Success can be a double edged sword; when you meet or exceed your goals, the first thing you feel is a rush of elation and pride. But often, right around the corner is a lurking sense of anxiety, stress, and fear.
Authors feel this sensation at many points in the writing process. You manage to get the manuscript drafted, but you worry it might not connect with readers after it’s published. You publish it and it’s a massive success, but what’s next? How do you follow up a bestseller? What if you can’t do it again?
If you’ve felt sensations like this, but didn’t know how to describe it, Laura Gassner Otting has the perfect word for you: Wonderhell.
In this episode of The Author’s Corner, Robin sits down with best-selling author, keynote speaker, and executive coach Laura Gassner Otting, to discuss this common feeling of self-doubt, stress, and even fear that come up when we encounter an amazing opportunity or achieve success. It seems counter intuitive, but successful people wrestle with this feeling all the time. Laura’s newest book, Wonderhell: Why Success Doesn’t Feel Like It Should… and What to Do About It aims to help readers navigate this strange experience. Laura also gives some insight into her writing process, such as the importance of sharing your own story, walking the fine line between inspirational and relatable, and how the content for Limitless took twenty years to experience, and six weeks to write.
Key Takeaways from This Episode:
- Why Laura believes there’s no endpoint to success, there’s just a waypoint to what else we can do.
- Why imposter syndrome is often more intense for writers.
- The fine line between being inspirational and being relatable.
- Why Laura wants wonderhell to be in the dictionary.
- And much more…
Resources Mentioned in this Episode:
Limitless: How to Ignore Everybody, Carve Your Own Path, and Live Your Best Life book
About Laura Gassner Otting:
Laura’s secret superpower is seeing your greatness and reflecting it back on you, so that you can get “unstuck” and achieve extraordinary results. A frequent contributor to Good Morning America, the TODAY Show, Harvard Business Review, and Oprah Daily, Laura’s 30-year resume is defined by her entrepreneurial edge. She served as a Presidential Appointee in Bill Clinton’s White House, helping shape AmeriCorps; left a leadership role at respected national search firm to expand a tech start-up; and founded, ran, and sold her own global search firm, partnering with the full gamut of mission driven corporate and nonprofit executives. She is the author of two books, Limitless: How to Ignore Everybody, Carve Your Own Path, and Live Your Best Life and Wonderhell: Why Success Doesn’t Feel Like It Should… and What to Do About It.
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