Episode 20 - What I Learned While Writing a Book

Writing a book taught me a ton about mindset, knowing my values, and taking action even though I was scared.

Go behind the scenes in my writing process in this episode!

My book, The Purposeful MD-Creating the Life You Love Without Guilt, officially launches October 1, 2024.

Pre-order before October 1 directly through my website here-

www.thepurposefulmd.com/book

Transcript

  Welcome to the PurposefulMD Podcast.  As a physician, you've sacrificed so much of your life for other people. Your patients, your family, your friends, and your colleagues.  What would it feel like to spend time doing what you enjoy, and to live without guilt? I'm your host, Dr. Laura Suttin,  a family physician, certified coach and business owner. 

If you're a medical professional on a journey towards your most purposeful life,  a life with more time and energy and ultimately more joy, then this is the podcast for you. 

 Before we get to today's episode, I have some exciting news that my book is now available for pre order. The book is called the purposeful MD creating the life you love without guilt. I'm really excited. This book is designed for physicians and all medical professionals to  Really get back more time and energy in your life.

It's very practical with exercises and journaling prompts. I'm really excited to bring this into the world.  It's available for pre order today. Go to the purposefulmd. com slash book to pre order your book. It will be published October the 1st. So that's the purposefulmd. com slash book to pre order. 

Welcome to another episode of the purposeful MD podcast. I am doing a solo cast today, and I'm really spending some time talking about the lessons that I learned when I was writing my first book. So I'm really excited that the purposeful MD creating the life you love without guilt launches on October 1st, you can pre order it.

So you can get your hands on it early at purposefulmd. com book.  We'll share that episode or share that website with you guys a couple of times. And also I will link to it in the show notes and link to you to have to pre order it.  But I wanted to spend some time with you today talking about some of what I learned in the process and  go behind the scenes a little bit. 

So, I don't really remember who it was, but I very clearly remember somebody suggesting to me a few years ago that I write a book.  And at the time, I really didn't think I had much to say. I didn't think that my words resonated with other people. I used to actually joke that I went to medical school so that I didn't have to write.

Because in medical school, we didn't do much writing, right? We did writing patient notes, but we didn't have to do essays and critical thinking.  So I now see that that joke that I made that self deprecating joke was really a self fulfilling prophecy and that I avoided the pain of rejection by avoiding my writing and by joking about my lack of writing skills.

I mean, we all fear rejection, right? So I was just avoiding that.  But in reality, writing a book was a secret dream of mine. It was something I always wanted to do. And so I started working with one of my professional coaches. I sought her out because she was a published author and I wanted to learn from her. 

And so it started small to see if I enjoyed it and to see if my writing was helpful to others. So I started with a weekly blog, a blog that was internal to my organization, the company I was working for.  And I found out that I actually really enjoyed it. It was a way for me to be creative in a way that I hadn't been able to do for a while.

And then I remember that I used to short stories when I was a kid. I was probably Late elementary school, early middle school, but I never really shared them with anybody. In fact, I don't think I shared them with anyone,  but my mom kept them. And so at one point, not too long ago, I was able to go back and read them.

And I, I actually was pretty good from what I thought, from what I remembered.  And I remembered how much I enjoyed it. It was an outlet for me at the time.  So I really believe that all of us have this creative side and I was able to exercise this creative part of me through writing. And  again, I just, I really believe we all have this.

If we get quiet enough, we can hear that voice and answer that call.  So I found out in the process of writing the blog that I actually really did enjoy writing and that my words resonated with other people. I was getting messages and emails from people responding, saying how helpful they were and how they'd been able to make a change and do something different and move forward and create momentum in their life as a result of my blogs.

So that was really, really helpful for me to get that feedback. I enjoyed the process, but it was just cherry on the top. For me to receive a message from somebody saying how much they appreciated it.  So I decided, yeah, I'm going to write this book and I put it out in the universe.  I told a few people it was something I wanted to do, started working with my coach on it.

And  I actually mentioned it as a, at a conference I was at. So a little over two years ago, I was at a conference, a small gathering of an organization that's near and dear to my heart, the Physician Coaching Alliance led by Dr. Errin Weisman.  I mentioned to her that it was something I wanted to do. And she remembered that this is something that I was able to see her in person a few weeks ago and give her a hug.

And I really appreciate this about Errin. She remembered that I wanted to write a book. And so she emailed me a few weeks later and said, you need to birth your book. I just thought that was so beautiful that she remembered and she had faith in me when I didn't have faith in myself yet.  So she introduced me to who she called her book doula.

Her name is Brooke Adams Law, and she is a writing coach, and she helped me every step of the way. Brooke had helped Errin with her first book, and so she knew Brooke could help me as well. So I started working with Brooke.  And throughout the process, Brooke helped me take my blogs to a book  that sounds very easy.

It sounds much easier than it actually happened. Um, lots of drafts, lots of iterations, lots of rewrites, lots of changing things, moving things around. Um, but Brooke really, and this is what she does for a living, she knew how to create a book. And.  Something that I realized throughout the process was that sitting down and typing in a computer might not be my  favorite and preferred way of communicating, but I like to talk, which is why I like to do podcasts.

And I can speak in a way that doesn't always come through when I write. I can process better by speaking.  So I use that to my advantage. I would dictate into Google docs or dictate into my phone and then transcribe. I didn't let that stop me. I used that and kind of hacked that so that I could get this book out.

There's so many tools nowadays that help us to do that.  And again, the process wasn't always smooth sailing, right? I had writer's block a lot.  And that's where the power of the community can be really helpful. And the power of an expert, Brooke was an expert. She is an expert. She knows how to do this.

Stuff. And so she knew where to guide me, just what to say when I needed the support, when I needed to help. And I had other people that were rooting for me and checking in on me and my, my coaches.  My friends, my family, um, asking me, how's the book coming? How's the writing coming? And again, they had faith in me when a lot of times I had lost faith in myself.

Cause I almost stopped several times and I'm really, really glad that I didn't.  It's so funny. I, and I joked about this with Brooke that.  I'm, I'm writing a book literally about time management. And I found myself struggling to create the time to write the book. Like how meta is that? How ironic is that?  I think there's an element of we write what we need.

And I needed this book to help me through the process to learn. I also needed it to realize, and I talk about this in the book and I'll share a story that I share in the book.  Notice that I didn't say I didn't, that I struggled to find the time. I said that I struggled to create the time sometimes because time isn't lost or found.

It's just there and we can make use of that time in a way that serves us or we can not.  And this is something that just comes through for me over and over again.  So I talk about this story in the book  that when a client comes to me, lots of clients have come to me over the past several years, since I've been coaching saying that they struggle with time management.

I hear this all the time  and not just from physicians and medical professionals, but  almost anybody who's an adult, right? Kids. I mean, my, my daughter's a senior in high school and she's got a lot on her plate. So  how do we balance it all? Right. We have to make decisions. Right.  So when somebody comes to me talking about time management, I don't start with, well, let's take a look at your calendar.

Let's block off time where you need to those hacks, because  there's nothing wrong with that, but those will only get you so far. If we haven't really set the mindset first and created that foundation, created that soil, nurtured that soil so that we can, those habits can stick, then it's not going to stick.

It's just like when we talk to our patients and work with our patients, if we're trying to get them to make a habit change. Unless we work through the mindset issues and mindset beliefs, then those habits won't stick.  So I want to take a step back when I talk about time management and define it for you.

And I define this in the book because I want to make sure I lay the foundation for everything else that's in the book. So my definition of time management is the act of being intentional and purposeful about where and how you spend your time and energy.  So it's not about doing anything. different or better than anybody else.

It's just that intention and that purpose.

We have to start with the why. And Simon Sinek talks about this in his speaking and in his writing that we have to start with the why before we can get to the how and the what. So what's your purpose? What's your goal? And I kept coming back to my goal. What's my why for writing this book?  And my why, what I kept telling myself is, If it helps one person, then I will have succeeded. 

So a story that I talk about in the book is, and again, this is one of many stories, but this is one that stuck with me.  So one of my clients who's a medical professional during a session said they, that she wanted help managing her time better. And again, this happens a lot. And. I know a lot of times what the client is expecting is like hacks and tips and tricks.

And let's talk about how to block your calendar, that type of thing. Again, there's nothing wrong with this that has to get done. But if we have to, if we don't look at the mindset first, then those habits aren't going to stick.  So my first question to her was  on a scale of one to 10, one being not important at all and 10 being incredibly important and your life depends on it.

How important is it for you to manage your time better?  Scale of 1 to 10. And she said an 8. So that's a great place to start. When we're looking at making a change like this, we have to ask ourselves, how important is it for us to make this change?  And if we're 7 or better, that's the sweet spot. That's where we want to be.

If it's six or less, then it's probably not that important to us and that's okay. But if we try to spend time on things that are important to us, then we're not going to get very far.  So then I asked her, why is this important to you?  And she kind of stopped and thought, and she thought, well, it's obvious, right?

Of course, she wants to manage her time better, doesn't everybody,  but I really wanted to know what her why was. And she said to me, well, I want to spend more time with my son.  And I asked her to be a little bit more specific.  And so what she said was she wanted to focus on being with her young son and doing something that he enjoyed with her, like some sort of activity that he asked her to do that she could do with him in the evenings after dinner. 

So she'd been really wanting to do this, but she was finding herself catching up on charts or just so distracted by everything that she had on her plate that she wasn't being fully present with him.  So either way, she was feeling really guilty. So if she was with her son, but thinking about all the charts she had to do, she was guilty.

If she was doing the charts and not with him, she was feeling guilty.  So together, we created a plan for her to create that time with him. And this is something that was really doable for her, um, and something that was really  actionable, something that she can implement right away.  And I won't get into the specifics of the plan, but I just really want to highlight  that we have to start with a why.

And she was very clear on what that why was for her.  So I'm telling you this  story because if you're doubting yourself, if there's something that you really want to do in your life and you're doubting yourself.  You're not alone. I'm right there with you. And so are billions of other people in this world who are doubting themselves and doubting their own abilities.

And just know that I've got you. I'm here with you. I believe in you. And I wrote this book for you.  I wrote this book so that you wouldn't feel alone  and so that you could learn some of what I've learned and you don't have to learn it the hard way like I did.  So I share a lot of my own personal stories.

I get really personal in this book. I share stories with my clients and. All of it is with the intention of bringing more balance and joy in my life and in the lives of my clients. Cause that's what, that's what my business and my, my passion is all about.  I wrote this book, this book, so you don't have to feel stuck and you don't have to feel alone and you can create the life you love and guilt is not required. 

I'm so excited to share this with you. I  just want to share how amazing it was to hold the book in my hands over the weekend when my first shipment came in. And it's just, it was such a, an incredible feeling to just have it here. It's been all in digital format and to have a physical book to hold is really, really amazing. 

It launches next week, October 1st, officially. You can get your hands on it early by pre ordering it at ThePurposefulMD. com slash book. I'll also share that link and share the pre order link in the show notes.  There are bonuses included. So I include a journal where you can take action on the concepts that are discussed in the book.

And this is something that was really important to me. I know that there have been times when I've read a book and Talks about concepts. And I think, well, yeah, that's great, but now what do I do? So  I'm very clear and have very actionable steps that you can take in the book to get you thinking, get you journaling and get you into action because that's where the magic happens.

Reading about concepts is great, but putting them into action is where the magic happens.  I'm so excited for you to read it. You've got this and I'm right there with you. 

  While I am a physician, the information presented in this podcast is for educational purposes only and should not be considered medical advice. It is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Please consult with your own healthcare provider before making any significant changes to your lifestyle or routine. 

By listening to this podcast, you are not creating a physician patient relationship. 

  Thank you for listening to The Purposeful MD Podcast. If you like what you hear, please rate and review the show.  Please also visit my website, www. thepurposefulmd. com for free downloads or to discuss working with me as your coach.