Success: All Wrapped Up in a Little Red Book

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When Terrie Anderson first joined the AWO Book Club, it was lovely to have another member on board to discuss our Book of the Month, and share in lively discussion on all things literary. When Terrie revealed she is also a self-published author, things became even more interesting for our Book Club members – what’s better than discussing books with someone that not only loves to read books, but also loves to write them?

Terrie, a proud Australian who currently lives in Europe, is one of a growing number of authors who are self-publishing their work. Her successful little tome – The Little Red Success Book – was first published in January 1994 and went into a second print run six months later. Now 15 years on, Terrie is re-releasing the book, and has also issued an electronic version, in keeping with modern publishing techniques.

Terrie has spent more than 20 years studying, speaking and coaching in the area of human empowerment. Raised in the Australian outback on a large sheep and cattle station, Terrie was educated by correspondence until she was 13. Now CEO of Easy Online Portals, an Australian based company, Terrie also coaches on leadership and solution selling, and is a board and analyst adviser in the IT security industry.

So what, then, lead her to write a book that touches on both the practicalities of personal success as well as metaphysical elements?

“I made a lot of mistakes in my life,” Terrie tells Australian Women Online, “And ended up always at the same spot and very frustrated. I was an angry young person because I carried scars of a violent, and sometimes sadistic  mother. When I turned 30, I decided to explore a new way, after reading an amazing book by Brother Philip called Secret of The Andes.

“I began to meet, and then work with, masters like Dr Wayne Dyer, John Kehoe, Stuart Wilde, Bob Proctor, Louise Hay, Deepak Chopra and many more. I loved what I learned, and for more than 20 years now I can honestly say that even with life’s adversities thrown in, I have had the most incredible and rewarding life.”

Although the market has been saturated with a plethora of ’self-help’ books, Terrie’s inspiration to write The Little Red Success Book blossomed from a belief that she could find a way to learn the laws of attraction and abundance, in a simpler and – frankly – more affordable way.

“I had spent thousands on my quest. I wanted to reach people with a message of encouragement and also offer them an easy to follow programme to facilitate change. I saw so much need and so little material, I knew it would be simple to start my journey.”

At the time of writing The Little Red Success Book, Terrie was doing a lot of one-to-one mentoring and coaching, and had developed a programme that really worked for people.

“My students kept asking me to write my work down, and finally I did. I had submitted the manuscript to several publishers and I had one editor come back and tell me my writing style was ‘unacceptable’ as I write as though I am talking and not according to editorial guidelines. Funny thing is, that has become one of the success points of my book. People have told me ‘I felt you were sitting in the room and talking to me’”, smiles the author. 

Frustrated with some publishers’ reluctance to challenge existing paradigms, Terrie decided to take the self-publishing route, and discovered it was not so hard to do, and that a lot of help existed both within the community and online.

“What is hard is distribution and marketing, especially when you are not in the mainstream. Of course, you also have to bear all your own set up costs, and you better be a whizz on Adobe, Word and layout techniques! Over time, I found ways to distribute effectively through the global book lists so that any bookshop can order my book, and it helped that our company is an internet business, so we understand how to make that work for us.”

Terrie has been thrilled with the success of The Little Red Success Book – essentially a manual on how to harness personal power, focus and attract a life that is both abundant and rewarding. Divided into several chapters like Analyse, Reflect, Purge, Effort and Energy, the author takes readers through clear, direct and simple strategies, combining both pratical and metaphysical philisophies that both clarify and inspire. Terrie feels the book has extra value for women than men, as they are more open to more subtle ideas and suggestions, yet are often more burdened by society’s expectations.

“Whilst my book is suitable for anyone who wants to achieve a success/happiness lifestyle balance, I really wanted to aim it at the ‘real’ people – those who are stressed with everyday challenges and too tired to ‘study’ or read large books. I wanted to make it easy to read, easy to follow and ensure the reader could understand exactly what they need to do now/next,” explains the author.

“I had a dream that even people who were not traditionally ‘readers’ could enjoy this book. Imagine my sheer joy when a man wrote ‘Thank you, this is the only book I have ever read since leaving school’. I also wanted to reach young women in business who hear every day about the glass ceiling and lose hope, or accept too less. I wanted to inspire older women, too – those with a dream to achieve now the family has grown up, or their circumstances have changed.”

Having worked with a multitude of women over the decades, Terrie has witnessed a real change in the way women are living their lives.

“In evolutionary terms, women of today have gone through a massive shift in the past 50 years. Most evolution happens slowly, but women have advanced meteorically and we are still trying to get it right. Men are still struggling to come to terms with the new order of things.

“All of these paradigm challenges fall back on women; we are the ones that carry the guilt and try to do too much,” says the author, who believes there is a real conflict in ideas about career issues, like the Glass Ceiling.

“The collective mentality always tries to prevent change, and this in itself creates stress for those who want the change. A woman who wants to be a mother and leave the workforce faces different challenges from her colleagues and friends, and may find herself really struggling to cope with her new world.”

But Terrie believes it doesn’t have to be a struggle. While she concedes it’s not easy, she feels it is very possible for women to have a happy, fulfilling and successful life.

“It is easier than any previous time in history for women. I would love to see more women shake off guilt, face the fear of criticism and failure, and just go do whatever it is they want to do in life.”

When asked if she feels it’s possible to attain ‘happiness’ in such a harried world, Terrie says, without a moment’s hesitation – “YES!”

“We can manage our lifestyle in a way that gives us a lot more time and freedom to enjoy what we want to do, and achieve what we want to achieve. The average person wastes hours every day just looking for things, sorting out bills, having to apologise for missed social appointments or being late. Accidents and arguments happen because they are stressed – more minutes lost. They are spending precious life moments apologising, searching and getting stressed.

“If we can take a different approach, we get all those minutes back. I helped a client track her missed minutes recently, and it amounted to an average of 80 minutes per day!  With a different approach, she gained nearly 500 hours a year back!”

Balance and success are often elusive terms for modern day women, and Terrie believes strongly that shifting our perception and learning to believe in ourselves and our ability to attract abundance will aide success.

“I can never emphasise enough to people that they must not stop doing the things they learn. So many people get motivated, things start going well, and then they get busy and stop doing the things that made it work! 

“Every day of my life, I follow my own advice. On a day things do not go so well, I think ‘what have I stopped doing?’ I find it, fix it and away I go again. I may have stopped saying my affirmations for a few days, allowed a negative thought pattern to sneak in, or started being judgemental. It’s like missing my vitamins and wondering why I feel tired.”

Terrie admits to re-reading her own book every six months just to keep herself on track. She has also written a 30 Days of Inspiration programme that reminds her to reconnect with her ‘success’ philosophies. And what is success to this passionate author?

“Success is when you achieve a goal, whatever that goal is. A successful life is one where the majority of the person’s goals are achieved. Recently, a gentleman attending one of my keynotes challenged me that success was about having a big house, nice car and lots of money. I didn’t argue, I just asked him if he considered Mother Teresa and Martin Luther King to be unsuccessful? He looked surprised and then agreed he had not thought of it that way.”

Although Terrie works hard in the ‘real world’ for her IT company, she does believe a balance between the physical and the metaphysical is absolutely essential in life.

“The whole mind and body have to be in sync, or else you lose personal integrity,” she says, “If you smile, you have to use the body but your mind must smile too otherwise that smile does not reach out, connect and attract the energy you need. This is just a tiny example of how we must interconnect our mind, body and spirit to universal energy. Our daily operational mode must stay in integrity with who we are, or we will create the opposite of what we want.”

Driven by the letters, cards and testimonials she has received from people who have read the Little Red Success Book is what drives Terrie to continue her work with personal development.

“Despite having a very successful corporate career, writing The Little Red Success Book and the 30 Days of Inspiration, has been the most rewarding thing I have ever done, “ says Terrie, “This work will live on beyond me, and I know it will continue to touch peoples lives. Life is so short, and so precious. Do not waste too many minutes being unhappy. Happiness is our divine right, and we can claim it. Success is a choice, but it is a mighty fine one.”

The Little Red Success Book is published by Terrie Anderson and is available Australia-wide (order through your local bookstore). For a limited time, Terrie is offering AWO readers the chance to purchase the book for just A$19.95 (normally $24.95) with free shipping within Australia. Just head to www.littleredsuccessbook.com/awo.php for your copy.

Terrie also wants to offer AWO readers the chance to sign up for her FREE 30 Days of Inspiration email program (normally $24.95), offering 30 days of newsletter-style inspiration. Check the link on her site.