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Guest Post by Nina Spencer
Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it.
Boldness has genius, power and magic in it!
—Goethe
Some people are professional writers that cross over to professional speaking, while others are speakers that cross over to writing. I’m the latter. To this day I don’t really feel like a writer, let alone a memoirist, but I guess I am. This is how my writing “career”—and all that it’s helped me accomplish—came to pass.
Back in October of 2001 everyone was still pretty numb from what had happened on 9–11. The bottom had temporarily fallen out of my speaking business, as many clients had cancelled their balance of 2001 conferences. Understandably, no one was in a mood for “play” at that point. Along with so many others, I felt a personal devastation over 9–11, and as well, I suffered a blow to my business.
When I began to come out of my daze a couple of weeks later, I realized I had to do something to stay connected to my clients, even if they didn’t want an inspirational speaker “in their face” for the moment. So I began to write. I had always known that sooner or later I’d get around to it, for that’s what most professional speakers eventually do—write a book. But the events of that fall egged me on to begin earlier than planned.
And so began my monthly offerings of “Working Wisdom,” conceived as “a free monthly electronic publication focusing on tried and tested strategies, quick tips and easy-to-facilitate exercises for improved workplace communications and productivity.” At first, I kept it very formal, very business-like … no personal anecdotes. For the March 2002 offering, however, I was inspired to fold in a heartfelt tale about the sudden death of one of my beloved high school teachers … too young to die at 54. I made a business point using a personal vignette. And what do you think happened next? The response blew me away. On the day this piece was posted, I fielded phone calls and e-mails all day long, and booked two speaking engagements, to boot!
Ah. Now I saw. Many people enjoyed the lessons of “Working Wisdom”more when they were laced with personal stories. “Note to self,” I thought, “do this again …”
That was eight years ago … and I’ve continued every month to share “Working Wisdom” primarily with my subscribed clients. I often “warm up” my professional writing with personal truths—some sad, some poignant, some funny too—but all pertinent to the topic being discussed. Every now and then, serendipity strikes. This or that publication asks to reprint my articles, and then there are the radio opportunities, and television too, all because of “Working Wisdom” (and especially the offerings in which I shared personal tales). And now, I’m honoured to repeatedly contribute to, or share my own articles with, Canada’s The Globe and Mail.
So by the time I was ready to write my first book, I had developed this more informal style that often gave my readers an honest look at the good, the bad, and sometimes the ugly of things that went on in my personal and professional life. In other words, there were undertones of memoir. It just makes sense.
Over the years I’ve received many responses from readers, such as, “I love the way you write … so personal, so authentic …I love the way you take your life’s stories and weave them into professional lessons …, etc.” Getting Passion Out of Your Profession: How to keep loving your living, come what may was published in 2006 and is now a Canadian bestseller based on copies sold. To this day, the feedback I get most often about Getting Passion is “just how easy it is to read,” and “how much I love your written voice and the stories you tell.”
Around the same time I made a decision to do something personally adventurous, something I was afraid to tackle but, at the same time, determined to accomplish. On January 20 I will set out to climb Mount Kilimanjaro to raise money for a cause that inspires me: a Women’s Leadership Centre on the campus of the Africa International University in Kenya. During my training and as this date drew ever closer, many from my circle began calling and sending e-mails enquiring about my training progress, my excitement, and so on. It got to the point where it was challenging keeping up with personal responses. So, what’s a person to do? Blog.
And that’s exactly what I’m doing. I began a Mount Kilimanjaro Training Blog, filled with my personal woes, worries, wonders and insights as I prepared for this “chance of a lifetime.” The photos above, from my blog, were taken while I trained on Algonquin Provincial Park’s Centennial Ridges Trail.
So there you have it … how one person’s profession led to a sideline as a writer, which in turn led to an expanded business profile, and then to honest-to-goodness “memoiring”—for, upon my return, I’ll begin writing my next book, about my experiences on the mountain. Wish me luck!
If you’re curious to see how I’ve folded personal anecdotes into my “Working Wisdom” offerings, here’s one—the first of my more personal pieces—in which I share the story of my teacher’s passing, and another in which I share the day leading up to my mother’s death, the funeral and aftermath.
If you are inspired to write about your own personal experiences or those of a loved one, for your eyes only or for the value and benefit of others, begin now. There are a multitude of rewards, beyond your imagination, in doing so.
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Nina Spencer is a Canadian motivational speaker who draws on 27 years of corporate experience in her work as a conference keynote speaker and workshop facilitator in the public and private sectors, as well as in university and college settings. She’s a native Torontonian, a graduate in Psychology of York University, and was, at one time, a professional figure skater. Nina is author of the book Getting Passion Out of Your Profession and the newsletter “Working Wisdom.” In spring 2010 she invited Allyson Latta to lead a full-day workshop on memoir writing for a group of her colleagues and friends at Verity club in downtown Toronto.
Nina is now packing, and departs for Tanzania tomorrow, January 15, in preparation for her Mount Kilimanjaro climb beginning January 20. Follow her progress here.