The 12 Secrets of Highly Successful Women. Gail McMeekin

      Acknowledgments

      Last spring, I was getting ready to pitch a few new ideas to my publisher, Conari Press, when out of the blue, Associate Publisher Caroline Pincus got in touch with me first. We agreed on two book ideas: this one you are reading, and a journal to accompany The 12 Secrets of Highly Creative Women, which my readers have been asking me for since it was first published. I will write the journal this winter. Caroline is a dream editor, and she feels a bit like my fairy godmother as she weaves her magic. She is smart, fast, loaded with clever ideas, and very supportive. She is a gift and I hope to collaborate with her again in the future. I also want to acknowledge Barb Fisher for designing the beautiful, playful cover for this book, which brings me joy every time I look at it. Major thanks also go to Bonni Hamilton and Lisa Trudeau and the entire marketing team in Newburyport, Massachusetts, for their efforts to get the word out about our books and for teaching us about the new world of social media and blogs.

      I feel very lucky to be part of the Red Wheel Weiser/Conari Press family. My two books are still selling, and I still get emails or Facebook posts from all over the world thanking me for writing them. What every self-help author wants is for our work to endure and continue to motivate people to create better lives. The entire staff at Red Wheel Weiser/Conari Press deserve credit for birthing wise and visually appealing books. I salute them all.

      I am deeply appreciative of the community of women who made the time to be interviewed for this book, shared their varied experiences, and agreed to be mentors for other women. It felt important for me to duplicate the formula that worked so well in the first 12 Secrets book. This group of women is also highly creative, as well as kind and caring, which were criteria for selection. These are remarkable, no-nonsense women of courage who have a strong passion for life and for their mission of service. They don't “settle,” but instead they take action and make big things happen. They fail sometimes, as we all do when taking positive risks, but they get right back up again and move forward on their paths. I am grateful to each of you for participating in this sacred project with me.

      I also hired a team of people to help me with all the administrative details of this book, and there were many. I want to especially thank Linda Poirier for her endless patience and perseverance in dealing with many changes and challenging tasks, and for her edits. To Beverly Morrison and Clare Nielsen, my transcription team, many thanks for the hours you spent listening to the recordings of my interviews and for being so quick and accurate. I also want to thank Barbara Williams, Crissy Sutter, and Patrice Birenberg for holding down the fort with my newsletter, my website, and my clients, etcetera while I was submerged in weeks of intense interviewing and writing.

      On a personal note, I must first thank my husband and soul mate, Russ Street, for once again stepping up to bat (he used to be a great baseball player) and taking care of things so that are lives stayed glued together. His support astonishes me daily. To Marilyn Veltrop, my daily email partner, our exchange gives me a daily dose of your intuition and your insights which enrich my life and ground me each morning. I am grateful to Nancy Monson and Deborah Knox for their special offers of support for this project. To Mary Headley, whom I just met in a year ago, courtesy of Suzanne Falter-Barns, thank you for inviting me to be your guest at Lisa Sasevich's amazing workshop called “Speak to Sell” in California. This invitation opened many new doors for me, plus we had great fun traipsing all around the country going to other incredible workshops this year hosted by Ali Brown and Baeth Davis, as well as Lisa and Suzanne. Our adventures were life-changing—thank you. My learnings from those workshops are interwoven into this book and several of the women in the book either ran or attended these workshops. I also want to thank my friends and family, as well as my cheering section on Facebook, who checked in on me to see how this book was coming along. It meant a lot. Of course, I am grateful to all my wonderful clients who share their creative journeys with me and whom I learn from as they grow into their own personal, heartfelt success. Lastly, I am grateful to my Trusted Source for inspiration and inner guidance which facilitates my creative expression.