Prior to stepping down as the Mayor of Phoenix Arizona to pursue a position in Congress, Mayor Stanton wrote me a glowing letter of recommendation. It was for a scholarship to a book publishing course at one of the most prestigious schools in the entire country…Yale University. The competition was held by the Independent Book Publishers Association which I am a member of; and it was open to members of the association all across the country. As a first time independent author who self-published, I took a pretty unconditional route to reach this destination. First and foremost my heart and instinct lead me to homeschooling my daughters. Finding out what a valedictorian is, as our valedictorian was being introduced to my graduating class bothered me to the point where I vividly remembered how slighted that made me feel; and me wanting to make sure that my daughters knew about the highest honor a student can receive as early as possible… all contributed to my desire to create this book.
We recently celebrated our one year anniversary of being in publication, and I can say with 100% certainty that I am absolutely, positively, without a question or a doubt, certain that I am taking steps on the path that I was created to be on. By far, the clearest sign of confirmation for me was the affect the creation of the book had on my girls entrepreneurial spirits. They saw Valedictorian grow from an idea on a sketch pad, into a well received, beautiful book starring them. Speaking things into existence, planting seeds of greatness, and setting the bar HIGH. When there is something that you need or want that is not currently on the market… a creator creates it. They now see themselves as creators.
Additionally, the many parents that thank me for the work that I am doing, as well as their well wishes for the project and their desire for me to continue also confirmed things for me. So mentally, I was already pretty pumped and motivated with my head down just grinding away. However, when the Program Director of Yale’s Publishing Course, Tina C. Weiner reached out to tell me that despite the exceptionally qualified applicant pool, she and the other judges were extremely impressed with my application packet and everything that I am doing as a publisher… my confidence level instantly increased tenfold. I may not have won that scholarship, but I definitely won an even deeper sense of purpose.
Thank you former Mayor Stanton, and Director Weiner for the wave of confidence, and for re-energizing an already fired up individual. Yale Recommendation
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