If you are currently up to date with the Blogosphere world, You would probably notice she currently has one of the most talked about book on the internet right now.
Jenny Blake is the life coach, blogger, yoga teacher, and now the author of Life After College: The Complete Guide To Getting What You Want. I decided to do a quick interview with her to see whay this hype was all about.
Hi Jenny, First of all, Congrats about the launch of your book, You're all over the internet, How are you doing today?
Doing great! I'm answering this on launch day - which has been incredibly exciting. I'm beyond grateful for all of the suppor the book has received so far -- blown away.
To those who don't know much about you, Can you give us some background information about yourself?
Sure! I am a life coach, blogger, yoga teacher, and now author :) I wrote this book while working at Google full time. Most recently I was a Career Development Program Manager and internal coach -- now I'm on a 3 month sabbatical so that I can focus on promoting the book. Prior to Google, I took a leave of absence from UCLA at the start of my junior year to help start a company with one of my college professors.
The experience of leaving school before my friends (and reading over 200 personal development books on things like money, happiness, organization and time-management) inspired me to start my blog, LifeAfterCollege.org that is now a book.
How has the experience being so far, What opportunities has it brought you?
It's been incredible. Don't get me wrong -- I've had lots of stressful moments too - times where I was ready to give up, or where I thought the whole thing would fall apart. But pushing through those taught me the power of perseverance. I have learned so much about myself through this journey - and it's crazy to see it all wrapped up in one 6x9 package that I can now share with the world.
Let's talk about your book: Life After College: The Complete Guide To Getting What You Want, What is it all about?
Life After College is a compilation of tips, quotes and exercises, divided into chapters for every major life area. Chapter categories include life (values, goals), work, money, organization, home, friends & family, dating & relationships, health, fun & relaxation, and personal growth. The idea is not to provide nuts and bolts so much as big picture inspiration to help people dream big and go after what they really want.
What would you say makes this book different and effective than maybe other development and coaching books for young professionals?
This book is very punchy and straightforward -- I really tried to cut out all of the narrative that lots of other books seem to have. I wrote this for the ADD generation -- the format is tips, quotes, coaching exercises and recommended books for every area of someone's life.
People can open the book to any page and hopefully find something useful. I also think the coaching exercises will really help people create their own vision for their lives -- that's the part I'm most excited about.
Not everyone understands how much discipline it takes to finish a book, so i wanted to know what are some of the things you did to add structure and discipline in completing the book? How has the journey been so far?
It really helped to take two weeks off work when I started -- it was during the Christmas holiday so it wasn't a big deal. That allowed me to really focus for multiple days in a row. You're absolutely right -- it takes a lot of discipline, but it was all worth it.
Other things that helped were finding friends who also wanted to hang out and work on creative projects at the same time. It helped me feel less isolated and gave me someone to bounce ideas off of when I got stuck.
You're also putting together a book tour, when will that be happening?
The book tour is self-funded and self-planned (the publisher doesn't really help with that), so I will be mostly going to places where I have large pockets of friends and readers. I'll be headed to 14 cities total, including New York, Boston, Maine, Seattle, Portland, Los Angeles, Los Vegas and even London! You can see the full schedule here.
What tips could you give readers especially those that are on the verge of finishing school?
Set aside one hour each week (either alone or with friends) to do some big picture visioning - what is most
important to you? What three goals do you want to reach for in the coming year? Oftentimes we get so bogged down in our daily lives that we lose perspective on what really matters to us.
I would also say trust your gut -- learn to listen to your instincts and it will help you find people and opportunities that are a great fit.
Where can we purchase a copy of the book?
Thanks for asking! You can purchase a copy on Amazon (http://amzn.to/jennyblake) or at a bookstore near you. You can also learn more about the book on my book website (http://LACBook.com) and on my blog (http://LifeAfterCollege.org). Thanks so much for the great interview!