Krystal Tomlinson killing fear with new book
Published:Tuesday | September 4, 2018 | 12:00 AMShereita Grizzle/Gleaner Writer
Krystal Tomlinson has always had a knack for persuading people to tap into their true potential. As a motivational speaker, she has offered words of encouragement through different platforms.
Seeing how she is able to positively impact the lives of those she has encountered over the years, Tomlinson challenged herself to become an even bigger influence. In doing so, the mother-to-be has added author to her resume, and has released her first book - Kill Fear: The Art of Courageous Living.
Speaking with The Gleaner about the book, Tomlinson said the book aims to encourage people to confront their fears in a bid to access their true potential. "Seeing how close people are to excellence, but can't access it because of things they are afraid of, motivated me to write this book. I really hope it serves as a kind of permission slip for people to start accessing their excellence and kill fear every single day," she said.
BOOK INSPIRATION
She continued, "The book was inspired by two things. One was because of my personal experiences with fear, and how often I had to confront them in order to access my excellence. Second, through the work that I do in self-management. I have had trainings and consultations with individuals who have very bold dreams and goals, but allow fear to stop them at the starting line. I got the idea in September of last year, and since then, I've really been working, adding pages every week, every other month until I'm happy with the finished product because I was really honest."
Speaking of honesty, Tomlinson said the writing process took her through "moments of deep introspection" where she questioned whether or not she wanted to share so much of herself. "This book required some 'de-robing', some emotional honesty that caused me to take pause and question whether I wanted to even write this at all. So even in writing about fears, I was confronting fears about what I wanted to share, and so the process of writing also involved killing fear," she said. "I questioned whether I wanted to be this honest about my personal fears because I drew on a lot of my own experiences and moments when I was incapacitated by fear, and the kind of bravery it took to stand up and say something, and what it felt like after all of that."
COMPLETE HONESTY
Tomlinson explained that in order for persons to successfully confront their fears, being completely honest is a prerequisite. "You don't get to your best self and your highest calling if you're not honest about where you're falling short on a character level; where you need support and mending and healing on an emotional level; and where you just need to unpack and empty out all of the bad lessons that you've learnt and start to relearn this thing called life," she explained. "Unless we are honest about the need to do that daily, you don't get to a space of growth or excellence, and even if you get there, it's unlikely that you're going to maintain it."
Tomlinson says the response to her book so far has been overwhelming. "I'm so excited that people are this excited to receive my idea on this thing called fear, and the dream is that just one person takes up this piece of work and it unlocks or unearths something powerful inside their spirit. If that happens, the mission will be accomplished."
The book is currently available for purchase on Amazon Kindle. It is also available for pre-order and hard copies will be available locally by September 24.