What I learned over the first 6 months of Follow Your Joy

In October 2021 I became a published author. A title that still brings a smile to my face when I hear it announced - Jacquelyn Armour, author of Follow Your Joy! Very surreal.

Fast forward to April 2022 and my book celebrated 6 months of being in existence, now available to purchase on Amazon with next-day delivery or downloaded to your eBook reader. Sometimes I google it just to check it is still a thing. Again, very surreal.

Listen to me, sounding like an author, ‘Available from all online book retailers’.

I remember last September feeling all sorts of crazy feelings as the publication date came hurtling towards me. I felt trapped on an out-of-control rollercoaster that wouldn’t stop, unless I pressed the brake. Now I am glad I didn’t press the emergency brakes. The follow your joy rollercoaster continues, destination unknown.

There is a reason my book became published, my words share how I see the world, what I have experienced and what I want to ignite in others. A feeling of possibility and curiosity. I haven’t read my book since it was published. The edit and proofread process are quite exhausting, and you start to fall out of love with your book. Reading word after word, page after page until it no longer feels fresh. But there will be a day I pick up my copy and read it like I wasn’t the author. To ignite something in me again.

Since my words left the laptop where they were born, it has been incredible to see them become an actual physical book. My very own paperback lives on my bookshelf and the bookshelves of others. Currently, I have a version from amazon and a version from the first one hundred printed locally for my book launch party. They sit perched next to Paulo Coelho's epic book, Alchemist.

Each day, as I work from home, I catch a glimpse of Follow Your Joy on my bookshelf. Sometimes I don’t register it as it feels normal. On other days I simply smile. And sometimes I stop and touch it. A reminder of what happens when you jump onto a rollercoaster titled – ‘let’s have an experience.’

Back in February, I had an idea also titled ‘let’s have an experience.’ The idea grew into a marketing campaign, a giveaway, and a weekend where I was a wee joyful fairy. Gifting my book to cafes around the west end of Glasgow, where I live, to give away to customers. With a wee postcard inside explaining they are part of the joyful ripple, which I made up.

I originally emailed a bunch of cafes explaining the idea, like I needed their permission. I received zero replies. Then it happened, that realization that we do not need permission.... we just need a bit of boldness and to act.

We lose so much of our lives waiting for permission, worrying about the outcome. My advice - play your high vibe tunes, the ones that make you feel bold, and move.... into being an action taker!!

In February I switched off any internal doubts questioning “why?” and became an action taker. I ordered fifty books to be printed in Glasgow, designed and ordered the postcards, and bought the gift bags. I set in motion the ripple experiment. Then I waited patiently.

The weekend arrived sooner than I was expecting. That is another thing, to make something happen you need to do it. You. No one else was going to come knocking on my door to create the joy ripple. Only me. I am the creator of joy. In April I was thankful for the version of me back in February who plotted and planned it all. Spent my spare time designing the campaign, then ordering what I needed.

When you believe in something bigger than you, you act.... even if you need to procrastinate a little. I love the expression, ‘We see the world, not as it is, but as we are. ‘

All I see is sunsets and sunrises, hope and possibility, adventure and experiences around every corner, a world of humans each on a path of discovery of this world and themselves. I want everyone to understand when you choose JOY, the world will deliver you experiences of a lifetime!

The 6-month anniversary weekend taught me when you do the stuff that you love, you radiate an energy that cannot be seen or measured but will create the change it needs. I had the most fun cycling around Glasgow with my tunes blaring through my earbuds, delivering the joy to the cafes, just as the sunset and then the next morning as the sun rose around me.

Follow Your Joy is not just a book, it is a way of life. I am excited for those who receive my gift.

The 6-month milestone acted as a point to pause and ponder, acknowledge what I achieved and reflect on an incredible journey where I now feel comfortable being described as a creative. Someone who still taps away on the keyboard of her laptop. My new laptop, a published author needs a new laptop after all.

Here are some of my highlights from the last six months and my key takeaways:

• The fun collaborating with some amazing podcasts, radio stations, and clubhouse, an app I was completely new to, to meet like-minded people and share back my journey. In the hope, it may nudge someone to take a leap.

• Writing an article after the magazine editor discovered my website online and noticed my book was due for release. The assignment titled ‘500-word wellbeing column about how to find your joy, including doing so through travel.’ became a dream, published in Jan 2022 to 150k subscribers.

• One of my favourites, when people share their photos of my book with me. Some people I know from my recent travels, others from high school, and some who are strangers. What do they have in common - they now own my book.

• Hearing people’s thoughts and views of my book, and how it has prompted them to feel something about their own life. Nudge them to take action.

• My niece and nephew experiencing this whirlwind with me. From hearing a little about my book to attending my book launch party and having their copy. Ready to inspire them when they are old enough.

• Signing copies of my book at my book launch party, and more recently at 1 am on Las Ramblas after I had a high school reunion with a girl who now calls Barcelona home – how surreal.

• Gifting my book – what a privilege!

• Collaborating with a local book shop to stock my book. It was a pleasure to meet the owner and hear her story. My mantra is, ‘Everyone has a story to share.

• My sister’s friend shared with me how she brought Follow Your Joy into her school on World Book Day. The students loved to hear about her friend’s sister who, after traveling to ninety countries, wrote a book. One little girl said she wants to travel. As simple as that. My whole body lit up when she shared this.

One of the greatest gifts in the world is learning about other people’s lives, as there is always something to learn. Even if not obvious at the time, there will be something in what they share that sits with you and makes you ponder or reflect. And I only hope that my story makes someone believe that what seems out of reach, impossible, is possible. That you can create your reality, and your reality can be so much more than you could have ever imagined.

Did 12-year Jacquelyn, who stepped off an plane to Spain on her first family holiday ‘abroad’, think one day she will tiptoe into country number 90? Of course not. We can only imagine a reality based on where we have come from and what we know.

I never dreamed of traveling to 90+ countries but what I did do was feel something on that first family trip to Spain. A feeling I still feel today, a feeling of aliveness, wonder, awe, curiosity, and Freedom. That 12-year girl still lives in me. She chases a feeling of freedom and aliveness. She craves to learn and experience other cultures. To enjoy a glimpse into others people’s day to day lives. To inspire. Each trip updates my inner world, which feeds my imagination and my daydreams.

I create my ‘dream’ life by chasing those feelings I first experienced at a young age.

You live your dream life by firstly discovering what you love, what brings you joy. Then you make it your lifestyle. You move through the gears, you plan and research, you act, knowing there is more to come. As this does not stop, as you have made your dream, your reality.

When you live an intention-led life, you watch as life flows towards you taking you on an experience. That is what I have learned the most over the first 6 months of Follow Your Joy. What will the next 6 months teach me, I am excited to find out? To be continued....