By Carlyn Montes De Oca
“You can have anything you want if you position yourself to be famous.”
I heard Steve Harrison say the above statement at a conference in Philadelphia several years ago. His words resonated deeply within me and kept echoing in my mind on the entire flight back to California.
A few days later I received an email announcing a national contest held by the largest animal rights organization in the world.
Normally I wouldn’t have considered entering the contest and would have deleted the email right away, but Steve’s words reminded me “everything I wanted” was to make the greatest positive impact on the lives of all animals.
And I wanted to accomplish this by writing books. I had been working on my first book but was at an impasse—stuck in self-doubt, lost in insecurity, and brainwashed by my inner critic.
Steve’s message ignited my imagination and sparked my hope. Intuitively I felt this competition might be a steppingstone in the right direction.
I entered the contest… and I won!
As a result, a reporter from the San Francisco Chronicle called me, wanting to do a two-line blurb about the contest in the newspaper.
During the interview, I applied some of the things I had learned at Steve’s conference.
I spoke in sound bites, focused on useful information for the audience, and was as helpful as I could be.
The reporter not only wrote the initial blurb but also asked me to do a second interview for a longer article.
A few weeks later, around Thanksgiving, my husband and I bought the Sunday Chronicle and sat in our car rifling through the pages. Simultaneously, we both let out a yell of surprise when we saw the full-page color article in the Lifestyle section—featuring yours truly.
No Way Through the Wall to Her Better Self
The excitement of the newspaper profile soon faded, and things went back to normal.
As my doubts began to creep back in and my confidence started to wane, I began to question my dreams of being an author and helping animals in any significant way.
For the next four years I kept plugging away at my book. But it seemed the more I wrote, the farther behind I got. It was clear to me my own internal blocks were getting in my way and sabotaging my efforts.
It was as if there was a brick wall in front of me with no way to get to the other side. Occasionally I’d look through a crack in the wall and see the Carlyn I wanted to be—the successful author and confident spokesperson on behalf of animals. I’d catch a glimpse of my better self, but I couldn’t find the door in the wall to the other side.
I felt frustrated, confused, and often in despair. How could I want something so much, yet have it be so elusive?
Sometimes, I’d think back to Steve Harrison and remember those powerful words: “You can have anything you want if you position yourself to be famous.”
Could it be true?
I wondered.
"It Was Going to be Now or Never"
After five years of having an unfinished book, I knew if I didn’t do something right then, my dream of being a published author would never come true. It was going to be now or never.
I turned to my husband and said, “Ken, I need help, I can’t figure this writing thing out on my own. I want to invest in Steve’s Quantum Leap program. I think they can help me learn what I need to know. Can we do this?”
I didn’t have to ask twice. My beautiful, supportive, and wonderful husband agreed with me, and I signed up for the program.
Because the Quantum Leap program was a substantial investment for us, I wasn’t going to squander the money by not putting my full heart and soul into the program. For this reason, I took advantage of everything Quantum Leap offered.
Like the Borg from Star Trek, I assimilated all the information in front of me!
I got on all the training calls. I scheduled regular coaching calls with the coaches. I attended conferences in Philadelphia, including two full private coaching days.
I finished writing my first book, got an editor, a publisher, built a website, and pitched to media.
I even summoned up the courage to speak at the 2016 National Animal Rights Conference.
Quantifiable Results and an Exciting Internal Shift
I learned three other words from Steve and Quantum Leap that have propelled me forward as I move towards my goals. These words are: Ask, ask, ASK!
And I do. I asked a renowned New York Times bestselling author for a story for my first book. I asked the star of his own TV show for a quote. I asked other celebrities for testimonials. I repeatedly asked my target market for feedback, and I made some marvelous promotional partners simply by asking.
Quantum Leap more than paid for itself in a short amount of time. I have quantifiable things to show for my efforts and my internal make-up has shifted in new and exciting ways.
I used to shy away from thinking I was an expert at anything, and I used to feel like a fraud when I called myself an author. But today I own the statement, “I am an expert in the Animal-Human Health Connection.” I say it with complete conviction because I now believe it to be true.
My doubts, apprehensions, and insecurities still come up once in a while. But instead of letting them sabotage my efforts, I use them as reminders that it’s time to get out of my comfort zone, learn something new, and grow some more.
I don’t know when it happened exactly, but my quantum leap of faith led to a seismic quantum shift. I am now the Carlyn on the other side of that wall—the better version of myself.
“You can have anything you want if you position yourself to be famous.”
I don’t have regrets in life, but if I were to do anything over again, I would have acted on Steve’s statement when I first heard it. If I had signed up for Quantum Leap five years ago, how many more animals would I have helped? If I had started earlier, how many more books would I have written? How much further down my path would I now be?
I don’t give myself a hard time about what’s past. But if someone is reading this who has a dream they are struggling to make come true, I hope they find a mentor like Steve and a program as spectacular as Quantum Leap.
Every day I wake up with a clearer vision of my life’s purpose and I am filled with gratitude to have found my way. I have Quantum Leap to thank for that.