Book Journeys Author Interview – Dec. 29, 2016
Jenn McRobbie with Jana Berghoefer, author of Get Clear: Claim Your Intuitive Instincts.
”Once you have that internal momentum going, the rest just happens..” ~Jana Berghoefer
Jenn:
Well, hello, everybody! It’s December 29th, 2016 and this is our last show for 2016! I can’t believe we’re already at the end of the year. But we have an amazing guest for you today. As you know, every week on Book Journeys Radio, we speak to accomplished authors who’ve gone from just having an idea for a book to a finished book and making a difference in the world. And today’s author, Jana – wait, have to pause before I pronounce her last name so I can get it right. Jana Berghoefer is the author of one book with us, Get Clear: Claim Your Intuitive Instincts, and she has a forthcoming book, it’s coming out in February with us, called Conscious Business, Conscious Leaders. I’m super excited to talk to her about her product, and welcome, Jana!
Jana:
Well, thank you. So glad to be here. Thanks again!
Jenn:
So very glad that you’re here, that you could join us on this last podcast for the year. I – I … can’t believe that – the – 2016 is almost over.
Jana:
I know, it’s crazy, it went by so fast! But, yeah, things happening in 2017, so onwards. Yes.
Jenn:
Yes! And there’s a lot of good stuff happening for you, so let’s talk to our listeners about your book, but first, I always like to ask if you could tell the listeners – we’ll start with Get Clear, since that’s the book that they could buy today.
Jana:
Sure!
Jenn:
Can you tell the listeners what your book is about and who it’s for?
Jana:
Yeah! My book is really for anyone who is interested in leading their lives in a little different way, and that is just using your intuition to … lead your life from a full level perspective, so, … letting go or loosing the reins of your rational mind that tries to … lead your life forward in a predictable, safe way and to get more comfortable learning to trust your intuition.
Jenn:
So, how did you learn to let go of that rational mind? Because that is such a difficult task!
Jana:
Yeah, so – … I went through some personal experiences that really … reframed the way that I was … living. There were some personal things that happened with my father, who got ill, and I had some experiences that just … made me see that what I was doing was really … limiting my opportunities, and it sent me on a quest to learn about intuition and I am an – …. academic, I – I have that … background and so, I approach that from … two different perspectives. I approached it from a book learning, … rational sort of perspective, but also – … really studying with someone who really goes into intuition development and really learning from her about how to work with my own intuition practically as well, and so, I tended to both of those approaches and it’s a really nice marriage, it’s … where I was heading and where I’d been … to look at this topic, and it’s been quite a journey, and so, for me, I really decided that I wasn’t gonna try to leave my rational mind completely behind but just to expand my repertoire of skills, so I really view intuition as a skill that anyone can learn and anyone can develop, and I really feel that there’s some really positive benefits from … investing the time to do that.
Jenn:
I love that phrase of thinking of your intuition as a skill, because I think, often – a – at least, I do – I sometimes feel like it’s something that sits outside of my wheelhouse, … – of – of what’s going on, on a daily basis.
Jana:
Yeah.
Jenn:
But you’re saying it’s actually something that I could apply on a regular basis!
Jana:
Yeah, and as I’ve gotten to track my own intuition, the more I rely on that, just to make everyday … decisions, and I … flip back and forth from my … normal mode of proceeding and moving through the world and … tapping into my own intuition, and so, as I have become more comfortable with my intuition, it’s just become a very dynamic way of the way that I do … everything, so it’s been a very deep and incredible shift for me, and just really something that helps me to become more confident in myself and my own ability to lead my own life, and so, … wanted to share that information with other people.
Jenn:
I love that. So, were you able to tap into your intuition while you were writing the book?
Jana:
Somewhat, yes. So, I won’t say that I … – it’s not as if the book was just … – came to me like a light bulb moment, it just takes effort and it did take research and it did take planning and all of those things that go into the book writing process.
Jenn:
Of course.
Jana:
But it definitely checked with myself to say, “Okay, is this really – … the heart of the message that I wanna convey,” and really making sure that what I was writing was in alignment with me fully, and from that place it just feels like it happened, so – the first book, in particular, happened very easily for me.
Jenn:
Wow, that’s so – that’s so good to hear, when someone says that a book came to them … easily, … that it was good for them to write, because which – I’ve spoken to a few people on here, they basically said writing a book was the best thing they ever did but that it was essentially like going to the dentist. It sounds like –
Jana:
Oh, no, I didn’t find that – at all.
Jenn:
Good! Good.
Jana:
Yeah. Yeah. I’m sure everyone’s experience is different, and certainly my first book is different than my second, but the first book was just – it – it was just time, … I was really ready to do that book by the time I got around to it.
Jenn:
So, what do you wish you knew before you started to write that book, then?
Jana:
So, I wish I had gotten a little bit more planning up front, or a little more reflection up front, to really think about what my strengths are and what my true needs were, and … just to get in a better alignment with my own … writing style and rhythm. But … having never done it before, I feel like … that’s okay, that was part of the learning process, but certainly, for book number two, I really … took a more planned approach to thinking, “Okay, what is it that I’m really good at?” And for me, I’m … good at conceptualizing the idea, and the things that I really need help with are more mechanical in nature, and also, I think that I really just needed someone else to … believe in the book and to support me and all of that has been hugely helpful, so, … getting clear on what you need before you start writing is – I think that’s really important and – I am … a plodder, I – I write little bits at a time, and – … literally, there are some times that it’s really … a paragraph at a time, and then I … move away from it and go do dishes or do something else that really needs to be done, but learning how – … my writing style is, is – was a big learning curve as well.
Jenn:
Well, I would imagine that, once you … have your style down, … from the first book, and really being able to try different styles, that, for the second book, was it easier for you to tap into – … that – that style and who you are, or did you … go through the same machinations for both books?
Jana:
I actually struggled more with the second book, and I think part of this is my own – so, … I had different goals for the book, I have a different audience for the book, and I also really wanted to approach this book more intuitively, … I really wanted to let my own intuition lead, and so, this was … learning a new way of doing things for me, I was pretty much … following the outline and to the letter of the law, on the first book, and … two I just decided I was not going to – and I was gonna … listen to my own advice. … to do that was – that was a little bit challenging, but it’s been good, both of them are fabulous experiences.
Jenn:
Good! Good, I’m so glad to hear that. Did you find that, when you needed to step back and … tap into your intuition, did you find that that helped your focus, or did it hurt your focus?
Jana:
Helped clarify the message, I think, in a … way, but it also made the process less linear, and I just really had to come to some acceptance with … the creative process, not a lockstep, linear process every single time, and so, just having the ability to … step back and look at the second book from a different perspective and … rethink of how I could … that to improve it, I think that the product is gonna be really solid, but that didn’t necessarily make it easier, so – yeah!
Jenn:
Right! Now, I think that’s a really good point, because … I think so many people believe that writing a book means sitting down at your desk and starting with page one and writing until you hit page end, right? And I don’t think that that’s – particularly if you’re approaching it intuitively, but I think, really, for anyone, that’s not always how it happens.
Jana:
Yeah, and I think it’s gonna be, again, different for other people, but for me, actually, neither book – … I – I had bits of every chapter, versus … one chapter complete before I go on to the next chapter, and sometimes I think that makes that hard to get the feedback that you get from … your developmental editor and some other people who have … – are sounding boards for you, but … in the end, I felt that I was really pleased with … the outcome, and so, that’s – just was how it … turned out for me.
Jenn:
Do you find that, since you’re aware of what the outcome is, … you’ve written a book, right? So you know what that outcome is. Do you find that it’s easier the second time around, because you … know what the end of the road looks like?
Jana:
Yeah. Well, I just trust myself so much more, just … “I can do this, I got this, I know I’ve got it,” and, well, … I wish it was … neater and cleaner and faster and smoother and all of those things. I still have my eye on the end result, and being able to hold on to that is huge.
Jenn:
Yes. I think so.
Jana:
Yeah.
Jenn:
How did you create that situation for the first book, then?
Jana:
… well, I was … lucky, because the first book, I did have a more solid idea of what the content was gonna be at the outset, and it didn’t vary as much, and so, I didn’t have to … second guess that, and I did have a … from my editors, … they would take peeks at the bits and pieces that I was able to provide them and whenever I got … feedback from people, it wasn’t … – there was anything – there wasn’t anything that required me to rework, I’ll put it that way, and so, … I had some trust in my writing abilities, then I had this clear idea of what – what the book would be, and … I just … stuck to that and kept going, and I think that that’s really … – three quarters of the battle is just to keep showing up for your book.
Jenn:
Yes. Yes, that’s exactly right. So, sometimes you have to show up, even when you don’t want to.
Jana:
Yes, yes. And I can’t say that I got to that point with either book, … where I was … “Aaah! …I just really need to stop this.” But it’s – it’s been something I was committed to do right, I guess, and that was – … that I think it’s … is important for anyone.
Jenn:
That’s – that’s amazing. Now, what do you think is the best thing to have come out of publishing a book?
Jana:
Well, I think that there is – obviously, there is personal and there is professional benefits. For me, personally, writing the book was really important because I really was expanding, I think, my identity? So, I had … narrowly defined myself as a person who can achieve things from an academic perspective, who can achieve things in terms of success in the world and all of that kind of thing. For me, that was … going to a deeper level in myself and claiming a part of … my soul and really trusting myself, and so, for me to – personally, it was a big shift, and to be completely okay with putting something out there that I knew – … some people aren’t gonna resonate with it, and that’s okay, this is still what I believe in this book, still important to me and I’m gonna share that with people, so that confidence is really huge. Professionally, it certainly has secured clients that I wouldn’t have had before, and it’s certainly got my name up there, and it’s just been a really important feather in your cap, to just be able to tell people that you’re an author, people do respond to that and listen to you very differently, because of certain credentials or … accomplishments that you have, and so, all of that has been really good professionally, as well.
Jenn
I was – I found that surprising, in the beginning, that – that people actually – even people that you’ve known for years, will look at you differently, once you’ve published a book.
Jana:
Yeah. Yeah, you’re … just … , “I’m still me, I still know what I do yesterday,” yet at the same point, … having – having this sort of thing to point to, to people, and to really get people an introduction to your work, I think, is a – really important.
Jenn:
Yes. Yes, I think – I think fro – particularly from a professional standpoint, having a book, it’s almost like a really long calling card.
Jana:
It is! And it’s – and – … it’s just such a – a neat thing, how it … filters through all of the prospective clients out there. … you – you find the people that resonate with your work. ….
Jenn:
Right. Right. …. It – it’s a great magnet, people – and you put it out into the world and – and people are drawn to it and you, and it’s – there’s pretty much nothing like it, it’s quite rewarding.
Jana:
I know, I love it. I’m hooked!
Jenn:
Yes, “I’m hooked,” exactly! That’s – that’s what we always like to hear, here at the Author Incubator, is that you’re hooked.
Jana:
Yeah. Totally.
Jenn:
So, for anybody listening that is sort of thinking to themselves that they know they have a book in them. Do you think that that knowing is part of their intuition? And if it is, how do they tap into that to really start getting started on their book?
Jana:
So, I think that we – and I … go into this my book, that I think we overlook our knowing, I think it’s always there, and there’s … the – the guidance, and it can be something very subtle, to the point that we overlook it. So, … something that you’re really … curious about, … something that … keeps a – back around in your mind, and “Oh, this is a possibility,” or “This is what interests me,” or “This is what I’d like to share with people.” To me, that is … an intuitive nudge, to start … exploring deeper, and really … trying to go within … clarify what that might look like in a little bit more detail. So, mine really started out as a vague … knowing, and … – and then I – you just … have to follow that trail and then start … bringing this vague concept down into reality, into something that’s more clear and more concrete, but just don’t discount the vague nudge, I guess.
Jenn:
Yeah.
Jana:
… this is just … – I almost think it’s … “Hmm,” … that con – that’s – that can be enough to make you stop and pause and really say, “What is this about, that this idea is coming through my head?” ….
Jenn:
Right, and the curiosity starts to come up about something. Yeah, that makes complete sense, I think the vast majority of the authors that I’ve spoken to have said that, at some point, they just … knew they were gonna write a book, and they didn’t know how or why that was gonna happen, but they just … knew, and they – you and I were talking off line about turtle steps, and I think – I – but I think – and just to explain for anyone listening, who doesn’t know what that is, “turtle steps” are exactly what you would imagine they are, they are the slow, plodding steps that we take towards the goal, … when we think we want to do something, or we see something that’s in the future that we’d like to achieve, and Jana and I were talking about how writing a book is a lot of turtle steps, all in one place.
Jana:
Yes. Yeah, and it’s just a really rewarding thing and … you do a little work and you … step back from the work and for me, it’s a matter of … into, “Okay, what have I done here, and is this really in line with what I wanna be doing, and does it feel right to me, and does this talk to who I wanna speak to,” and then … taking a few more steps forward, but it’s very rewarding and you get to see – … it’s a very tangible thing, so … –
Jenn:
Yes.
Jana:
Unlike some other things that you do, you really do have … such accomplishment at the end.
Jenn:
Right. Ri – yeah, there is an actual goal at the end, … something that you’re going to achieve, it’s … when you’re doing just … random things around your house, it’s really hard to see the impact of those things, but when you get out – … if you’re picking things around the house, but if you get out your vacuum and you get those really nice … pretty lines, the carpet, and you never want to step on it after that, … it’s this lovely outcome and this product in front of you that – that you can admire, at least if you’re a … like me.
Jana:
Yeah! … the case for me, for sure.
Jenn:
That – that’s really interesting, and I – I – I think it is so easy for us to discount the – it’s like you said, you discount that little bit of knowing that – that we have it in us to write a book.
Jana:
Yeah, and … it’s … one of those things that I’d thought about … on and off in my career, “Wouldn’t that be … cool to do?” But really, … the tangible idea of the book, … when it finally came in and I was really clear about, “Oh, yeah, this is … one I don’t want to – an idea that I don’t wanna let go of.”
Jenn:
Right.
Jana:
… before I even was practicing development – developing my intuition as a skill, I – I had always … thought, “Wouldn’t it be cool to, one day, write a book?” And then, … eventually, the topics for the – married up with that idea, or that … internal nudge, now that was … neat process, too.
Jenn:
I – I’m sure it’s neat to … watch that come together, ….
Jana:
Yeah. Yeah.
Jenn:
You have this idea, and all of a sudden it’s coming to fruition, you’re … “Wow! I did that!”
Jana:
Exactly. Yup. So true.
Jenn:
So, I know that you’re interested in doing platform speaking and … group training and things like that, and so, how does intuition play into how you respond to a group?
Jana:
It’s interesting. So, I can root – read – and I think we all do this naturally, but I’ve been working with – intentionally reading group synergy. So, … I think we all … do this beneath the radar of our awareness, walking into a room and … sizing up the environment and seeing what that’s like, and who should I sit next to, and – we’re all doing that, so it’s different intention to … ro – remain connected to that, as I’m going through … the process of group training, or group presentations and – and making it more of a – … a support frame of my mind while I’m doing other things, too, I can … sense what’s happening with the group and the group’s energy, and it’s put me more in the moment and being more responsive to my … clients because … if one thing’s not working, I’m not gonna … stick to the script, I’m gonna –
Jenn:
Right!
Jana:
– … listen in terms of what’s needed, so it just makes you more responsive to the group’s needs.
Jenn:
I – I love that, I love that, by developing your intuition, not only are you more responsive to your own needs but you can be more responsive to other people’s as well.
Jana:
Yeah, and it’s really quite fascinating, too, just to learn the kind of information that you can get by – by – I think just being aware of this dynamic in a different way, and that’s really all intuition really is, it’s something that you’re doing naturally, all … in many ways, and this is just bringing it to the forefront of your awareness.
Jenn:
I love that. I love that, and – and I – I think anyone listening needs to pick up Jana’s book, Get Clear: Claim Your Intuitive Instincts, because it sounds like that is something that all of us could use.
Jana:
Yeah.
Jenn:
Particularly now, at the end of the year, as we’re entering into our new year, in our new year’s resolutions and all of that craziness that – that is – ….
Jana:
Yeah, … step back and … check in with yourself, I think.
Jenn:
Right, ….
Jana:
Ma – make sure that what you’re doing is intentional for the new year, yes.
Jenn:
Yes, exactly, … you mentioned the word “intentional” several times, and that word came up in my mind, too, when you were talking about how you would … step back and get in touch with why you are writing a book and who you were writing it for. And – and I think that word, “intention,” is – is so important for authors that, if you are clear in your intentions, then the book will … flow from there, won’t it?
Jana:
Yeah, it will. And – and I think it’s just a really neat … co-creative process because … it is your intention but it’s also … this … marrying of … what you have to offer with what the world needs. So, it’s this great balance, or dance, between … your own ideas and – and really, the best way that you can serve. … it’s just a – anything how the two sort of meet up in a – in a really neat way.
Jenn:
Yes. Yes. And – and I think that’s so important when you’re thinking about writing a book that is revealing your – your talents for the world, …?
Jana:
Yes!
Jenn:
It’s so important for you to remember that, … it is – you’ve got to get in touch with that deep level of – of knowing and of caring and that it will all … come together when you do that, when you spend time in that space.
Jana:
It really does, and … the Author Incubator Difference Press does a great job of helping you to – to do that, to … bridge what you have to offer with … how can you meet your clients and how can you meet your people, and what are their needs and being able to think about it from their perspective as well.
Jenn:
Wow. Well, for anybody listening who knows they have something to offer that the world needs, and they think they wanna do it to write a book, what’s one piece of advice you could give to them to get them started?
Jana:
Yeah. So, the advice that I have, of course, is very internal driven, and that is really just to … spend some time and get really honest with yourself about what you’re willing to do to make that happen, because the process is intense. … even though it wasn’t difficult, it was intense, and … the right timing matters, … what else is going on in your life, are you willing to carve out the time to work through this and make a priority? All of that, I think, is really important, and I think once you have that internal momentum going, the rest just – it happens, I’ll put it that way, … not without effort, it happens.
Jenn:
Ah, that’s such great advice, and Jana, I feel like we could talk for hours and we’re nearing the end of our time here together, and I’m sad.
Jana:
Aaah, … fast. ….
Jenn:
That was very fast! Well, for anyone listening, it’s Jana Berghoefer, b-e-r-g-h-o-e-f-e-r, and her book is called Get Clear: Claim Your Intuitive Instincts, and you can find it on Amazon, and you can also find Jana at her website, which is leadinginsights.biz. So, Jana, thank you so much for coming on to the show today.
Jana:
Right. Thank you so much for having me, it’s been a lot of fun.
Jenn:
It’s been tons of fun, and I think you’ve given us all a lot to think about, going forward into the new year and how we are going to do that with intention and knowing and clarity on our own – I guess, clarity in your own mind, I think!
Jana:
Yeah! Exactly, yes. Very good, thank you, I’m glad … that.
Jenn:
…. Thank you, thank you so much, it’s been wonderful talking to you, and listeners, I will hear – you will hear my voice again in two thousand seven –