How book coaching is like rappelling

Ten years ago, on my birthday, my wife at the time surprised me with a zip line adventure in the Redwoods in California.

It was awesome. I love zip lining. I love trees. It was my first time in the Redwoods, and I loved them, too.

What I didn’t expect?

How to get down.

It was the first zip line adventure that I experienced where, at the end, you had to rappel down the final tree.

Cool! is what I thought at first.

But then when it was my turn, I looked down off the platform.

I froze.

A creepy, tingling sensation grabbed hold of my calves, and locked me into place. My fear.

My wife and at least two other women were in line behind me. Let them go first, I said.

No, our guide said.

It’s your turn, he said.

I started shaking.

I sat down, my legs dangling over the edge, my gloved hands tugging the rope. Looking down. More shaking.

My guide, Kyle, then pressed his hand wide onto my back.

He had me.

He grounded me.

He was patient. He could have waited there all day.

But he wasn’t going to.

I wasn’t going to.

We were literally at the precipice, between safety and risk, fear and faith.

The tension.

That’s what you want to feel when you write.

The guide.

That’s the encouragement you want to have beside you as you step forward.

Finally, I pushed the fear out of the way, decided to believe, to trust, to have faith.

I slid off.

As I descended, I felt my power.

A woman above cheered me on by singing Happy Birthday.

If you feel you’re at the precipice with your book and need that gentle but firm push, the time is now to book a call. Let’s chat.

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