Authors To Watch: Jacqui Letran, author of I Would, But My Damn Mind Won't Let Me!

Jacqui Letran is a passionate and energetic leader who is truly gifted at helping teens transform into confident, happy and successful young adults. Jacqui teaches teens that success and happiness are possible, regardless of their current struggles or circumstances.

Jacqui is an International Best Selling Author, National Speaker, and Founder of Teen Confidence Academy. She has 17 years of experience in Adolescent Health as a Nurse Practitioner, Success Coach and Teen Confidence Expert. Jacqui is passionate and committed to guiding teens to achieve remarkable success in their academic and personal lives.

She is also the winner of the:
2016 Literary Classics Lumen Award and Gold Medal for Youth Non-Fiction
2016 Readers' Favorite Gold Medal Award for Young Adult Non-Fiction

When not working with teens or writing, you can find her traveling in her RV, hiking with her dog or spoiling her three cats. She now lives in Asheville, North Carolina.

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Title: I WOULD, BUT MY DAMN MIND WON’T LET ME!

Author: Jacqui Letran

Publisher: A Healed Mind

Pages: 158

Genre: Youth/Nonfiction

Literary Classics' 2016 Lumen Award for Best Young-Adult Non-Fiction book of the year, "I would, but my DAMN MIND won't Let Me! is recommended for home, school and public libraries and for use in clinical settings."

Do you believe that life is unfair or that change is impossible? Are you unhappy and frustrated with your life? If you answered yes, you’re not alone! Teen Confidence Expert, Jacqui Letran, is here to show you a quick and easy path to a happier, healthier life. You can learn to create permanent changes for the better!

Your past can cause you to believe that making positive improvements requires a miracle. In Letran’s award-winning book, I would, but my DAMN MIND won’t let me!, you will learn the simple steps to overcome your obstacles and struggles. Once you understand how your mind works, you will have the knowledge and power to take control of your thoughts and feelings. The power to challenge your old negative patterns and create the exact life you want is in your hands.

In this book, you will discover:

·             How to challenge old negative beliefs and create positive new patterns

·             How to stay calm and in control of even the most difficult situations

·             How to keep unhealthy thoughts at bay and replace them with positive ones

·             How to use the power of your mind to create the success you deserve

·             How to create positive life experiences and much, much more!

·              

I would, but my DAMN MIND won’t let me! is a groundbreaking guide to help you take control of your life. If you like real-life advice that works fast and doesn’t talk down to you, then you will love Jacqui Letran’s game-changing book for teens and young adults. This book is recommended for teens, parents of teens, professionals working with teens, and anyone who is interested in learning how to take control of their mind.

Get the award-winning book today to give yourself an unfair advantage in life!

I Would, But My Damn Mind Won’t Let Me!

is available for purchase at

Amazon.

Tell us a little about yourself.

My name is Jacqui Letran. I’m an author, speaker, and teen confidence expert.  I have 16 years of experience working with teens in both the medical setting as a Nurse Practitioner and the holistic setting as a Teen Confidence Expert and Success Coach. 

My passion for working with teens started as a result of my own experiences as a teenager.  I struggled so much with trying to find my own identity and my place in the world, and I had moderate anxiety and depression. Along my journey, I discovered something so simple, yet so profound, “change your thoughts, change your life!”  This little nugget of wisdom changed everything for me and my life.  I knew I had to share it with others.

I love being able to connect with my readers and teach them how to take charge of their lives by taking control of their thoughts, feelings, and actions. I feel so fortunate to be able to do what I do and spreading my message world-wide via my books and my online practice, Teen Confidence Academy.

When did you first know that you wanted to be a writer?

I never really wanted to become an author.  I am more of a practitioner at heart and it was never really an aspiration of mine to become a writer. I am fortunate that my practice has allowed hundreds of clients to realize life-changing breakthroughs, and that work always begins with teaching each new client some powerful information about their mind, and how their mind works.  It’s a lot to absorb, so many clients asked me to send them a written summary as a reminder. After so much client feedback, the obvious next step was to document that information in a book. As the writing began to take shape, I became more excited at the possibility of reaching many more people through a published book.  Because I’m able to share my message and help more people this way, my love for writing and my interest in being an author grew.

Describe your writing process. Do you plot or write by the seat of your pants? When and where do you write?

I remember sitting down at my computer to type out my book.  The first several attempts were horrible. I would type, delete, type, delete, type and delete some more.  I had to make every single sentence perfect.  After hours of hard work, I only had a few paragraphs to show for it. 

It was so frustrating.  I knew my topic very well and I can teach it in my sleep, yet, I couldn’t articulate it on paper.  I knew that if I continued this way, it would take years to complete my book, and I did not want to wait that long.  This was when I decided to write everything out by hand.  I would go to my local coffee shop or to the beach and write as if I was teaching a client.  I wrote freely; no re-reading, and no editing.  I spent two to three hours writing each day, and within seven weeks, I competed the first. It took several days for me to type up everything and then the first round of editing started.

Can you tell us about your most recent release?

I just released the second edition of, “I would, but my DAMN MIND won’t let me!” based on feedback I had received.  I’ve added a summary for each chapter to make it easier for readers who prefer to skim, or readers who are interested in a key summary as a reminder.  In addition, I added self-reflection questions to help readers go deeper into the topics.  My readers also connected well with the client examples, so I added two more case study stories to demonstrate the power of the mind.  I love it when I receive emails from readers telling me that because of my book, or the stories within my book, they learned something powerful about themselves that dramatically changed their lives.

What are you most proud of as an author?

My book, “I would, but my DAMN MIND won’t let me!” has won two Gold Medal Awards in the Youth Non-Fiction category from Literary Classics and Readers’ Favorite last year. In addition, my book was also awarded the Lumen Award by Literary Classics for Best Youth Non-Fiction book of the year. I feel so blessed and grateful for all the support and praise I’ve received for my efforts.
  

How did you get the idea for your award-winning title?

The name of the book was given to me by my clients, just as the reason to write the book.  When asked why they did not pursue the things they truly wanted, my clients would often respond with, “I would, but my mind fights me”, or “My mind is too strong and I can’t do what I want!” or simply, “My damn mind won’t let me!” Thus, the current title was born!  

What projects are you currently working on?

I have two books in the works.  One is a second edition of my book, “5 Simple Questions to Reclaim Your Happiness!” I have been getting some awesome feedback and requests so I am working them into this new edition.  Many readers requested more case studies, so I’m adding in several more.  In addition, I’m making part of this edition a workbook so readers can follow along and use the questions and other tools to quickly reclaim their happiness.  

The second book I’m working on is called, “How to Unleash Your Inner Super Powers and Destroy Anxiety and Self-Doubt.”  This is the third book in my Words of Wisdom for Teen Series and the most fun to write so far.  I’m working toward a late August release, just in time to help teens to go back to school with increased confidence, having learned about their own Inner Super Powers.

What advice would you offer to new or aspiring authors?

My best advice to aspiring authors is to honor who you are and how you work.  If it works well for you to type or dictate your book, do just that.  Or if you’re like me and find it easier to write by hand and let your ideas flow, then do that.  No guru out there knows exactly what is right for you.  Experiment with different writing styles and routines and find what works best for you and then go with that!  Just write from the heart and keep writing.