On a crisp fall morning, I sat with my precious friend and writing assistant, Karen, in her upstairs office. Phil was out of town, and we planned to work on some new book proposals together.

I had started writing my first book just one year earlier and now found myself on a fast track. I wasn’t sure if I was driving, being driven, or a combination of the two. In addition, my travel schedule had swollen with opportunities that I didn’t feel I could or should turn down.