Overcoming Fears by Sharing Your Story w/Brigid Holder

Intuitive storytelling and the reasons why people are coming forward to share their stories with guest Brigid Holder. She explains that many individuals have a desire to help others and reach a wider audience, and writing a book allows them to do so. The COVID-19 pandemic has also played a role in people finding their voice and wanting to connect with others on a deeper level. 

Bridget shares her own journey of how she got started in publishing and the impact of sharing her story. She emphasizes the importance of intuitive storytelling, which involves connecting with the heart space and allowing vulnerability to create a genuine impact. Bridget also discusses the differences between solo books and multi-author books, and the challenges and fears that writers often face. She offers insights into her process of helping individuals write and publish their books, and encourages anyone contemplating sharing their story to take the leap and do it.

Takeaways 

Many people are coming forward to share their stories because they have a desire to help others and reach a wider audience.

The COVID-19 pandemic has also played a role in people finding their voice and wanting to connect with others on a deeper level.

Intuitive storytelling involves connecting with the heart space and allowing vulnerability to create a genuine impact.

There are differences between solo books and multi-author books, and each has its own benefits and challenges.

Writing and publishing a book can be a transformative experience, and it is important

Connect with Brigid to start your solo journey, her website

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Chapters

• 0:00 The Power of Storytelling and the Desire to Help Others
• 1:21 The Impact of COVID-19 on Finding One's Voice
• 4:32 Intuitive Storytelling: Connecting with the Heart Space
• 9:59 Solo Books vs. Multi-Author Books: Benefits and Challenges
• 17:30 Overcoming Fears and Sharing Your Story

Transcript

TNT SpiritWorks (00:01)
So in the midst of what seems kind of like a chaotic, up and down kind of world right now, Bridget, why do you feel that a lot of people are coming forward to share their stories?

Brigid Holder (00:13)
I think it's got a lot to do with wanting to help others. A lot of people have this desire to express themselves in a way that they can reach more people. And a book can do that because books go, you know, internationally and Amazon has created this platform for us where we can deliver things to people worldwide and creating a book is one way to reach more people and allow them to feel the help that you want to give to others.

TNT SpiritWorks (00:49)
Yeah, and it's such an intimate thing too to share your story. I think, do you feel it has anything to do with like the COVID and how everything broke us open? And now it's like all this inside of us wants to come out and be shared.

Brigid Holder (01:01)
I think more so that people love group containers now more so than they did before because of COVID. know, wanting that human connection and being able to connect with others on that deeper level, the group containers are really, I see them filling up more than ever before COVID. And I do believe that a lot of people found their voice during COVID as well, because they were forced into a situation where

they might have to speak about things online to actually be heard because they couldn't go to their friend's house to be heard or they couldn't go to their parents' house to be heard. So in a sense, they now have these stories that they can share and putting it into a book is a great platform to do it in. So yes, I think COVID has changed it. I believe that the stats have changed to from 1 % of the population have published work to 1 .8 % published work now.

TNT SpiritWorks (02:01)
1 .8, woohoo, moving on up. So Bridget, I would love for you to share what do you do and who do you serve?

Brigid Holder (02:10)
So at the Art of Grace Publishing House, we share the stories of people to impact the lives of others so that they can see and create change in their own lives. I serve both men and women and it's a powerful way to allow people to have a platform to share their stories. We publish both solo and multi -author books and you know, the stories that we share really are about the life that you've had and the lessons that you've learned that can help others to then change their current reality.

TNT SpiritWorks (02:43)
And so what really got you started in this? Because I know everyone's got a backstory. was it, have you always been a writer? Or what got you started on this, Bridget?

Brigid Holder (02:52)
I wouldn't say I was always a writer. No. I do believe that everybody is a writer though. If you can speak, you can write. And how I got started was my business coach at the time said to me, I have so many clients that say they want to write a book and they never get the opportunity to. So I'm going to do a multi -author book. Would you like to do it? And at that time I was a heck yes to anything that she put out.

I jumped in and contributed to her first multi -author book. And then after sharing that story, I received 137 messages from women saying, I can't believe I'm not the only one. Thank you for sharing your story. I can now talk about how I felt because you talked about how you felt. It was so impactful on me. I was like, how do I now?

create more momentum? How do I reach more people? How do I let these stories impact more people? And that was where the publishing house was born. So yeah, was that feedback from readers that I received, people that I didn't even know. And, you know, I counted them. So 137 messages, and still so dear to me that first impact, you know, yeah, that's how I got started.

TNT SpiritWorks (04:08)
Wow.

I mean, if that's not like the universe going, hello, Bridget, this is what you're gonna be doing. That's amazing.

Brigid Holder (04:16)
I know message after message after message. Yeah, it was it was amazing. Yeah.

TNT SpiritWorks (04:22)
Absolutely. And so what I'm really drawn to, because obviously, you know, I have, you know, published a book and I did it through a team. So there was a lady and then there was someone who did the uploading and all the manuscript stuff for Amazon and then someone who did the cover. So it was like a team thing. And it was really, it was really interesting. But what I liked and what I'm really drawn towards with yours is that you call it intuitive storytelling.

And so I'm really, I'd like you to dive a little bit into that and share a little bit about your version of intuitive storytelling.

Brigid Holder (04:57)
I love that you asked that question, Theresa, because I'm really passionate about people telling their story from their heart space and not their head space. It's about really getting to that vulnerable point and allowing yourself to connect within to actually create the bigger impact. You connect energetically with your reader before you've even started writing your book. And you allow your reader to energetically connect with you because you're more open with using

the words from your heart space rather than your headspace. I don't know if you're aware the Heart Math Institute has this process, it's called heart congruence. And I do that every time before I write. And I actually share it with my authors, not all of them use it. You've got to have this way where you're going to connect within to yourself before you start writing. And that way you get more into writing flow. You also allow yourself to not overthink what you're trying to share.

and you know, the stories that you come out with are really powerful and the vulnerability in there is so genuine and authentic that people can't help but to resonate with it. So that's why I like to call it intuitive storytelling because it's, you know, it's from within you and our intuition is within all of us and that's why, yeah, that's why I call it that. Thank you for asking that question. I've never been asked that before.

TNT SpiritWorks (06:20)
Okay, so that's why I've been drawn to you, Bridget. Because clearly you got that down girl because yeah, I mean, and I understand too how really a book is alive. A book has there's energy within a book, there's energy within the author, you know, creating the book and then bringing it out into the world. And it's really to me, it's a living, you know, entity in the sense of that there's energy within it. So accessing the heart math, that's what that's brilliant. I absolutely love

Have you always been doing this or when did you really pull in the heart?

Brigid Holder (06:53)
So I have been doing that for probably seven or eight years. think it is now. Yeah, it's something that I learned in a spiritual course that I did. And I really went down a rabbit hole with it. The HeartMath Institute is an incredible organization where, you know, the neurons in our heart are greater than neurons in our brain. And if we start to think from here, as opposed to from here, you you lead with love every time and your life is easier and things become

clearer to you sooner than they perhaps would have if you thought from here all the time. It's really interesting to see how my life's changed since I started doing that and how my connection with others has changed as well.

TNT SpiritWorks (07:35)
Have you noticed since you do access this ability within the heart and not just working with the head, have you noticed that certain types of books come your way than other books? Like say more spiritual books or more, you know, there's all kinds of books.

Brigid Holder (07:47)
Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, absolutely. People who really want to share their soul, they really want to, you know, it's that impact they want to make from their life's lessons to others and to change the current reality of other people's lives. I find that those stories come to me all the time, frequently. I just had a call yesterday with a gentleman who, you know, went through divorce three years ago and

is wanting to share how to go through divorce with grace and still come out and be kind and have a co -parenting relationship with your ex and how you can still lead the family as the man in traditional sense when you are separated from the wife and you have children. It's just a beautiful context that he put it into that really encompasses everything that we do. You wanna have this ease and grace in your life. And I find that those stories frequently come to me for publishing.

TNT SpiritWorks (08:49)
And I'm sure that, you know, it's obviously the resonance, right? Your energy that you put out there that comes back to you. So the people that are more in their heart centered and more, you know, authentic in the way they will. And, you know, it's just a resonance. mean, it's, you you attract them to

Brigid Holder (09:05)
Yeah, absolutely. I call those people into me. I really want to work with those who are intuitively guided or want to be able to express from their heart space and not their head space. you know, really want to make this lifetime better for everyone, not just for themselves.

TNT SpiritWorks (09:24)
So I'd like to talk a little bit about a solo book, which is what I did. And then there's lots and lots of people who are doing the multi -author book. So can you share a little bit about the difference in your perspective and, you know, yeah, just the difference.

Brigid Holder (09:39)
Yeah, absolutely, Teresa. It's some multi author book is like dipping your toe in the water. Or for those who believe that they have not enough time, because you and I know that we can change time and change our choices around time and what it looks like and how we can actually create more time. So it's for those people that think that they don't have enough time, they want to dip their toe in, they're not quite sure whether they could write a book. So

testing the water with actually trying to just share one story in a small chapter, which is usually three to four thousand words, is really useful for those type of people. Others who don't believe that their story needs to be in a whole book also like to share their story in a multi -author book. So that process also brings you into a group container where you get to know the other authors,

connections and lifelong friends are made from that. I've been in 15 multi -author books myself, contributed to 15 multi -author books myself. Yeah, 15. Yeah. Number 16 will be coming soon. I do contribute to some of the multi -author books that I put out, not all of them, but some of them. Yeah, so it's something I feel into to see if it's right for me. But...

TNT SpiritWorks (10:44)
One five fifteen. my gosh, that's a lot. Wow.

Brigid Holder (11:04)
Solo book on the other hand is really the project where one person is the driving force behind the book and they share whatever stories and lessons in life that they want to share or they have a theme for the whole book.

TNT SpiritWorks (11:21)
Interesting because as you're talking about this, have a friend that wrote a book, a multi -author book last year. And it was interesting because she does a lot of traumatic, traumatic, traumatic work. And each of the person in there kind of had a resonance like that too. So it's just interesting that you're saying that. And I can, I just get a sense of how it can really be beneficial to people. Like you're saying who maybe don't want to write a whole book because it's, it's a lot of work, right? And also maybe just want to, you know, just tap into a story or aspect of what they do or what they've gone through. And so that really makes sense in a big way.

Brigid Holder (11:56)
Yeah, multi -author books usually have a theme that they stick to. You know, one of the ones we've done is called F Motherhood. And it's all about motherhood and the different types of mothering that there is and the different experiences that people have as mothers. So it's, you know, all the stories are to do with motherhood. And then Hear Her Roar, which was the successful women who've experienced domestic abuse.

everybody's been touched by domestic abuse in some way. It didn't mean that that person may have experienced domestic abuse, most of them had, but it could have been as a child, they witnessed it. So, you know, things like that. So it was really impactful to have the collective so that then somebody who's experiencing these things can actually resonate with the different people that are within the book, in the multi -author

TNT SpiritWorks (12:49)
That's super cool. And I'm thinking, and you say, start talking about that, like the chicken soul books, like for teenagers and for this and for that and how lot of those were, I think those are also multi -author books too, aren't they? The chicken soul books. Yeah, that's super cool. So,

Brigid Holder (13:00)
Yeah, yeah, they are. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And then we have the intuitive series too, all about intuition and connecting to your intuition. So we're up to number four

TNT SpiritWorks (13:12)
my gosh, that's awesome. Yeah, I've seen it on your profile on Facebook and stuff and so I didn't quite know what that was about, but that's super cool. So have you personally pinned a book yourself?

Brigid Holder (13:20)
Yeah, yeah it is.

I am still in the process. My book seems to get pushed to the back of the list or every time I get a new author, go, I really want to get this book out. You know, yeah, so I'm actually writing a book on how to write a

TNT SpiritWorks (13:39)
I like it. that's perfect.

Brigid Holder (13:42)
From here, not from here.

TNT SpiritWorks (13:45)
Right, perfect. So Bridget, let's go down a little bit with the process you use with people. So you mentioned Groose, but I'd like you to share a little bit about like, say someone listened to this and they're like, you know, I would like to learn more about you or learn more about maybe I have something in me to, you know, to get out. What's the process that you go

Brigid Holder (14:05)
So for a solo book, do the How to Write Your Solo Book Program, which is an 11 module program. And we do that live at the moment. We may not continue to do it live forever. It is a small group container where we go through a process of how to do it from your heart space and not your head space. And it's more about, you know, how do I get my

out there into the world and actually get people to get their eyes on my book because you know with thousands of books there's 20 ,000 books released in America every day and it is a lot of them are now AI generated and I don't think that that is going to last because those books don't have a soul and they don't have a connection energetically with people and often they're a repeat

in just a different way of other books that really do have genuine substance and genuine information in them that you can really connect with. So I don't think that's going to last. I think the numbers will drop as people get used to AI and too many people use it to write a book. So I take them through the process of doing it from their heart space, marketing it right from the beginning, because you should market your book from the day you decide you're going to write

And we then go through those 11 modules and then they join the writers group and they write their book in writers group. And then they can go into the Launch Your Legacy program, which is the publishing arm of that. And we go through how to publish your book. I teach them how to do it in the process so that if they decide they want to write another book, they can choose to do it on their own or they could come back to me and do just the publishing arm. And we do the formatting and editing and all those.

things that need to be done with the book, make it look pretty and craft the book so that it's ready.

TNT SpiritWorks (16:10)
So do you also have like an illustrator or editor or people, someone like that that is like the cop, the front of

Brigid Holder (16:17)
So I work with a company that does competition and get hundreds of designs usually. The minimum I've ever got for a book cover is 50 designs. So they run a competition and I get 50 designs to choose from. And then you choose one and you narrow down exactly what you want. You you might change the lighting or you might change the image or you might change the font. But their general idea is what you run with in the end. Yeah.

TNT SpiritWorks (16:47)
Nice. So what would you say is, you know, as being a publisher of books, what is the most challenging piece about publishing a book or even coming together as a multi author? What's the most challenge for

Brigid Holder (17:00)
For the writer, the biggest challenge is getting over their fear. And the biggest fear I see is that they think that their work is not good

really sad, it's really sad actually because you know everybody has something of value you know this I'm preaching to the converted and yeah and it's it's finding those pieces within to actually connect to for them to actually find their voice to bring it

TNT SpiritWorks (17:20)
Yes, ma 'am. Amen, ma 'am.

Well, you know, it's interesting because today I was watching, you know, Facebook has all these ads that come up and one came up with this lady who was doing a Ted talk and, and she was talking about her story. And I'm like, it was the most intense story, Bridget ever. And I'm like, holy crap. Like all we all have a story. And I'm, know, obviously now we're talking about books, but like, you know, talking about it or speaking about it or in a book, like everyone's got stories to share. so it's so important to get them out even

but to relate yourself to someone else. I mean, I know that the fears can be all kinds of fears, right? The fear of success or the fear of like, like you're saying like, you know, I'm not worthy enough. But when I, when I heard her story, I'm like, holy crap, man, that was like, we all have a story. It may not be as intense as that, but it also can help someone by getting it out.

Brigid Holder (18:22)
Yeah, absolutely. I remember my grandfather in the garden at his place, he had strawberries and a mandarin tree and we used to eat mandarins until we sick because he would go, eat as many as you like, don't tell mum, you know, like it was like this little secret that he had. Then he took us to the strawberry patch and he told us a story about the witchetty grubs in the strawberry patch and how they eat the strawberries

That's why some of the strawberries had holes in them. then one day we found a witchetty grub and he cooked the witchetty grub and we ate the witchetty grub. That story remains with me forever. know, like what a connection to him and to storytelling. And I didn't realize that I had that storytelling history until, you know, somebody asked me once, why is it that you love storytelling so much? I think it's because of my grandfather telling us.

you they were probably porky pies, I don't know, but it was, they were beautiful stories and we connected to them and he made them fun. And I think that that's some part of the joy that I get is I see that people enjoy so much in sharing their stories and it gives them so much, you you know yourself from publishing your book, your story in that book and your lessons and the gifts that you have for the world, how empowering that is for you, you know, it just.

what it does for you is just as much as what it does for the reader.

TNT SpiritWorks (19:56)
Absolutely. And I feel too that a lot of people who are contemplating, you know, writing a book or coming into a multi -author book is, you know, is just getting over that fear and knowing that, yeah, your story matters. I mean, you know, in the sense of I think these days too, though, a lot of people in certain areas, you know, if they gravitate towards, you know, like, what's the most intense thing? And it's like, it didn't have to be intense. Like it could be a wonderful uplifting story that maybe that'll be my next book and uplifting stories.

Seriously, know, I mean, really, Bridget, like, you know, trauma coaches and the dark, the dark, you know, stuff and all these things that people talk about on that side, they kind of leave out the other side or it gets all it's all about woo woo and magic. It's like, no, it's not. There's, you know, there's polarity within everything. And so really bringing that into what, you know, someone wants to share about in a book is so beautiful.

Brigid Holder (20:25)
Yeah!

It is, it is beautiful. And I think it moves the reader to action and allows them to see what's possible beyond what they're currently experiencing. If, you know, they resonate with the stories of others, it really helps them to feel that they're not alone and feel that they can get out of that current reality and move into something that's better for them, a greater life, you know, a greater relationship or whatever it might be.

a better connection to themselves and out of that fear and into more positivity. Whatever it is for them, they can see it because they resonate with the stories that are shared within books.

TNT SpiritWorks (21:33)
Beautiful. So let's chat a little bit about what do you, how do people get in touch with you as far as like your social media and what you're offering online right now. I know you're doing some master classes and things too.

Brigid Holder (21:47)
Yeah, every month we hold a free masterclass and every month it changes. I shock myself with the things that I learn and come up with intuitively and from spirit. It is a beautiful way to work to be able to be guided by the universe and share my gifts with the world. So every month we have the intuitive storytelling masterclass or the storytelling masterclass and it's a free class and people

come along to that and connect with me. But I do all of my work on my Facebook profile, which is just Bridget Holder. I have that unusual spelling of my name. There is no T in it. There is no D in the middle. And everybody seems to get that wrong, even though it's sometimes written right in front of them. It's Bridget.

TNT SpiritWorks (22:31)
Isn't that a Saint? Isn't it Saint Brigid? Isn't there a Saint with it? Yeah, Saint Brigid,

Brigid Holder (22:37)
Yeah, yeah, I was actually named after a nun. My mum had high hopes.

TNT SpiritWorks (22:41)
Sorry, mum.

Brigid Holder (22:45)
Sorry to disappoint. All four of us that had the same parents were named after nuns and she never got her wish granted in that respect.

TNT SpiritWorks (22:56)
my gosh. And you know, we didn't even talk, Bridget, about like, obviously you have an accent. So obviously you're not American. So where are you living at?

Brigid Holder (23:04)
I'm in Australia. live in a small country town, which is about halfway between two capital cities in Australia, Sydney and Melbourne. So on the east side of the country, but not on the coast. We're inland on a rural property and yeah, we run a few sheep on there. And I think it's funny because some, I don't see our place as a farm. We have 27 acres and most people go, wow, that's amazing. What do you farm? And I'm like, nothing.

TNT SpiritWorks (23:29)
Land.

Brigid Holder (23:32)
It's just space, I love it. I walk around it with my dogs, it's fantastic.

TNT SpiritWorks (23:37)
Awesome, awesome. And clearly you work with people all over the world, right?

Brigid Holder (23:42)
Yes, I do. Yeah, we've got authors in many countries. Yeah, it's brilliant to see, you Europeans as UK, America. Yeah, it's wonderful.

TNT SpiritWorks (23:52)
Awesome. And I think that's the benefit about this global community and global access of podcasting as well as being online because we can access people everywhere and it's just like as if you're in the next room.

Brigid Holder (24:04)
Yeah, absolutely. I do love that too. And it's some, you know, interesting to see who comes out that they say, I don't know how I found you. Like, I love that because, you know, Universes connected us together and guided us to be in the same place or for my information to come across their feed. I don't know where you came from. Like we weren't even friends on Facebook. It's just, yeah, beautiful way to work.

TNT SpiritWorks (24:29)
Absolutely. So, okay, so there's one way. So obviously Facebook profile is the number one way to get a hold of you. And I'll have all that information in the show notes so people can find you. Is there any one last thing you'd like to leave for anyone contemplating? You know, I have this story, Emmy, but what do I do? I will something the last minute thing you'd like to say to someone like

Brigid Holder (24:51)
I think that if you're sitting on the fence about writing your story, whether you be writing your story for a chapter, a solo book, or you want to share it in a magazine article, you just want to share it on social media, or you're ready to do something like a Ted talk or a speaking gig where you want to share part of your story to allow yourself to connect with others in that deeper level, is to just do it. It's not as scary as you think once you start.

And if you think you can't write, there's so many different apps out there that can help you go from voice to text. If you're a great speaker, you can voice to text yourself and then edit the writing or have somebody else edit the writing for you. It is so easy to write a book these days that you really, you know, implore you to get on board and do it because the change in you.

is going to be amplified by the change in others and the responses that you get, the feedback that you get from people who actually get to read your book.

TNT SpiritWorks (25:52)
I love it. And I had not even thought about if I'm doing a presentation that that's one way it can bring forth. That's brilliant. I needed you to I needed you to say that. Thank you, Bridget. We're done. I'm good. Thank you so much for coming on. I just absolutely adore you. And I'm coming to one of the intuitive storytelling classes soon. So I'm looking forward to diving in there. So I hadn't thought much. Well, I'm the same as a lot of people. I'm like, I don't like writing. And then, of course, spirits like write this. And

Brigid Holder (26:02)
My pleasure, my pleasure.

TNT SpiritWorks (26:21)
I feel there might be something stirring again inside of me, so it might be time to go there. So obviously I'm coming soon, so I'm super excited about

Brigid Holder (26:29)
Yeah, thanks very much, Theresa. I look forward to having you in the class and thanks for having me on your show.

TNT SpiritWorks (26:35)
Absolutely. And thanks to all you listeners around the world who are tuning in to get some more good enthusiastically spiritual insights and listening to in with Bridget Holder today because she's got some amazing ways to bring forth your words into text or ebook or audiobook or whatever you're wanting to do. She can help you do it. And again, I'll have all that information in the show notes. You can check it out and just remember that until next

Life is too short to not be enthusiastic about your unique journey.