 Hi and today I'm with Meg Calvin. I'm excited for her to share a bit about her book that she recently wrote She's actually written two books, but first I want to say hi to you Meg. Thanks for being here. Hey I'm so honored to be here. I've been learning from you for over three years now And so it's to be a considered a kindred spirit. Yes, absolutely Meg has a mastermind group and she had brought me into the group to share with the group And I've always been really appreciated Meg of your support. So thank you so much so you've written two books and You're also sort of Moving from working in a nonprofit organization over to entrepreneurship So there's a lot we could talk about that. I think we'll be encouraging to to my viewers But first I want you to share a little bit about your book Well, let me let me give people a little bit about your background You are a wife mom speaker Podcaster and a coach who helps fellow spiritually attuned go-getters find confidence and certainty in who they were meant to be And I love that and and your podcast is a kind of about that as well kind of this intersection between spirituality and career tell us a bit about that actually Yes, so my co-host Miranda pretty and I we wanted to hear Stories of how every career is spiritual and also hear stories of divine breadcrumbs along the way that led people to choose the career They chose and and so we've been on the air It was a year this last September and so I think there's 54 almost 50 episodes released now at this point And we have molecular biologists and morticians and models You have a dirt bike or a rapper Educators comedians just every sort of career you can think of we are talking to those people and hearing their stories and It's been a blast. It's been so affirming and Inspiring to hear hear these stories and we're hoping it's that way for our listeners to yeah, that sounds amazing It's called the listening chair podcast. Yeah, so the listening chair podcast. That's great and you've written two books and I actually want to I Want to talk a little about each one actually so the first one was called the blue bonnet child Finding grace in poor soil Tell us a bit about that Yeah, so the that one came from Elevator pitch for the book first. It is a it is a book that helps us to offer hope to kids whose home life seemed hopeless and this came from my Almost 15 years in working in children and family ministry. We had five nonprofit programs and the The undergirding heart undergirding heart of my work undergirding theme of my work the motive the why that got me every morning was I believe that the local church and and schools and Big brothers and big sisters programs like that can be and are called to be a supplemental family to kids of abusive or Neglectful family systems and so I I wanted to I wanted to write a book that was for the busy practitioner and Gave people practical steps they could take To make a difference and empower them that the study showed they can make a difference and so in that book it it unpacks what I call the triple a approach and I make the ridiculously lame joke that It's cheaper than car insurance. It's not that triple a and it's um, but it's this idea that we are called to articulate how How the Holy Spirit is at work to heal their lives and heal any scars They they might have and in some cases heal the relationship between the parent and the child And so that's the the first a I think I'm getting these out of order I'm sorry another a is aware to simply that's the first one be aware of any signs you can look for and what type of hurt or Internal or external factors that the kid is bringing into your program and then The last step is to advocate so be aware articulate and advocate and be be a champion for the child's needs Whether that is in your nonprofit in your church program of school or the kid in the apartment next door And so it impacts the triple a approach as I call it so that was Yeah, the first book was a ministerial resource for for people that really wanted to make it the difference with those those kids Who are struggling those things? That's amazing and it doesn't have to be somebody who is in you know heading up a program like that It could be somebody who is has somebody like that in their neighborhood or in their in their life. Yeah Yeah, and and your second book is More about your story Tell us about that yeah, so I Apparently have this obsession with grit and that came through in my first book and it's come through in Thought leaders and mentors that I've clung to over the years is that I'm obsessed with grit and helping people find it and Analyzing and observing why why does that person have more of a resilient spirit than that person like she's been to Helen back How is she so kind? so I I was always just been obsessed with grit and so that was That that obsession led to while it was present in the first book in the second book I really wanted to tackle it head-on. And so that was the the start of the book was I noticed being a holy roller and As I share in the book I I started preaching when I was 13 and then by age 17 I was a paid. I was on a paid. It was a paid church staff member Which is insane and so from 17 to 32 I was on a paid church staff and I noticed in a lot of circle I ran around in professional and personal because the church was my professional and personal life was that a lot of Christians They thought words like ambition were dirty and sinful and ungodly and They they didn't have any grit because they were so burnt out because they had made every decision Based on a piecing someone or impressing their parishioners And so I I really wanted to explore that and it wasn't meant to have a memoir like feel But what I what I discovered in writing it was what is so one of the beautiful things about when you create something Is when the creation starts to speak back to you and tells you what it wants to be Well, what what the work started to tell me was that I have this ridiculous stage of self-deprecating humor that is my life that I could pull into this book and so so it started to feel like a theological self-help book but also a memoir and Yeah, it's basically encouraging encouraging the reader To the end that he already has enough grace for every wound enough grit for every goal And that it's time to take back your power that God has given you from others in your life And and to own own your beauty own your own your ambition that God is I even go as far to imply and in recent interviews have Been totally heretical and said things like God has been waiting on your ambition And I think it's true and so that that's the basis of that book And I I like to say that it's as if the comedian Seth Meyers and the Benedictine nun Joan Shiddister had a book baby together and that's this is the book that they would birth and Because it is at times Dry and satirical and extremely self-deprecating So that's yeah, the two very different two very different books for sure. Yeah, that's awesome That's it's so great that you allowed yourself to express, you know these different parts So the book is called I am my own Centuary how a recovering holy roller found healing and the power I am my own century So of course, I'll have links to the book below Your author name on Amazon is Maggie Lee Calvin and E G G I E Lee L E E Calvin, so So tell us about does this do do either of these books or both Full kind of work into your coaching and your work with individuals Yeah, so With with the with the clients. I'm working with now. I am a a writing coach a creative coach and and so So much of what comes up in our conversations part of it is about the creative process and Taking time to point them to trusted personality assessments that will help them set themselves up for mental success by the routines and habits and environment and And then tools like should I use no, should I use? Should I use Google or should I use Word documents? So those types of tools come up and accountability and what I'm also noticing coming up in those conversations is I Negative self-talk I think that gets in the way and I'm sure you're with if your business have anything that a lot and So we talked a lot about I talk a lot about negative self-talk in the second book for sure Because in I am my own sanctuary. I unpack the various parts of our sanctuary and the whole mind-body spirit soul connection. And so we I I Share a lot on on on about these Neuroscientific research that I have read that has been so helpful in healing to me when it comes to the power of how we talk to ourselves and When it how the brain reacts when we want to take a risk and when you're a creep, I think I think everyone is creative. I think as My pal David Hayward the the naked pastor author and cartoonist says he thinks everyone's creative The difference is that some people create and some choose not to and I think whenever we take a risk to choose to be creative Are our negative self-talk is going to be on full blast. And so I I like to share I like to share tips and techniques and Around around those things it with with people that I I'm so privileged to be to be coaching now I hope that answered your question. Yeah, no, this is great So this is your clients are people who are hoping to to write a book or to create other works So do you also to tell us more like what what kind of coaching do you most enjoy doing? So we're talking about this creativity this writing, but anything else you you work on you've worked with so I Guess I'm in a state of life now where I have a I have a side hustle and so in my side hustle is speaking and writing and coaching and I want in that type of coaching it is I'm helping people write their first book and so so I guess creative coach and then my I don't want to Say my day job because they both they both are my day job as a director of engagement For the Institute for Discipleship We have an online learning platform via disciple comm and we've been around since 2005 We've served almost 14,000 learners and we have we have this great ministry for content creators or solopreneurs that want to teach online and We're fully accredited we handle all the back-end work of the technological side and I partner with I coach them in marketing and And so that's another type of that's another type of of of coaching that I do for Christian content creators or Christian course providers is helping them helping them market. Well, that's great. Yeah Yeah, so that that's been that's been exciting and a lot of the What's interesting and I'm sure you can attest to this is that the folks that I'm helping write their first book are between the ages of Mid-20s to 40 and the people that I get to coach in in marketing or online courses. They are 50 and older and this it's so it's been so surprising to me the same similar limiting beliefs come up and Things that I'm sure you Hear all the time too from from your clients things like I can't just go and tell people to take my course Well, yes, you can but there's a way to do it So there's a way to make it about the person you're called to serve and sharing in a well-worded copy way How your service will meet their needs and how it brings you joy to meet their needs? And so but lots of getting rid of lots of limiting beliefs that hold us back from Sharing the as you talk about the joy of the work we do that is great reframing actually and given that a lot of those watching or listening to this are Hoping to get out get a product out there such as an online course Tell us more about that. So let's say somebody is has created something, you know, they believe is useful Which your clients all have something like this and like I said, they're they're having this this limiting belief or this negative self-talk about well, I Don't want to bother people. I Don't bother people, but then how do I how do people know about it? Talk us through a little bit about that that that kind of hesitation Yeah, the phrases that I have found the most helpful to me when I had The same thoughts five six years ago when I had the tug on my heart the phrases that have been most helpful to me was this idea that And this might be a little woo-woo or new a g but the fact that the idea is in me to create this thing It is there because there's another soul out there Who's hungry for it and wants it and needs it and it's just waiting for me to get on social media and say hey if you want this result I have this service and That has been that remembering that truth has been really helpful to me and other other clients and the other The other tagline is not tagline that came out wrong The other piece of advice that has been helpful to me and helpful to clients has been To simply to simply observe other people's Social media marketing techniques and you can tell it only rubs you the wrong way when you can tell it's all about Them and what they're doing look look what I'm doing, but when you when you learn to write copy in a way that's One one style that I know you're aware of is a pain to paradise or prison to paradise And when we speak of a time vulnerably where we were this time of anguish and discomfort and then that we write the pivot moment Then this happened or then I met or then I found and then this paradise of where you are now And when you you end it with a perfectly phrase called action that you're inviting out of love and joy You're inviting the person reading that post to come experience that to it doesn't rub you the wrong way and it's like you teach It's authentic and it's it's good And it's the same as if you were to see someone drowning and you had this life a life Not jacket life fest. Yeah Wouldn't just hoard it you with yeah, it would be second nature to just throw it at them and say this is for you so having having those types of talks is Has been very helpful to me and to and to the people that have amazing content and just me get it out there So This is great. I'm hoping people can can really I imagine people can relate to this and it's like you know Like you said it's authentic because it comes out of your own story your own life experience What about how what would you what's your encouragement for people who maybe they did put it out there? they were expecting a lot and Maybe it wasn't as you know gotten as good of an uptake as they had hoped What's your any encouragement for them or any words of wisdom? I would I would I guess it has something to do with grit Right. It's like it's like oh, I put it out there, but nobody wanted it So therefore let's not mean you know, let's not be meant to be or Yes, so we I won't I'm tempted to ask more questions, but I know it's a hypothetical question like this Just go with go with the example we I did have one instructor that made this amazing online course last year and And it was about theology and film and it was by far Oh, I shouldn't say that but some might say it was one of the best courses we've ever had and we tried to run it twice and There were three three people in it and He wanted to wait till he had more and so he he himself pulled out of the deal until he offered it again and so I guess and I I Would not I would I know my business coach might disagree with me But I I would say I have a lot to learn about marketing and what what I teach is what I have learned from my own experience And I'm so blessed now that I get to share that With online instructors what I wish I would have said to him at the time was start here start with these three that you have and and polish this baby up and learn and build a relationship with these three people and knowing that That those those real authentic relationships are going to lead to a more slowly but surely a sustainable business for you And so I think that a lot of us Maybe it's not a I think I'm going to say a lot of us big idea big picture innovative Entrepreneur type sometimes we fall in the trap of it's all or nothing And I don't think that that's healthy or helpful that sometimes we need to just start with who has come to us And and so because of the truth I'm learning this for myself with with small Over the past few years small speaking giggas that have come up They they have polished me and gotten me ready for what's next and and there's no way for what what's coming right? The doors that are opening for me right now. I would have not been ready for five years ago It took me little steps of just doing the cliche that's out right now do the next right? Just The next right thing okay, then let's see what has been grown slowly But surely over the last five years and still I have so much to learn and I'm so excited about that fact That is a great. Thank you for that reminder and encouragement that we are on this journey of development that is being lovingly guided and We don't have to assume that it's all gonna You know sort of have this Fulfillment in our heads of what the fantasy should be, but it's like no There's a path and and we walk it and we we serve the person in front of us and And we grow by doing that. So thank you for your encouragement and that story Meg it's been great to talk with you I look forward to seeing you continue to write books and You know do your awesome Marketing in your you know of your courses Where should people connect with you you've got we've got the of course people you should check out Meg's books You know they're available Amazon, etc Maggie Lee Calvin is where you how you find her? author name and e ggi e Lee Calvin three words and then Your podcast is the listening chair podcast Anything else you want to share with us before we before we go I'm so excited that you can go to my website Meg Calvin calm and get the first ages of the book for free And and so that's you as as other marketing people are listening. It is the we called action But at the top of the website and that will get you on my email list and that will get you occasional goodness and support and Encouragement to you know, let me do God make you to be in your in your inbox from me as well But the most important thing you get is the first 50 pages for free of the book So that's um, I'm excited that that just once again that was a small another another small step I took in in making my website the best it could be what I just added that with the help of my business coach and It's exciting to see Totally, that's great. So it's Meg Calvin M e g c a l v i n Meg Calvin calm Thank you so much Meg for the work that you do and just the encouraging and The life of presence that you are to your community. Oh My pleasure my honor. Thank you. Thank you