I’m writing this message ahead of time (rare for me — I’ll tell you why in a second) as I’m gifting myself the time to be offline and write my book and enjoy Italy over the next few weeks.

That got me thinking about planning and working ahead and everything that comes with that today.

You see, before I booked Italy, I asked a few of my author friends how they went about writing their book.

I got tons of different answers….

“Spending a month in Bali.”

“Writing a little bit every day for a year.”

“Three weeks in a cabin.”

“Pomodoro Technique.”

The list was endless, and what it taught me is that this whole book thing isn’t one size fits all.

And before leaving, I started to see that people had opinions about my “plan” or lack thereof.

In the lead up to my trip to work on my book in Italy, everyone asked me what my process looked like. Did I have it all mapped out?

My answer? No.

I had the proposal which includes a breakdown of every chapter, but other than that, I was winging it. I was going to be in the moment and see what came up for me. I wasn’t going to worry about it. I want to be real with it. I want to let it flow. I’m trusting that what’s meant to come out on paper will. I know that it won’t be my only book so although I want it to be AMAZING, I’m not putting pressure on myself for it to be perfect.

Maybe for you even reading that totally freaks you out and elicits major worry on my behalf.

Or maybe you resonate with that, and like me, you just move forward and figure it out as you go.

Maybe you want to get to that place, but are finding it challenging.

Neither are right or wrong, lovely.

That’s what I’ve come to realize especially this past year.

As James and I have been working on building our IHML team, we’ve taken all the personality test and questionnaires that exist.

We already knew a lot about ourselves, but it’s been taken to a whooollleeee other level ;).

It’s been fun, but the thing that’s made all the difference can be summed up in one word (no graph of our traits needed!).

The word?

Acceptance.

Here’s what I mean, lovely.

So often we make the fact that we’re a last-minute procrastinator or “quickstart” wrong.

I used to think I needed to have all of these blog posts mapped out months in advance. But the thing is, lovely, that’s not me. I want to write from the heart in real time.

And the sooner I accepted that about myself, the sooner I was able to go deeper with you, be real, and bring you along for the journey (hopefully inspiring your own journey to your something big and massive success).

The truth is we all have a little bit of everything in us and the more we accept who were are and play to our strengths, the happier and more successful we’ll be.

I’m now able to trust that I’ll figure out that process that works for me — whether it’s the book, running the business, building the team, or my own health — it’s all personal, lovely, and the sooner I find my own groove, the better.

(Now please hear me when I say that of course I also learn from people who have come before me — that’s the whole reason I asked my peers for recommendations on the book writing process. But I also know I have to make it my own.)

Can’t wait to share how it all went down, lovely.

Who knows, maybe an “I Heart My Book” program will even be in the works.

Speak soon, lovely!

P.S. I’m off to meet James in Positano – can’t wait! Make sure to follow our Italian adventure on Instagram by following me on “iheartmylifenow” or by clicking here.