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Let me repeat that sentence “I’m going to Bali to write my book.” That’s a pretty fantastic sentence if you ask me and still very surreal. When I was 16 I felt called to start writing my “book” about my life story. It started off as a therapeutic journey just to get my thoughts out on paper. As the years went on and life got even more interesting; I felt that part of my calling was to write my life story in the form of a book. I love writing, I definitely feel as though I have a compelling yet inspiring story to tell and I want to help others by sharing what I’ve learned (so far!)

Not surprisingly, I’ve always been drawn to quotes, personal growth and focusing on positive thinking in general. Throughout the years I’ve read many amazing blogs, books and quotes but it wasn’t until around 2010 when my friend Ashley sent me an email from “The Daily Love” that one of my now inspirations came into my life. I immediately subscribed to “The Daily Love” and started sharing it with other friends, who in turn started subscribing too. I was hooked on the founder/blogger Mastin Kipp. It was like every day he was speaking directly to me (of course everyone else feels that way too!) but his messages were just so dead on. It was like he was my own personal coach showing up in my inbox every day. His words and messages resonated with me to my core.

The Daily Love Writer’s Mastermind Retreat in Bali

Mastin then announced that The Daily Love was going to tour around the country on the “Enter the Heart” tour. I was at first disappointed to see they weren’t planning on stopping by in Phoenix, Arizona (where I live) but within a few weeks a Phoenix date appeared! I immediately invited a couple of my closest girlfriends to come with me to the event. I even told myself if no one could attend with me; I’d go it alone! The event was led by Mastin and a Kundalini yoga teacher, Sat Siri. It was a five hour event to teach us how to take the journey from our head to our heart. It was truly a magical night! I must admit I was a little geeked out knowing that I was going to see Mastin in person and might (eek!) even get to meet him! I did just that right after the event. I met him, told him I’d been following The Daily Love since the beginning stages, asked if I could take a picture with him and told him I’d be writing a blog about the event. He asked me to send him the blog and I was honored! I wrote my blog on the Enter the Heart tour and sent a link to Mastin via Facebook. I did see that he “read” the message and even that was exciting for me. Little did I know that on a couple Sunday mornings later; I’d be lying in my bed reading The Daily Love and voila! Mastin called me out by name and linked his blog to my blog! Holy moly! I jumped out of bed so excited; I couldn’t believe it. Mastin Kipp just featured ME, Tianna Leigh, in HIS blog! Ahh! This was such a huge moment for me.

Next, Mastin would write his first book “Growing into Grace.” In fact him featuring my blog that day felt like a “God shot” for my life as Mastin refers to in his book “Growing into Grace.” Mastin went on a book tour and one of his stops was Phoenix so of course I was there! I bought my ticket and I went alone. It was another night of profound conversation and raw emotion. You can read more about my experience at the book tour event here. Again, I was able to take a photo with Mastin and have him sign my book. As I read the book; I couldn’t help but feel similarities in his story and mine. It was yet more pull and motivation for me to get my booty in gear and write my own book already!

A few weeks ago I saw an email come through from The Daily Love that said “Writer’s Mastermind Retreat in Bali” and it peaked my interest. I clicked through the email where it described the event and said they were taking applications but that only 30 people would be selected to go to Bali with Mastin, Jenna (Mastin’s love of his life) and two writing coaches for a 28 day writer’s mastermind retreat. The purpose of the retreat would be to complete your first “shitty rough draft” of the book or screen play you’ve had in your mind but just haven’t executed it just yet. I thought well, this is amazing and the perfect opportunity so why don’t I apply? I will tell you that it was a long and rigorous application written by Mastin himself. I took the time to complete the application and hit submit. The next step of the process was to speak with Jenna over the phone for the second part of the interview process. A couple of days later I received an email that said they had reviewed my application and that I needed to pick a time on Jenna’s calendar to chat. I looked at her calendar and to my dismay there were ZERO spots left! I emailed them back and let them know. Unbeknownst to me Jenna had received my email and had written me back but it ended up in my spam folder! Super lucky for me (as I never ever check my spam folder) I just happen to check it for something else and boom, there was the email from Jenna! I wrote her back immediately letting her know what had happened and she wrote me back to let me know that she had opened up some more time on her calendar and that I should choose a time that worked for me. Oh my goodness! There was spot open the very next day that worked perfectly for my schedule. Things were starting to come together. Could this really be happening?! YES! I hopped on the phone with Jenna and we had a great conversation. I totally felt a connection to her too! Once we wrapped up our conversation she said I would hear back one way or the other within a couple of days. So, I waited. During my waiting period, I was repeating in my head “If this is for my greatest good; I will be chosen. If it is not in my greatest good; I will NOT be chosen.”

Will you help me get to Bali? Go Fund Me

June 23, 2015 at 9:04 PM the email came through with the subject line “Important email! Congrats, Tianna Leigh! You¹ve been accepted to come to Bali!” Oh my goodness! Luckily my friend Kristen was actually at my house when I got the email so I got to share my excitement with her. It was surreal and I couldn’t believe it! My best friend Jessica had known about the application process from the beginning so she had been on the edge of her seat too. I sent her a screen shot of the acceptance email and she immediately called me. She was on speaker with Kristen and I and the three of us were ecstatic! It was a fun and amazing moment to share with great friends! I also received a call from my best friend Chris from Wyoming and I could hear in his voice his pure excitement and awe. Needless to say; it was a GREAT night for Tianna Leigh!

Without family or a partner to help me financially; my best friend Jessica actually had the great idea of starting a Go Fund Me to help me make this dream a reality without having to end up on the pole. 😉 I’d never heard of the process before but Jessica is convinced that enough people believe and love me enough; that we may be able to get me some help! So far, slow and steady and I’ve been honored and humbled by all of the love, support and donations received so far. I can’t believe this is happening! I’m going to freakin’ Bali people! Ahh!!

I’ve been saying “I want to use a passport” “I NEED to write this whole book” “I will collaborate with Mastin Kipp someday” well…ask and you shall receive?! So, there’s my story of how I’ve been selected to go to Bali and what a huge honor it is to me. Thank you for sharing in my excitement! I look forward to sharing my book with the world sooner than later! Here’s a link to the actual retreat!