Life Starts Now: How to Create the Life You've Been Waiting For

by Chanel Dokun

Overview

What if you had permission to stop striving and start thriving? Join Certified Life Planner and Relationship Expert Chanel Dokun as she gives you the tools you need to find profound joy and fulfillment in building a new life rooted in your unique purpose.

Women are drowning in pursuit of the "good life." We chase external markers of success—building enviable careers, pursuing romantic relationships, and crafting the picture-perfect life—in attempts to soothe the aching suspicion that there must be more to life. But our efforts only leave us stressed, lonely, and tired of trying to answer the question: "Why isn't this enough?"

Chanel Dokun has been there, too. She spent the first half of her life focusing on achieving and attaining the lifestyle she thought she wanted, but she found herself feeling disappointed, disillusioned, and like she'd lost herself while running after success. She realized that the world's definition of accomplishment was not a true measure of a life well lived, and she needed to redefine success and become the architect of her own life.

Using practical strategies, anecdotes from her work coaching women around the country, and therapeutic examination, Chanel Dokun teaches women how to create the life they've been waiting for, sharing:

• An in-depth look at why society's definition of significance isn't the answer in our search for more
• The hidden reason why we're discontent
• Practical action steps to unlock our genius, find our flair, and discover our unique life purpose
• The five postures of silence, solitude, generosity, gratitude, and play that can help us move from striving to thriving

Life Starts Now shows us that when we release the search for significance and recover a redemptive view of an ordinary life, we can experience profound joy and fulfillment—and embrace the wild wonder of the lives we've been given.

Praise for Life Starts Now:

"If you are at a crossroads or a tipping point; if you are successful, yet empty; if you feel sad about the way life turned out and need to chart a way forward, look no further. You have found a trustworthy guide in Chanel. She is one of the wisest people I know. Life Starts Now is timely, accessible, and exactly what you need as you evaluate your priorities, pursuits, and purpose. You don't have to suffer in silence or settle for less. You don't have to overwhelm your heart or schedule looking for significance. You can find contentment where you are, on the way to where you are going. This book will help you embrace the truth and create the future you need."

—Ashley Abercrombie, podcast host and bestselling author of Rise of the Truth Teller and Love Is the Resistance

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781400231294
Publisher:	Nelson, Thomas, Inc.
Publication date:	08/16/2022
Pages:	224
Sales rank:	1,070,634
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.30(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Chanel Dokun is a certified Life Planner and Relationship Expert trained in Marriage and Family Therapy. She specializes in helping women step into their life’s true calling through her Women of Consequence life planning organization. Prior to running her own business and co-founding a seven-figure therapy practice, Healthy Minds NYC, she worked in publishing at Hearst Magazines. She now splits her time between New York City and Atlanta with her psychiatrist husband and son. Chanel's writing and contributions have appeared publications such as the New York Times, Real Simple, Woman's Day, Essence, Moneyish, Christianity Today, and Relevant Magazine.

Table of Contents

Part I Drowning in Shallow Water

Chapter 1 What It Feels Like to Drown 3

Chapter 2 The Problem with Chasing Significance 13

Chapter 3 The Power of Your Daily Liturgies 29

Chapter 4 The Courage to Be Nobody 45

Chapter 5 How to Reclaim the Morning 61

Life Assessment 79

Part II Getting Your Head Above Water

Chapter 6 Redefining Your Purpose 83

Chapter 7 The Importance of Knowing Your Talents 101

Chapter 8 How to Find Your Flickers of Genius 117

Chapter 9 The Redemption of Your Life Story 131

Chapter 10 How to Activate Your Heart 145

Chapter 11 The Shift from Fear to Excitement 159

Chapter 12 How to Steward Your influence 173

Conclusion: Swimming Lessons 191

Acknowledgments 203

Notes 207

About the Author 213

Editorial Reviews

06/13/2022

Life coach Dokun debuts with an upbeat if overly conventional program for how Christian women can lead more fulfilling lives. Lamenting that work has become the modern “religion of choice,” Dokun uses client anecdotes to outline how women can find a more gratifying and “unique life purpose” by getting in touch with their “authentic self.” She warns that one’s habits (or “daily liturgies,” in her parlance) can rewire one’s desires, and she drives homes the benefits of lifestyle changes with the story of a client whose constant smartphone use led her to value online life more than offline; she had to change her screen time practices to appreciate analog life again. The author urges readers to lean into their talents, which she posits are “access points where God most frequently works through you to accomplish a greater purpose,” by reflecting on such questions as “What do you love to do?” and “Where does your mind naturally drift?” She also recommends dedicating time to oneself and God every morning by journaling or praying in order to become more attuned with one’s desires. The advice is straightforward and will most likely be familiar to readers of the Christian living genre, but Dokun’s humor and cheerful tone spruce things up (“You have been gifted with a special set of skills—not unlike Liam Neeson in Taken”). Readers will be heartened by this affirming volume. (Aug.)

Publishers Weekly