Jane Austen gets me.

Mrs. Croft's words of wisdom

If you've been here for a minute, you know how much I love a Jane Austen quote. One of the things that I love about Austen quotes is how often, in so few words, she really captures something that feels so tangible and real to your life.

The other day, I was recording a podcast with my business partner, Caroline Jane Knight, the fifth great-niece of Jane Austen, for The Austen Pathway. We each shared a quote that really resonates with us the most. Right away, I knew what my quote would be: "We, none of us want to be in calm waters all our lives."

When Mrs. Croft says that in Persuasion, it just really connects with me. Sometimes in life, we have moments where we choose to go into the rougher waters, and sometimes we just get thrown into them. But, I’ve found that learning how to thrive no matter what kind of water you are in, you can and will see success.

When I'm coaching authors and creatives, like you, I have seen many times the struggles that take place. While you are trying to be creative you might be working another job, taking care of a family, trying to stay creative and write, handling your self-publish, trying to query, marketing your products… I don’t need to tell you how many things you are juggling.

There is so much going on that it can feel like chaos, as if you are being tossed around those rough waters. But whatever your creative endeavor, it’s something that you know you were put here to do.

You have a path—you just need to find it.

I really connect with this because when I started my business, I was in my late 30s, and there were so many aspects of it that I felt like I wasn't sure what to do, but I just threw myself in wholeheartedly. It felt scary but also thrilling at the same time.

When I coach clients, oftentimes they feel the same. Sometimes it’s chaos and confusion, and they're just not sure exactly where they want to head. They have no clear vision of the path that will get them to the success they are seeking. Or they are seeing success and they want the thrill of going after more. They feel ready to get out of those “calm waters”, but they are looking for the confidence and skills to help them get there.

That's the moment when I feel like we can start to thrive. When we acknowledge that we don’t want to stay in the calm forever, good things begin to happen.

Having come through some of those rough times myself, I love helping other creatives get through those times as well.

Working together with Caroline Jane Knight (

Jane Austen's Niece

), who herself has had a brilliant business career, we have recently launched The Austen Pathway to help authors and creatives improve their business, marketing, and mindset skills to increase sales and create their own unique path to success.

We are here because we're passionate about helping you find your path, your way.

We all know life is not always about calm waters, but with the right tools and surrounded by a supportive community, it's in those rough and stormy moments that we can really thrive and see success.

You can listen to our podcast HERE.