Writers@Work: Accountability Works

An Interview with Lenore Kantor

Welcome to the blog, Lenore! And congrats on your new book and workbook. Can you tell us about them?

Thanks Rochelle! It’s great to be here and connect with you. I wrote an unconventional guidebook and User Manual to help conscious leaders create more alignment and fulfillment in their life and work. So, What Do You Do? The Authentic Alchemy Path to Find Who You Are offers thought-provoking exercises, inspiring rituals, and spiritual insights, to guide readers on the self-discovery journey to uncover their authentic calling.

I share an eight-step framework to create positive and intentional change by exploring your values, passions, and gifts. The framework integrates my holistic approach. I share how our mind, body, spirit, energy, emotions and environment impact our choices and can be used to help uncover one’s life work. 

My approach evolved over thirty years from my coaching, mentoring and advising more than a thousand leaders and includes three levels where readers can engage. First is practical guidance through client case studies, thoughtful reflections, practices, exercises and rituals. The second level includes transformational healing strategies for readers to overcome the blocks to realizing their dreams. The third layer places one’s choices within the context of a broader hero or heroine’s journey to find meaning in every experience. 

The So, What Do You Do Workbook is a helpful journal and resource to capturing one’s thoughts, since manual writing can reveal deeper insights and reinforce one’s commitment to growth.

What is one of the hardest steps for people in finding aligned work—and how does your book help them? 

In my work with students, founders and leaders, I’ve found that many people fall into their work by “default”, rather than by “design”. They make choices for practical reasons based on external factors, like making their parents happy or doing what they think they “should” do. Extrinsic measures that are quantitative, performative and rational, focused primarily in our heads, can disconnect us from greater meaning and purpose. 

The book guides people to reflect on what they really care about and see which intrinsic qualitative factors are most important to them. Then they can tap into their inner knowing, follow their hearts and discover their soul’s calling. For example, there’s nothing wrong with being practical and earning a living to pay the bills, but if you really value flexibility and working with people, then you are unlikely to be happy in an office desk job only working with spreadsheets.

Once someone realizes there are more choices in what they can do, they can start exploring work that lights them up. The book gives people permission to recognize other opportunities exist. It also addresses challenging experiences and limiting beliefs that hold people back, which can include fears around scarcity, disappointing others or not living up to expectations for instance. My intention with the book and workbook was to show that following your own instincts and intuition gives you access to a much wider range of creative, fulfilling and joyful possibilities.

What did you learn while writing the book?

I loved the process of writing the book and allowing my framework to evolve and emerge. Developing my methodology was very creatively engaging and challenging. I derived so much pleasure from the creative exercise of envisioning something new and not quite knowing how it would end up. It was like a spiritual practice for me to go through the uncertainty of the process and trust that it would all come together in the end. In writing this book, I generated many new ideas and am now looking forward to writing a fiction series.

I am always interested in books that come with workbooks. What were some of the challenges you faced in creating a workbook and how did you overcome them?

I initially envisioned having space for readers to write their responses to the exercises and practices in the book itself. As the work evolved, I realized it would have been unwieldy to also include blank space with the rest of the content.

The workbook’s value was affirmed when a beta reader going through the practices asked whether a workbook would also be available to capture her responses. That reinforced my decision to create one.

My marketing background helped me conceptualize how to adapt the book’s design layout for the companion workbook and then I streamlined the content. While I imagine someone could purchase the workbook alone, they would miss the main book’s broader context, including the underlying rationale, stories and supporting material that I know provide more practical strategies and support. 

You are a super busy professional, teaching and coaching and so much more. What tips do you have for people who are struggling to find time to write a book? 

For me, the most important motivation was committing myself to complete it. I had nine different book outlines languishing on my computer for ten years. Two years ago, a newsletter subscriber suggested I should write a book, and that spark inspired me to make it happen. 

While I write all the time, I felt I needed structure and accountability for completing the book. I did an online writing accelerator program and found a book buddy to check in with periodically. With my outline in place, I could see the vision and then committed to completing it by a certain date, allocating several hours a week to the writing process.

The full book process took me much longer than I expected, but the initial writing took about 5 months. I try to honor my natural rhythms, writing when I get a download, then I may take several days off.  I try to honor my own process and anchor into my vision. I get a lot of pleasure from the creative process and that makes writing feel like a payoff, even when I don’t know how it will evolve, I trust that something beautiful (and hopefully meaningful) will emerge simply by showing up and doing the work.

What are you reading now?

I’ve shifted towards more fiction in preparation for my next book. I am currently reading The Scent Keeper by Erica Bauermeister and recently finished The Mathematician’s Shiva by Stuart Rojstaczer. 

About the author: Lenore Kantor is a transformational coach, author, mentor, career advisor and inspirational speaker who guides smart high-achievers to greater personal growth, professional fulfillment and higher income by overcoming their blocks to creating soul-aligned work. She is the author of So, What Do You Do? The Authentic Alchemy Path to Find Who You Are, an unconventional guidebook and eight-step path for conscious leaders to discover their work in the world. Lenore’s holistic multi-disciplinary approach evolved over 30+ years as a former corporate marketing executive, soulpreneur, and founder of Growth Warrior.