The last time I had a conversation with my Inner Mentor it told me something that startled me. I wasn’t expecting to be told “the Truth.” Instead, I thought it would tell me something that it liked about me, something that would make me smile.

What it told me that startled me was that it was angry. And, in an angry tone, the advice it gave me forced me to do something unexpected: I started a new habit.

What was my Inner Mentor angry about? After all, I’m a writer, and love what I do. Up until then, I had been having some success with landing good writing assignments. I had even written for a national newspaper and had a syndicated column. I considered myself a success. But it had another opinion of me.

You’re inconsistent,

it told me in an angry voice. The voice I “heard” wasn’t highly refined, like I thought it might be. Instead, it was more like the voice of a baker’s apprentice. Someone who was up to his elbows in pastry flour, and more than a little impatient with having to tell me this. What I was inconsistent with, it seems, was my writing time. Sometimes I would wake up early and begin writing at 5 AM. Other times, my writing would have to wait until I had finished breakfast, or checked email and devoured the morning news. Sometimes I didn’t begin writing until late in the day, or wouldn’t write at all that day.

The reason I knew my Inner Mentor was telling me the Truth, was that this advice was totally unexpected. Out of the blue. I was looking for praise, but what it was giving me was advice on how to become a better writer. Since then, I’ve written nearly a dozen books, and co-authored two. What it took to do this was consistency. When I began the new habit of writing down something, anything, at the same time of day, even if only for 20-minutes, something magical began to happen. I became not just a writer, but an author. To try this out for yourself, pick a topic you’d like to talk about with your Inner Mentor. Do you want to talk to your Inner Boss, the one who you bring to work each day? How about a long lost friend? Do you want to have a conversation about health with your liver, heart, or body image? Or talk about someone who makes you frustrated or angry? How about having a conversation with money?

Last Spring, I hosted a Writer’s Table for aspiring writers. One of the people who showed up was the Chief Operating Officer for a fast-growing environmental company. She decided to have a conversation with money. The result? She began a once-a-week conversation in a blog called Mondays with Money.

To begin your own conversation, start with these four easy steps:

1. Find a quiet place to sit with a piece of paper and pen or pencil.
2. Pick a person, or object (such as money,) to have a discussion with.
3. Begin the conversation by asking an easy question such as “Hi Money, how are you doing today?”

Write this question down on your paper. Then write down whatever response comes to mind. It might be a simple “OK.” So probe a little deeper.

Ask another question, and then another. Each time, write down the response. Within 2-3 minutes you will find yourself engaged in a deep, meaningful conversation with the person or object you have selected. The result of this single conversation with your Inner Mentor might be life-changing, just like it was for me.

If you’re curious about the books I’ve written, using this method, you can check out my website  – or let me know the results of your own conversations with your Inner Mentor by leaving a comment here.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Alexia Parks is a former NYC magazine publisher and an Internet entrepreneur who has been called “one of 50 people who matter most on the Internet,” by Newsweek magazine. Alexia is also an inspirational speaker and author of 12 books, including: Parkinomics, a motivational and business bestseller on Amazon.com. Her latest book, Be SUPER FIT! is co-authored with medical doctor, sports doc, and nutritional expert, Dr. Joel Rauch. In Be SUPER Fit! Alexia and Dr Joel show what lifestyle, diet and nutritional changes can make your body SUPER fit.