huge for me. So I go back to that every single day. So it wasn't like, “oh this is so easy, I can just start writing a book and I can create my title page and all is well, and I'm awesome, and everything is great”. It definitely was not like that. I struggle, and I've always struggled with confidence. Even if I know something really well, I always question things, so it was a huge, huge mindset issue for me to go in day after day and say “oh, I've got this title, but is it good enough? And everybody else is doing mindfulness, cause it's the new buzz word. Like, maybe I don't have anything to contribute then”, just those questions over and over so I had to keep asking myself, “where is my focus? Where am I putting my energy at? Am I putting my energy in those negative things that aren't even true necessarily, or am I saying wait a minute? I think that is just the mindset issue like let me take a step back, and just breathe” and then get back into it. And every time I did that, and every time I got back to, and that's another reason why the Facebook group helped me. Because I kept going back to that and I would see other people celebrating and being so happy and it just reset me every time with positivity, like, “okay I can do this. It's okay Carrie, you may not have all the answers right now, but you'll figure it out”, I can do it.
Sylvie: Yeah, that's amazing. So is that mindset work, was that new to you in terms of had you done mindset work before? Or was it something that was brand new for you?
Carrie: I've done a lot of self-reflection, like deep self-work because obviously I'm a yoga teacher, I've gone on lots of retreats but to be honest, the way that you put it and the book that you recommend, it makes it so simple. And I think sometimes we get stuck in our heads on well this has to be a big deal. But its just the simple matter of awareness, really. Like are you aware that this is really your mindset coming in to play that's stopping you. So I've done the work before, but I've never done it like everyday, thinking about that so bringing it into my everyday life was, I've seen really positive benefits from that across the board.
Sylvie: Yeah, that's awesome. So can you share one or two of those benefits that have nothing to do perhaps with writing a book. Where else is it showing up in your life?
Carrie: Yeah, the biggest thing is just having more confidence to open up my own business and start exploring that. And then the other area it really opened my eyes to was realizing that I've been networking all along for a business that is yet to be created. And I had no idea, I was just being me in the world and realizing that I do have the potential, And I do have those abilities. It sounds so simple, but, it's huge, for me.
Sylvie: Yeah well I love that. And I love that now you have a product that you're going to be able to capitalize on some of that work that you've been doing for a decade, it's all coming together. So that is amazing, okay cool. And so you've seen these transformations in your business, in your personal life, you have a book ready to go, you just have to fill it in and then hit that launch button and everything else. What would you say is, was there any part that you felt like you got stuck, or was there at any point a moment where you questioned whether or not you could do it? Or whether it was going to work or anything like that?
Carrie: There were two times. The first time was just getting started. So for me, the just getting started happened at about 3 to 4 weeks. So I was still walking through the modules, but then I had my second mindset call. And I thought, I'm way behind, I can't do this. And I had the reset there and that was when I actually set goals for myself. And said okay, I can do this, I wrote down every single thing I wanted to do by the end of the 8 weeks. And I knew that if I did that, I would hold myself accountable and stick to it. And then the very last week was really hard for me because of the sales page. So the sales page was something that I really struggled with, I think, again, it goes back to mindset and not wanting to put myself out there. Being afraid of putting myself out there. But it's just something I've never done before, and I honestly sat down and I was like, I just want to give up now, I truly thought oh my god, I came all this way, this is gonna be the end of it. I'm gonna stop right here, but I pushed through. I did little, little bits at a time. And then once I saw even my first draft, I thought, oh my god, I did this. And it was such a relief, and it was so nice to see okay, I can do it, just little bits.
Sylvie: Yeah that's amazing. Well what I love is, I mean, obviously it hasn't, it's not like, oh this is just easy in every step of the way, I just did it and whatever. There's obviously, you hit some stumbling blocks. So what I love about you, and what really makes the difference between somebody that hits that stumbling block, and completely gives up and quits and someone that's like, okay, let me reassess, what resources do I have? Who can I reach out for help or feedback, or whatever else. You showed up to every one of the calls, mindset calls and whatever else, you sent in the help tickets when you needed it, and you really pushed through. So that resourcefulness that you have, and that you've continued to build is exactly what's going to get you every single step of the way. So that's amazing, Carrie. What would you say to anyone listening who might be a psychologist or maybe even a yoga teacher as well, and is wondering whether or not they're ready, or they know enough, or they have something to share with the world. Or whether they can fit it in their schedule, if they're listening in and thinking, well, maybe if Carrie can do it. They can find some similarities or something like that, what would you say to them?
Carrie: Oh my gosh, totally go for it, even if, don't let fear stop you. Because that's one of the biggest things that prevents, I think, anyone from moving forward. But, if that's something that you really have an interest in, I really think that you need to explore that, and then just see…I just feel like so many other things in my life are starting to unfold and open because I made this one choice to trust my gut and just do it. Despite all the fears. I almost had a panic attack signing up. I mean, I really truly, that sounds crazy. But, I was like, “I don't think I can do this, “I don't think I can do this”. And I pushed through and it's just made such a big difference in so many ways across my life. Not just, “oh, I might make money”, it's not about that. It's just opening these doorways and new opportunities. New ways for me to think about how I wanna be in this world, which is amazing and fun.
Sylvie: That's incredible, I think that's our headline right there, “our psychologist's almost had a panic attack.” It can't turn off the copyrighting brain, but, that's amazing, and that's hilarious, Carrie. And I really wanna thank you for taking the time out of your busy day, obviously, you've got a million things to do. And really sharing this with people who are, again, just sitting on the fence, kind of like you did for 10 years or whatever. In terms of I want to do this, I don't know how to do is, and whatever else. So that's really, really helpful. So, anyway, Carrie's book is gonna be out very soon, and this is one more tactic to get her to finish it, so make sure you ask her about it so that she can finish it, called, I already forgot, I have to read the title again, cause I can't remember, but it's a fantastic one, “Hectic World Happy Life Turn Stress Into Serenity In 5 Minutes A Day”, so check Google for it. In maybe a few weeks, Carrie, do we have a date when it's gonna be done?
Carrie: No, not yet, I hope in like 3 months. That's my goal, is 3 months.
Sylvie: Okay, we'll see, we're gonna hold you to it. Cause she might have summers off, so we're gonna get this done very quickly. And, in the meantime, if you're listening and wondering if you can write any book as well, you can create an online business. You can go from not even knowing what WordPress is or how to get online. To really creating an incredible book, not just an any old book, not just starting a blank doc and just typing, but actually a book that can change people's lives, that can really be a legacy for you. And also create a great income for your family as well. Book a call with my team, and we'll see if we can help you, the link to book a call is sylviemccracken.com/call, and we have incredible team members that would absolutely love to help you and figure out if this is for you. And if this is something we can help you with or not. So the link will be below the video. sylviemccracken.com/call, I look forward to talking to you guys really, really soon. Thank you, Carrie.
Carrie: Thank you.
