Impactivity (paperback)

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What if you’re working hard on all the wrong things?

You want to make a difference in the world and live a life of impact… but what if you’re working hard on all the wrong things? 

Impactivity will take you deep into discovering God’s call for your life – the dream He’s placed within you and the unique adventure He’s calling you to live.

A life of Impactivity is more than mere productivity; it’s a busy life of purpose that is also balanced and joyful. Whether you’re struggling to know what’s next for you, or trying to figure out how to do it all without burning out, Impactivity will both teach and inspire you to discover the dream that is calling, and to pursue it with passion, balance, and joy. Business women and entrepreneurs will find encouragement, community, and practical help within its pages.

Impactivity is a concept, a book, and further resources... to help you discover the Dream that God is giving you, get free to follow it, design a strategy for it, and then build a healthy live of work, rest, and relationships.

You'll find more Impactivity Resources for purchase on this site as well as other free resources, like blogs posts and audio, on the Impactivity website.

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“This book is so well-written, I felt the author speaking directly to me! Very inspiring and encouraging!”

“Unique book on making an impact while being productive. This book is an easy read, but it includes definite steps (which will take some time and work) to discover and follow the dream God has given you.”

“After reading a few book on finding my purpose/calling, this was a book I needed to read. This book is chockful of practical suggestions to help people like me actually make an impact instead of spending life with my wheels spinning and not getting very far.”

“I’ve read many books on goal-setting and productivity…but this one’s delightfully different. This one is purpose-driven, streamlined, and truly sustainable. Empowering!”

“The book is a pleasure to read, but it goes beyond that. I feel she has been truly inspired by God in the writing of this book, giving many like me encouragement, hope, and very practical advice on how to find your way to living MORE in your life...not more busy-ness, but more meaning, clearing away the un-necessary, the clutter, the time-wasters.”

“ If you want to start moving forward into a more productive life, this thought-provoking and encouraging book will help you change your world. It will help you to really make an impact without burning out or running around in circles.”

“If you have a dream, want a dream, or are afraid to dream, this is a great book to read.”

“The 5 steps are challenging me to stop focusing on productivity alone and make sure everything I do is impactful and ultimately, furthering God's kingdom by fulfilling the call He's placed on my life.”

“It's as if Tracy has been a fly on my wall, watching, knowing my heart, and as I read the book, I cry....good tears. The information is amazing, useful immediately, and the way she weaves a story in with the other information is perfect. Made me NOT want to put the book down....Powerful!”

“The author blends her passions of creating stories and offering practical lifelong advice in a unique way. She is empathetic yet, adamant that you CAN begin giving yourself purpose and discovering your God-Given Purpose. I found so much wisdom within these pages and am grateful for the privilege of reading this book.”

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Enjoy a sample from Impactivity

You and I want more

You are my Hero

I think I might know a little bit about you.

The very fact that you picked up this book tells me something about who you are and who you want to become.

You want to work hard. You even enjoy working hard, being productive, getting things done. But you also wonder sometimes if what you are doing truly matters. Does any of it make a difference? Should you be doing more? Or perhaps something different?

Maybe you’re the one the boss calls in a pinch when everyone else hasn’t quite managed to get it done. The person who picks up those late-night phone calls from your friends because they know that if anyone can help at the last minute, it’s you. Do you manage to find twenty-five hours in a twenty-four-hour day, to find creative solutions others don’t see, to get it all done, and then pay the bills and take out the trash before calling it a day?

Perhaps you sail through most days with a smile, never seeming harried or frazzled to those around you, but still getting it all done, and with an eye on a larger goal. Or maybe some days aren’t so serene and your progress is more like a lurch through your to-do list, crossing things off but unsure if the list even makes sense. Either way, you understand productivity, you enjoy it, and you’re hopeful that it’s all adding up to something great.

You impress me. 

But I also believe that you want more than productivity. In the secret places of your heart you want to have an impact on people. You want to shine, not hide. You want to produce or create or make a difference. You want to dream and you want chase that dream. 

Because of this, perhaps you don’t always fit in. Maybe you’ve been called too pushy or overbearing. Too much. Or too dreamy and idealistic. Even naïve. In a world where most people are satisfied with the status quo, you want to move forward. Some people might interpret your energy, and desire to make progress as bossiness, as you trying to take charge. Or perhaps they accuse you of trying too hard or being discontent with your life.

But it’s not that, is it?

Most of your peers seem content to work their daily job, come home, and crash in front of the TV or putter around the house. But you want to build something, something beyond the everyday pursuits of most. You want to create something new, perhaps even achieve something daring. 

Others may see you as a bit strange, and tell you to stop working so hard, spend more time enjoying life or just hanging out, or they shake their heads at your drive. They may criticize or judge.

Not me.

You are my hero. But even superheroes have their challenges. And if you’re feeling those challenges, then this book is for you.

* * *

If you’ve been pushing forward, working hard, for any length of time, chances are it’s taken a toll. Perhaps your physical health is suffering. You’re eating too much, or you’re eating too little. You’re too sedentary, or you’re not getting enough rest. You’re exhausted. Or maybe it’s your mental and emotional health that has taken a hit. You always have too much to do and not enough time, and sometimes it feels like chaos and confusion reign in your daily life and in your home. Your relationships aren’t what you’d like either, you’d have to admit. Sometimes the people in your life are resentful that you don’t seem to have time for them, and you feel like you're not taking good care of those in your life or loving them well. And added to all of this, your spiritual health may suffer, too. You very much want to live in a way that pleases God and follow His will, but often you feel disconnected from Him and aren't sure about your choices. 

A state of constant-busy, always running, always striving can wreak havoc on your circumstances, but let's also look inside your heart. Do you see stress and anxiety over the scattered and unfocused way you are living? Are you pushing hard, but on the edge of burnout? Feel a lack of joy and peace in your daily life and relationships? Even though you feel guilty about those relationships, do you struggle at the same time to not resent the people who seem to stand in the way of your getting things done? 

Or do you experience fear? Perhaps you are afraid that you are being selfish if you pursue a dream, especially if it involves money or “worldly” success. You're afraid others will think you arrogant to believe you can achieve something amazing. You're torn between trying to be content with the way things are and the terrible fear that things will always be the same. 

Under all the confusion and questioning, there is lurking discontent, guilty shame, restless anxiety, and a nagging fear that you are busy about all the wrong things and are therefore ineffective, purposeless, and valueless.

Don't worry. You're still my hero.

* * *

All of this up and down, guilt and shame, confusion and anxiety, restlessness and drive may have led you to a place of questioning. 

A place of wondering.

Should you be striving for more? Wanting more? Is having a dream a distraction from what you're supposed to be doing? If you're a woman, and especially if you're connected to a body of Christians within a church, then added to all of this may be a question of whether it's even legitimate for you to pursue a business or project outside of your family, or outside the volunteer work or low-paying job you've taken only to contribute to the family income. 

My guess is that you've picked up this book looking for some great advice on time management and productivity. You want to get more done in less time, with some space left over for taking care of yourself. Maybe you feel like you should be more Mary, less Martha, and learn how to put away the endless to-do list so you can survive.

But God has so much more for you than mere survival. 

I understand where you are coming from, only too well, because I have been there. I've been that person I described above—all of it—and my heart aches for you in the place you find yourself, wanting so much more and having no idea how you could ever fit in even a little more. 

But not only do I hurt with you in that frustration, I also rejoice over you and your potential!

And my prayer is that this book takes you there, to that place where hope intersects with your calling, where peace overflows in your relationships and where your time multiplies in a way that could only be God-sent. 

I pray that this book ups your impactivity in ways that you could never fathom.

Because you are amazing. You have a purpose. You are going to do great things. 

Productivity is killing me and I want more

It was Christmas 2008 and productivity was killing me, yet I wanted more of it. 

I wanted more tasks crossed off the list, more projects completed, more dreams realized. 

The northeast United States where I live was gripped by an arctic chill and I was losing my mind. In the months leading up to December, my retail business was exploding and my publishing career was in full throttle. My husband and four kids needed me, my employees and customers needed me, my editor and publishing house needed me. I was working eighteen-hour days at my desk, using caffeine to keep going, and making everyone around me miserable.

And then came Christmas. I've always loved Christmas. Friends laugh and shake their heads at the ridiculously-long list of Christmas traditions I have created within my family. But that Christmas, the pressure of my desire for the perfect Martha Stewart holiday, combined with the stress of running a successful retail business during the busiest sales month of the year, plus trying to keep my publishing career moving forward, all formed a tsunami of stress that I could not withstand.

In my house, we now refer to December 2008 as “The Christmas of Which We Do Not Speak.” I will spare you the ugly details. Suffice it to say, there was much weeping and some shouting and lots of pouting. And that was just me.

By January, nothing had improved. I was ready to run. Truly, ready to scrap everything and run away forever. I knew I could not sustain this pace and I saw absolutely no way out of my crushing responsibilities other than a complete abdication of them. 

I did run away. But not permanently. In one of the most seemingly self-indulgent actions of my life, I booked a five-day trip to an all-inclusive resort in Cancun, Mexico, hopped a plane and fled the country. 

What God did in my heart during those five days was nothing short of miraculous. You will hear more about what I learned in the pages to follow. The biggest revelation was that productivity had become an addiction for me. And like any addiction, I craved it even though it was killing me. 

I started aiming for super-productivity at a young age, and kept up the pace for decades. By my mid-thirties I had a husband and four kids, I’d realized a dream of having my first novel published, and I’d built a successful online retail company. But that still wasn't enough for me.

Ten years later, I have thirteen published novels, my retail business has over a million dollars in gross sales each year, I’ve launched two kids into successful adulthood and have two more at home who are growing up fast. I guess I've been successful in every meaning of the word.

I have also come close to a complete breakdown.

Out of necessity borne from desperation, I've spent years devouring hundreds of time management books, articles, and blogs—searching for a way to get more done in less time, or at least to figure out how to balance it all. I've tried countless systems of goal-setting, prioritizing, and getting things done. I've used paper and gone digital. I've sworn off it all and thrown it away, then resurrected it and tried to make it work again. 

And obviously, I've hit bottom. I've experienced emotional and mental burnout, chronic pain, damaged relationships, and a cold faith. What's worse, underneath all that misery was the nagging feeling that nothing I was doing even mattered anyway. That my sacrifice of health in every area was a total waste and utterly meaningless.

But out of the ruins, I've also found hope.

Redemption, even.

A place where productivity is impactful and my heart is hopeful.

A place of Impactivity. 

There is hope

In the pages to follow, I am going to share with you both the truths and the systems I've learned to not only escape the pit when I’m drowning, but also to climb the summit that I’m dreaming about. The six elements we will cover are not easy, and change won't happen overnight, but given time, they will make a huge impact. Along the way, God will be talking to you about your calendar, your house, your mind, and mostly your heart. I can tell you—from the other side—that if you will take the time to work through these principles, you will find joy where there was sadness, peace instead of confusion, balance and rest rather than feeling overwhelmed, adventure instead of exhaustion. And above all, the assurance that you are fulfilling your exact purpose in this world. These six elements will combine to produce a fruitful life, a life that is more than productive. 

It's impactful.

You do not have to make these changes. You can continue to live a life of hidden discontent or perpetual exhaustion. The years will slip past and you will find yourself bogged down in work you do not love, keeping a pace you cannot sustain, with periods of crashing and numbing distraction. Perhaps you feel that this kind of life is the “suffering” you are called to, the cross you must bear, the self-denial of a godly life. I refuse to believe it. Every picture God gives us of the life that pleases Him looks abundant and fruitful, joyful and overflowing, in the midst of suffering perhaps, but not suffering that is of our own making because of our continued poor choices. And while there can be suffering amid that abundant life, the suffering we can expect as followers of Jesus is not to be self-inflicted. It has nothing to do with an out-of-control schedule or poor life choices.

This book is not “self-help” in the traditional sense—one that is all about fully realizing your potential for your own sake, for your own happiness and fulfillment. It's about pursuing the work God laid out for you before the foundation of the world, in partnership and relationship with Him, and leaving behind the (often spiritual-sounding) excuses and rationale for not taking risks. 

It's about doing uncomfortable things and being obedient. 

It's about refusing to believe that stress and chaos are necessary for success.

It's about embracing the fruitful and abundant life God has promised you. 

Happiness and fulfillment are by-products of this life. So is rocking the world.

* * *

I wrote this book (and the additional resources on the Impactivity website), because every book I found on getting things done seemed to come from either the secular perspective—that business is a means to make more money, live better, and be more fulfilled and happy—or from the Christian perspective that work is about doing either “spiritual” work or income producing work, as if they are mutually exclusive. 

On top of that, the Christian-view books written especially for women tend to focus on balancing the demands of home and family, and perhaps a job, but rarely do they focus on balancing an ambitious career with the rest of life. For years I longed for a book, especially for women, that told me how to live a kingdom-focused life within the business work I felt called to do.

This book will challenge you to get started, or take the next steps, in your own adventure. The Six Elements presented are all part of a life of Impactivity, but depending on where you are in your adventure certain elements are going to be more important than others. Use this book as a continued resource throughout your adventure, as you move from season to season.

Should you desire to do more around the concepts of Impactivity, you’ll find more resources at impactivity.com. I would encourage you to check them out, especially if you are the kind of person who learns better with guided questions and specific applications.

If you're anything like me, you'll probably binge-read this book (which won't take long), nod your head at some insights, pause over a few minor epiphanies, tell yourself that you really ought to implement some of this stuff, and then move back into your frantic or less-than-purposeful routine until you feel the itch again and pick up someone else's book. I get it.

But even if you speed through this book, I’d encourage you to take the time to go back through each section, letting your thoughts and heart be provoked and hearing God speak. Do some journaling, or at least take a few notes in the space provided at the end of each chapter. Start your own path toward Impactivity and record your journey, so that later you can go back and be amazed. 

I think you're in the same place as I am. That old life isn't enough anymore—the long lists of crossed-off tasks and falling into bed exhausted and wondering if any of it matters. 

No, I want more. 

More than mere productivity—I want purpose, joy, peace, and life that is thriving. I want to change my world. 

Once upon a time, productivity was killing me. Now I want More. 

I want Impactivity. 

How about you?