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Step 1 - Show Up

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Dearly beloved,

(No, “Step 1 - Show Up” is not a new street dance movie!)

I so often use examples from Zumba as my teaching practice, and life practice, and as I was talking about the talk I was planning to give this last Wednesday I told my coach “Well, the most difficult part is just showing up.”

It’s not really, the difficult part is all the work you do and training and reading and practice to be ready to call yourself a Zumba Instructor, or Publishing Consultant, or Life Coach or Author in the first place, but, because you’ve done all that, once you’re in the room (assuming that you have actually learned your stuff and prepared and sweat and trained...) it just kind of flows out of you. It’s a bit like the book I wrote; “Meditation for Angry People,” which I think was my fastest first draft ever - 8 hours - yes, I thought there was something wrong with me, but I’d been researching and reading and thinking and practicing and taking long walks thinking about anger... so when I sat down to write the book it all just flowed out. The hardest part was sitting down to write the book and committing to write for at least one hour a day - it ended up being about two hours and four days... I was quite shocked and, until I met a coach boasting that he could get you to write your books in 8 hours, thought I was quite a weirdo. (That whole being scared of our light, our superpowers thing...)

“Show up.” It may or may not be the hardest step, but nothing happens without it.

So I got to thinking about this in relation to my books, and, after spending so much time these last few weeks publicising both the beach retreat and talk I was doing I thought - why aren’t I working so hard on publicising my books, on making sure that they show up?

“I hate selling,”

“I’ve never been much good at advertising,”

“I don’t understand PR or publicity.”

...but the more I work as a coach for others, the more I see them doing this to themselves, the more I can’t hide from my own “shyness”.

“How can you go to Zumba Convention by yourself?” was something I was always asked, and how could I stand up in front of so many people, often in quite a revealing outfit and shimmy (that’s posh for shake it)? Because it was so obvious to me that it’s what I had to, it was the only way forward, the way to serve people and to progress. Anything else was clearly, for me, the equivalent of going back and hiding under the bed (which, of course, I’ve had moments of wanting to do).

And I had to get used to sticking my face on a poster, I had to get used to doing photoshoots (ulp!) and realising I quite liked them, and being videoed and hearing my voice, I had to get used to selling myself, in the nicest possible way.

So right now (well, for at least another day,) I thought I’d take the pedal off writing (oh yes, I finished the first draft of my new novel - the longest ever; 11 months) and before I go back into my comfort zone of writing, and publishing, and creating pretty covers...which were all once scary things (and sometimes still are) I thought, you know what... I’m going to go master advertising. So be prepared to see my name and face in a lot of places if you venture onto Amazon (“If you go down to the woods today...”) because guess what?

I’m showing up.

Publishing News

I got another orange flag!

...and became a Best Seller in another country!

12th August 2019

Pearl Escapes Guide To Healing 2019: Massage, Meditation, Spa Treatments, Teachers, Practices and Places

Canada Kindle

#22 in Mental & Spiritual Healing

#150 in Travel (Almost!!)

15th August 2019

Phoenix, Arizona (the Firewalk, the Apache Trail, the Native American Spa, the Cowboy Ranch, the Awakening and the Skunk)

US paperback

#1 New Release in Phoenix Arizona Travel Books

#29 in Spa Travel Guides

Lots of love, Pearl x

P.S. If you didn’t see my last newsletter about my beach retreat in September, read on...

The Beach Retreat - Being The Storyteller

In September I am running my first beach retreat in The Witterings at the lovely West Wittering Beach House http://www.beachhse.co.uk/ which has been my retreat space on so many occasions when I've needed someone to take care of me. It's a wonderful mix of simple and luxury (as every good beach house should be), and the retreat also includes a fabulous breakfast.

This retreat is for those who want to get clarity on their stories. If you think it means that it's just for writers, or people who label themselves as writers, you'd be wrong. Although I have been working primarily with authors, I'm really working with people making a shift - from one style of teaching to another, one style of writing to another, from teaching privately to making their work visible and available around the world. So a big part of what I do is to help people change their story, and I've been doing it for myself for a long time:-

Because I told myself…

"I'm a screenwriter, but I could never write a novel." Now I'm working on my second novel.

"I'm just a fiction writer." I've since published dozens of non-fiction titles, and become an Amazon Best Selling Author in many Self-Help and Travel categories.

"I'm a writer, but I do love taking snaps." When I started playing with photos in my work I was suddenly getting compliments from professional photographers as well as launching a busy Instagram account and publishing a huge photographic series of books (one of which is an Amazon Best Seller).

"I could never leave London, I could never leave England for long." And yet I've left "home" behind and found hundreds of homes around the world, and travelled for months to some of the remotest places you can imagine. It was in me all along.

I've gone from being unable to walk unaided to teaching Zumba Fitness and dancing on stage with the world's best, I've gone from writing screenplays to poetry, novels, self-help books, travel guides, and I'm not done yet. I've sold my photography, which I guess also makes me a professional photographer and a professional cinematographer having distributed my own feature film internationally… I quit my well-paid day job to start Pearl Escapes in the middle of the last recession… I've gone from being afraid to leave my flat to waking up in the morning and booking a flight to Johannesburg with no accommodation or real plan (and it was one of the best things I ever did).

This retreat is for you if you're feeing grumpy about your life, if you know there is something not true in what you're telling yourself. If you're grumpy about your work and you know there is more for you, either in the way you create it or the way you share it. If you're thinking, 'Is this all there is?'

By the end of your retreat, you will have developed awareness of the stories you are telling, or being told, and you will be free to move in any direction in your art and in your life by taking the energy that you're using now to hold yourself back and, instead, using that energy to take your next step.

When and Where

12pm Thursday 26th to 2pm Friday 27th September (one night stay Thursday night including breakfast)

The Beach House, 77 Rookwood Rd, West Wittering. PO20 8LT

Situated just south of Chichester in the village of West Wittering, The Beach House is easily accessible (and yes, there are ground floor, accessible rooms – but please book early).

The Beach House is a small but gorgeous place to stay, with only 7 rooms, although some are family rooms with double and single beds. You can check out the rooms here:-

http://www.beachhse.co.uk/accomodation/

Chichester is a direct train ride from London, and then there is a bus that will drop you right outside The Beach House (there is also free parking).

More Information

What do I get?

Four hours of group coaching on both Thursday and Friday (eight hours altogether), together with free time on and around the beach and at The Beach House to get creative and work on your stories.

One night's accommodation in a luxury, yet simple beach house and an incredible breakfast. (All other food is not included, but there are plenty of local options).

Do we have to eat in silence?

Not on this one.

Will there be tea, coffee and can I drink alcohol?

Yes, this is a retreat, not a detox, although you may find yourself detoxing some of your unhealthy stories as a result of the work we do. (Occasionally The Beach House serve mimosas at breakfast – nothing to do with me – no promises.) There is a pub, The Old House at Home, a few minutes up the road, but The Beach House itself does not have catering outside breakfast times.

I have special dietary needs.

Please advise me – The Beach House team is very good at meeting dietary requirements for breakfast, and there is a small fridge, microwave and crockery so you can bring your own food (I do when I'm trying to be vegan).

Do I need to bring my swimming costume?

Absolutely.

Beach towel and other beach stuff?

May be useful!

Can I go paddle boarding?

Yes, there's a great hire place right on the beach, who will also look after your gear and let you take a hot shower afterwards.

https://www.2xs.co.uk/club/hire/

Do I have to?

No, not at all, it can be quite fun to sit and watch.

Will there be Zumba?

Anything is possible, but it will be optional (and it may just be dancing on shifting sands on the beach).

Do I have to get in the sea?

No. But you might do. Depends on the weather.

What activities will there be?

Again, it depends on the weather, but it could include watching sunset, sunrise, star-gazing and other beach activities.

How Much?

Regular Price

£320 shared (up to 4 people) including VAT

£380 single occupancy including VAT

How Do I Book?

To reserve your space a £50 deposit is payable either via PayPal to pearl@pearlescapes.co.uk, or by bank transfer (email for bank details), with the balance to be paid by 26th August (23rd August for bank transfers).

Any payments made via PayPal are protected by their guarantee.

What if I need to cancel?

Your £50 deposit is non-refundable, and the balance of the payment is non-refundable from one month before the event.

Should you have to cancel for emergency reasons I will endeavour to find someone else to replace you on the retreat and, if I can, move your payment to a different event or service, less any essential costs.

Can I extend my stay and book one to one time with you before or after the retreat?

Absolutely, just message me to arrange.

Any other questions?

Message me at pearl@pearlescapes.co.uk

See you at The Beach House.

Lots of love, Pearl

Pearl Howie is the writer of “free Feeling Real Emotions Everyday”, now available as a photographic paperback and eBook, a text only book and as an audiobook. The 8 other titles in this series, are already available as paperbacks and eBooks and are coming soon as audiobooks (Japan and the first part of Camino are now available).

https://www.amazon.com/Pearl-Howie/e/B007HJFBH4

FANTASTICAL BOOKS AND WHERE TO FIND THEM

(For the full list of books check out My Books and DVDs.)