In my last blog I told how I came around to my inspiration for writing a children’s book. Shortly after that spark of inspiration I listened to Earl Nightingale’s 30-day Challenge. I took that challenge. It taught me to pursue my goal one step at a time, with a positive demeanor.

 I would take control of my thinking and no longer allow negative thoughts to pull me down. The last was the hardest part. Because of that hurdle I had to restart my challenge many times. Just in the first week of trying I had to restart a few times. But with practice, I went longer after each restart. I got better and better at focusing on the positive.

Unprocrastination Challenge

Then I took on another 30-day challenge, Leo Babauta’s Unprocrastination Challenge. With that, I created a list of the chronological steps that to the best of my thinking I had to take to get this book going. As this challenge dictates, I spent a minimum of 20 minutes every single day working toward the item at the top of my list. Sometimes it was more like a few good, solid hours. At other times it was past bedtime and I hadn’t worked on my goal. Then I put my nose to the grindstone and spent at least 20 minutes working before I went to sleep.

Even though I sometimes had to force myself to meet the challenges, this was not drudgery. A spark of passion came back to my soul. Every day when I worked on my goal, I added more fuel and fire. I felt as though I had risen out of the ashes of grief.

The Path of my Challenge

And so, I know I am on the right path for me in creating this book, my first Dojo Kun Character Book. It is about martial arts, which I’m passionate about and skilled in. It’s set in an arena I love and in which I am highly accomplished. In this story a kid applies karate lessons to improve his life.

In case you didn’t’ know, I am a sixth-level black belt co-head instructor of a dojo. So this book is my way of sharing not only my talents in writing and illustrating, but in teaching, mentoring and training in traditional karate. It is about how we can apply these lessons to our lives. Even people who don’t do martial arts can benefit from these lessons. Welcome to my path of creating this Dojo Kun Character Book and meeting my challenges.

-Jenifer Tull-Gauger

The first Dojo Kun Character Book, “The Can-Do Karate Kid” children’s picture book, is available now on Amazon.