Guest Post - Jasmine Freeman of "Life Choices"

Life Choices by Judi Moreo was published January 2010 by Turning Point International.  It is actually a collection of stories from 26 authors chronicling their life experiences and the lessons they have learned.  "Overcoming heredity, environment and their own fears to make choices that led them to new adventures and better lives, these authors share their journies through pains, sorrows, trials and tribulations in the hope of giving the reader the encouragement to make better life choices."

Please welcome one of those authors, Jasmine Freeman to Lit and Life!

Working for a professional speaker, trainer and author I get to meet some interesting people in our day to day business. Many of which are also speakers, trainers and authors. I am blessed to have inspirational thoughts and tidbits coming at me from all sides including Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, blogs, autographed copies of wonderful books and being privy to watch these phenomenal people in action.  
 
This year has been a very challenging year but knowing all of these great people has pulled me through with more new opportunities than I have seen throughout my entire life!
 
One of these amazing speaker/author types and I were having a conversation while she helped to fill and and facilitate a course offered by our training company.  She is always working on a new project and this subject that afternoon for us was her newest project, a book to be released this fall about Life Choices. I was familiar with the first Life Choices book and loved it. In fact, I knew a few of the authors within the book!  As she told me more about the purpose of this next book in the series I thought to myself… “I have a story!” Then I actually said what I was thinking out loud, to her, this accomplished woman!
 
Is my story really worthy of a book? She gladly offered to read my story and possibly include it in the book if I could have it to her by a deadline only a few weeks away. “Sure, no problem!” 
 
I should probably find time to sit down and write this story out but I’m supposed to be going away on a cruise with my husband and my boss for a planning meeting – am I really going to have time for this? I decided to push myself and give it a try anyway. I took the cruise and didn’t give the book much thought as much as I really wanted to have it complete and in her hands by the time I returned to shore. I started to panic – what about my story I promised to Judi? Maybe I should pass; I don’t think my story is going to help anyone anyway. Then I started to think about it a little deeper. Yes, as a matter of fact I do have a story. In fact, I had already started the ground work by writing and giving a speech about my story a few months back. A Baby Changes Everything – a story about myself, 15 years ago at this very time in my life – about as pregnant as I am right now and so lost and so confused about who or what I was going to be. The pieces of my puzzle began to come together as I worked on my story for this book.  I had a few very close friends look over my work and help to proof it until I felt like it was ready and then I did the craziest thing I could have done…I sent it off to Judi and her editors for the book. I submitted a story to be published in a book – this is so much bigger than me, am I ready for this? Where will this journey take me? I can’t wait to see where this journey takes me!
 
I waited for her reply that they would include my story. Nothing. I waited some more, still nothing. Deadlines passed and nothing. I thought for sure she decided she isn’t using my story and I’ll probably get a letter saying “maybe next time” or something of that nature? I went to  a local NSA (National Speakers Association) meeting by invite of Judi to see a speaker and I learned a few things during the meeting from all of these local speakers, I began to think about my story – maybe I should have done this, maybe I should have done that… Lucky me, I had the chance to speak to Judi at the end of the meeting and the topic of the book came up. I can’t remember what exactly I asked her but it was directly related to whether my story made the cut…Judi replies “of course your story will be in this book!” – I was so excited I felt like my self esteem had just been given a bump right back up from the pits of my toes straight up to my ears! 

Here I am 15 years later, due about 5 days away from the same due date I had those 15 years earlier about to have my fourth child and couldn’t be happier. I was so afraid that everything was over then, but it was merely just the beginning.

Jasmine Freeman is Chief Executive Assistant to Joan Burge, founder and CEO, Office Dynamics.  Jasmine joined Office Dynamics in 2006, moving her family from Iowa and bringing her already-strong executive assistant skills to the organization.

As strategic business partner to a busy CEO & professional speaker, Jasmine is involved in numerous aspects of the business as well as managing a hectic speaking schedule for her business partner.  Jasmine develops, creates, writes, and designs various communication pieces, plays an expansive role in the company's social media initiative, attends functions and meetings on behalf of her business partner, is client liaison, organizes and coordinates all major training events, seminars, and large admin conferences held by Office Dynamics, and is responsible for managing office staff. Jasmine is a featured author in the recently published book, Life Choices: Putting the Pieces Together.

Jasmine is a member of the Las Vegas Chamber Young Professionals Organization (Vegas Young Professionals) and the Las Vegas Valley Chapter of IAAP.   She is a true networker and tremendous contributor to the growth of Office Dynamics and hopes to someday inspire administrative professionals in her own unique way.

She is also co-writer of Judi Moreo’s motivational self-help anthology, Life Choices: Putting the Pieces Together (Turning Point International)