Women in Business: Laurel Thomas

WOMEN IN BUSINESS

Calculated Leaps

by

Laurel Thomas

 

New beginnings don’t usually appear as sunbeams glimmering through early morning sunrise. Some arrive in the middle of a tempest.

My favorite place to be as a child, other than the warmth of my grandmother’s kitchen, was Pelican Lake right outside our family cabin.

Our visits began on weekends in early summer when the snow finally cleared. My first leap into those chilly waters grabbed my breath and took me down into their clear depths.

Cold? Sure, but it was water! My mother enforced one rule. I had to get out of the lake when my lips were blue, and my teeth chattered.

Change came unexpectedly, at least to me. A new marriage and stepdad took me to a blended family in the faraway land of Missouri.

So often, enormous moments in our lives arrive without fanfare or warning. They might be filled with loss or regret. Still, they’re an opportunity to go where we’ve never been. And to discover something inside us that has been there all along.

I’d written for many years and never considered myself a writer. I ghosted books for pastors who wanted a sermon series in print, wrote monthly newsletters to encourage prayer, and generally had a pen in my hand most of the time. Until, of course, that pen became a computer in a makeshift office.

Years later, change beckoned again in a friendship with Melanie Hemry.

Melanie was so humble. I had no idea what a force she was in the writing world. She taught me how to craft a compelling, real-life story for the inspirational magazine, Guideposts.

When I heard an incredible personal journey from the pulpit at our church, I asked for permission to share it. Thanks to Melanie, it didn’t take long to write the story and attach it to a query.

Guidepost’s senior acquisition editor contacted me on a Sunday afternoon. Rocking Horse for a Prince came into print months later. Four million readers? Yes, please.

Melanie also connected me with other writers. When WriteWell, SellWell became a business, I came on board to help administrate their conferences and retreats.

Administrate was a fancy title that meant getting practical things in place so that speakers and writers alike enjoyed a time of equipping and community.

Hey, I wanted to be a part of all this. I just gave what I had. Serving opened doors for me, too. It became a fast track that immersed me in a world of writing I hadn’t known existed.

So maybe I was a writer.

Years later, launching a business in the middle of a pandemic didn’t look like the right time. My website was still in the works, and I wasn’t sure what coaching looked like on me.

All of the universe was online, though.

Write Your Heart Out! was born out of the fear and uncertainty of COVID 19.

Facebook Live videos? A silent NOOOO bellowed inside. After a little practice (and make-up) it got easier. I offered free coaching through an online Writers Round Table, as well as in critique groups.

Writers Round Table became a venue that included writers from Denmark and Canada to Montana, the Midwest, and Florida. I met my friend, Christina Rost, whose talent and fearlessness to move forward still inspire me.

Those leaps finally convinced me. I loved to teach and to connect with writers. Coaching was a perfect fit.

The moral of this story is a thread that runs through each of my novels.

Don’t fear change. See it as an opportunity to leap. Yes, that jump may take you into chilly waters that threaten to take your breath away. You’ll be fine.

Like giant earthmoving equipment in construction, forward motion unearths treasures you carry inside.

Maybe you haven’t understood your gift as an artist. Or you’re unaware of a potential canvas for life-transforming messages that bless our world.

According to my protagonist in Her Name is Gatekeeper, we don’t have to be sand tossed around by winds of adversity or stalemated by inaction.

We can be the wind.

Let your writing gift grow. Hang out with the right company and make some calculated leaps. Your gift has power to save, to heal and to deliver.

After all, heaven might just be waiting to touch earth with your words.