How to Stop Waiting and Start Listening to What You Really Want

We’re taught to be practical.To play it safe.To avoid making choices that seem “too late” or “too risky.”

But what if the bravest thing you can do is listen to your heart?

Why It’s So Hard to Choose Yourself

We worry about disappointing others. We question if we’re too old or it's too late. We think we need other's permission.

Let me be the one to say it: You’re allowed to want more.

Even if no one else understands it. Even if it makes zero sense on paper.

My Turning Point

I lost my soul dog.

• The dog that gave me the courage to leave a marriage where I always came last.

• The dog that drove 12 hours in the back of Jeep to start over with me in North Carolina

• The dog who curled up next to me in bed to catch every one of my tears.

It was sudden and I was absolutely devastated. My house was way too quiet, but in the silence is where I found my courage.

I was living in North Carolina. I just took a job that didn't really align with what I loved to do, but it paid the bills.

On the side, I was writing for a country music blog. I was interviewing artists and I loved it! A few months earlier I had a friend who moved to Nashville. I visited her a few times and wondered what it would be like to live in Music City. To try to climb the ladder in the country music world.

"No way!" I said to myself.

• Everyone will think you're crazy

• Your parent's will kill you

• You just bought your house. You can't just up and move

But really...what did I have to lose? I just lost the most precious thing I owned.

SPOILER ALERT: I took the leap. I sold my house, packed up my life and moved to Nashville about 6 months later.

How to Give Yourself Permission

Here’s what Nashville taught me (and what I hope my characters teach those who read my books, too):

• You don’t owe anyone an explanation for your dreams.

• “Too late” is a myth. Your timeline is still unfolding.

• If it scares you and excites you, it’s probably worth trying.

  
  

  

  
  

FUN FACT

I was in the middle of writing my rockstar romance, Behind the Strings when I made the decision to move to Nashville. I published it one month before I arrived. That story is the "what if" that I never have to ask myself because I took the leap.

If your heart’s been whispering, “What if?”—this book is your sign.

Say yes. Even if it’s messy. Even if you’re scared.

Because the life you want is waiting on the other side of that yes.