Words That Draw-Change Agent

They’ve Been a Long Time Coming...

Back in 1989, I was in a new job, new community, new set of challenges and yet old issues hadn’t been left behind.

As I had made some of the same lessons (mistakes) as I had many times before, I heard myself sighing in exasperation, “if I just knew what it was I’m doing, I’m willing to do the work, but I don’t even know where to start! If I just had a word, a hint, I’m willing to do the work!” Then I heard myself repeat, “if I even had a Word....”

I heard myself, paused, and typed out 100 Words that were emotionally charged for me. Words like Frustrated, Victim, Pity-Party, Innovative, Mischief, Bright, Wise, Aggressive... Ones that pretty well covered the current realm of Lessons I was facing. I would then randomly draw them out of a bowl, and journal on them. All of a sudden, I was breaking out of some of my old patterns and looking through new eyes. Thus the Words were born.

My Wednesday evening group of clients, as well as some of the individuals were having a hard time getting to the root of the issues. I decided that if they worked that well for me, they might do the same for my clients. Since it was a group, I chose to lay them out face down on the floor. I made 4 copies of each Word. With the first round of their picking their Word, we had broken loose all kinds of issues in ways that really resonated with the clients.

As I learned more from my clients through the years, I kept adding words. Sometimes, I made copies, and gave them out to clients, peers in the field, friends and other professionals. I would loan them out to clients until they got past the stuck points, then I’d check them back in. They kept on encouraging me to put them out there; they wanted their own personal copy. During this time, because some of the Words were a challenge as to how to apply them, I wrote the definitions.

I was too busy, too involved in the rest of the responsibilities of my jobs, and put the thought of publication on hold. After I retired, I kept getting requests, reminding me that I had the time now. I finally faced my writing fear and wrote the accompanying manual – to help strangers who hadn’t encountered the Words in one of my session’s – be able to effectively use them. Finally, The Layman’s Guide to Getting Your S#!T Together was finished. The Words had grown to 800.

Next was “how to get it published?” I attended a Hay House event; found out that most publishers won’t touch something with lots of “cards,” especially as small as these were. The card publishers wouldn’t print that small a card, plus a book. So self-publishing it was. One of my amazing guides and supports through the process, Brian Parker, knew more about print medium, so he took over and helped me find the perfect person to print the set. Matt Mewhorter is nothing short of a miracle worker. In fact, his Word he drew when we were demonstrating the process was Innovator – and he was!

It went to print December 2018, and Brian picked them up for us because we were getting late from Canada. The next morning we took our grubby selves to Tacoma to pick them up where he had stored them in his garage.

We loaded them into the car, and off to the house to unload them into the already too small living room.

The Window seat gave up its place of honor to hold all the boxes!

Friends were quick to offer help assembling packets, and the next phase of preparation began. The 800 Words had to be tightened up in their packets so they wouldn’t be destroyed in shipping.

The Tyvek envelops had to have their sales label stuck on. That’s a comedy of errors there – imagine a very sticky 8 1⁄2 x 11 thin-printed piece of plastic label, to unpeel from it’s backing – which it tightly adheres to, and then evenly stick it on said Tyvek envelope. Then the Book and the Words are put into the envelope.