But talk about “judging a book by its cover!” I’m so thankful that the little voice inside gave me the trusting nudge and I opened the book anyway. Had I not, I would have missed out on having Tama as my own personal co-pilot into my true life.

I am still very young (24 years old), but already I’ve become so sick and tired of limiting myself to fit someone else’s definition (to borrow one of my favorite Incubus lyrics). I’ve seen my parents (well, my Mom) come home day after day living through leftover, sifted energy that remained after days and years of 10-12 hour workdays. Living for the weekends and then come Sunday evening, OHHH the perilous Sunday-night-doldrums. I never wanted that life and I never understood why so many people would allow themselves to lead their lives in such a wasteful manner.

But then I got older and the bills began calling, especially after college, and I felt the tension belt tighten and the vacuum into the corporate world sucking me in evermore. After all I had to make ends meet right? I had responsibilities, yes? So for the past 4-5 years I let myself weaken and become pulled in to the dreaded cubicle arena… bleh.

Then one day, while doing my daily yoga routine, something inside of me welled up. It was my inner voice- the part of me that I had been ignoring and suppressing for so long. I didn’t quite make out what it was trying to say but I knew that it was calling to the free spirit inside of me. “Where did you go? What is this all for? The life you are leading isn’t supplementing your TRUE self, Jillian!”

So little by little, day by day, yoga routine after yoga routine, the voice became louder and clearer and I knew I couldn’t hold on to this illusion of a life for much longer. But what would I do? I had no clue.

Then as if by a miracle THIS TIME I DANCE! landed in my possession and the little voice inside returned. It knew I needed to have this book, this lone book amongst a sea of- follow your passion, learn to live your best life, make your dreams come true- books. For some reason, this particular book fatefully landed in my hands. Apparently, I was meant to read it.

With each page I turned, I felt as though the author, Tama J. Kieves personally reached out from the print and wiped the fog from my hazy reading glasses. She spoke directly to that voice inside, my true self. I felt like I was coming home again. My childlike joy and wonder began to seep through the cracks and back into my awareness. And what is wonderful is that through the entire time I spent reading, I wasn’t alone, Tama was right there beside me, experiencing it with me.

She really brings warmth, realness, and humor into each page and so willingly shares her own personal and practical stories of overcoming insecurities. It takes gumption to share your inner struggles with the world! She explores the fears and doubts that I know were definitely deterring me in my search for a new career path.  She asks the question “If you’re this successful doing work you don’t love, what could you do with work you do love?” and I just wanted to share that with everyone when I read it.

As I neared the end of the book, I felt both delighted and sad. Delighted because I had discovered how to trust the unparalleled power of my own true work in this world. And sad because I didn’t want the book to end =) I am now equipped with solid hope and the willful determination to follow my joy and live my best life!

If you’re interested, you can find THIS TIME I DANCE! here and you can read excerpts, comments and reviews here. Tama Kieves also has a great monthly newsletter she sends out and it’s free and really gets you inspired. here.

Best,

Jillian Petersen