On Writing Holistic Wealth by Keisha Blair

My writing journey has been a meandering one. I started writing a memoir and then a viral article prompted me to change course when the world responded to an article that I initially felt vulnerable about when I hit the “publish” button. That article captivated an audience of 50 million people globally. The second paragraph of the article entitled “My Husband Died At Age 34. Here Are 40 Life Lessons I Learned From It”, described one of the most terrifying nights of my entire life: “When the nurses gave me my husband’s personal effects that night in the hospital in a white plastic bag, it really dawned on me, all of this is temporary. The only thing that counts is the positive impact we make in other people’s lives”.

Just eight weeks after my second child was born, my husband died tragically and suddenly from a rare disease that most doctors will never see in their lifetime, only in textbooks. I coined the term “Holistic Wealth”, and the first edition of the book was published in 2019, and led to a global movement.

During COVID-19 we witnessed unprecedented upheaval, grief and a reckoning with our collective mortality. I can never forget the CNN Daily Death toll ticker as well as the mental image of over 1,000 identical pine caskets buried three feet high, two wide in this football-field-size pit on Hart Island in New York City – a graveyard of last resort. I remembered it vividly because my mom lived alone in New York City and I feared for her life.  Like so many others, I again encountered sleepless nights and the death of loved ones. 

We also faced a pivotal moment in history in how we view wealth and success. As a trained Economist, who has worked at the very pinnacle of my profession, I’ve become concerned that too often, we conventionally define prosperity and success solely in economic terms. There is so much more to a beautiful and successful life—especially when facing and overcoming major obstacles. Women, in particular, bear the brunt of the effects when a family faces a devastating setback.

We’re now seeing unprecedented rates of anxiety, depression, and suicide even among the very wealthy, and loneliness is forecasted as the next big epidemic. Just recently, the United States Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy released a new Surgeon General Advisory calling attention to the public health crisis of loneliness, isolation, and lack of connection.

A recent Harvard Study of Adult Development has shown that the number one driver of our long-term happiness is community connection, which is why as my book spells out, relationships are also at the core of Holistic Wealth. Building wealth in all aspects of our lives—including mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual—is paramount. That’s what holistic growth is.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, I updated and expanded the book and I explored themes that also impact generational wealth such as anti-racism and diversity, the importance of female empowerment as well as topics such as financial resilience and embracing a personal financial identity. The expanded version has a new forward written by Actress Kelly Rutherford, star of Gossip Girl, Melrose Place and Dynasty.

I had previously interviewed Kelly Rutherford on the Holistic Wealth podcast on topics such as the importance of gratitude, the healing energy of love, and regaining your power in the face of setbacks, and we have shared a bond ever since. There’s no doubt that strong women have influenced my journey and have propelled me this far. Passionate women drove this global movement for Holistic Wealth in a moment in history where we all felt a collective drive to define success on our own terms and embrace our authenticity like never before. Living life on our own terms has become a mantra for women everywhere. Global Holistic Wealth Day is now celebrated every year on April 9th. 

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Keisha Blair is the award-winning, international bestselling author of Holistic Wealth Expanded and Updated: 36 Life Lessons to Help You Recover From Disruption, Find Your Life Purpose and Achieve Financial Freedom. The forward for the book was written by iconic Actress Kelly Rutherford, star of Gossip Girl, Melrose Place and Dynasty. Keisha Blair’s Holistic Wealth Expanded and Updated book has been called “an essential guide to the “art of recovery from disruption” by CNN Senior Political Analyst, Kirsten Powers and “game-changing” by iconic Actress Kelly Rutherford.

Keisha Blair is regarded as the “Mother of Holistic Wealth”, and Founder of the Holistic Wealth Movement. She is the Founder of the Institute on Holistic Wealth. Keisha Blair is a Harvard Trained Policy Expert and Economist and was part of the Prime Minister’s supporting delegation to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland and the East Asia Summit in Singapore. Keisha Blair has been profiled in the New York Times, Real Simple Magazine, Forbes, the Harvard Business Review, Essence Magazine and many other publications. 

@KeishaOBlair – Instagram & Twitter

Keisha Blair Author – Facebook

www.keishablair.com and www.instituteonholisticwealth.com

Global Holistic Wealth Day

https://instituteonholisticwealth.com/global-holistic-wealth-day/

Holistic Wealth podcast with Keisha Blair

https://instituteonholisticwealth.com/holistic-wealth-podcast/

Holistic Wealth Expanded and Updated 

A Maria Shriver’s Sunday Paper Recommended Book, December 2022

Imagine a life where you are financially savvy and independent, living with purpose and generosity while inspiring others. 

Imagine facing life’s disruption with confidence, knowing how to regain your balance in times of uncertainty. By expanding on the teachings shared in the highly acclaimed first edition of her book and in her viral article, “My Husband Died at Age 34—Here Are 40 Life Lessons I Learned from It,” viewed by more than fifty million people globally, author Keisha Blair presents even more revolutionary strategies—curated for the challenges of today’s world—that will help you find balance and success. 

This updated edition of the classic book is fully revised throughout, and includes: 

• A new foreword by iconic actress and activist Kelly Rutherford, star of Gossip Girl, Melrose Place, and Dynasty
• Additional chapters on pandemic-related disruptions and how to face them 
• More than 50 practical tips and case studies from trailblazers, luminaries, and readers (including Certified Holistic Wealth Consultants™ trained by Keisha Blair) who have increased their income, overcome disruption and setbacks, and reinvented themselves using the original book as a guide. 
• New interviews from the Holistic Wealth Podcast with Keisha Blair 
• A Holistic Wealth framework broken down into four easy parts to enable you to assess and build wealth in all areas of your life 

From financial stability and physical health to your emotional and spiritual connections with others, prosperity is more than just a number—it’s a way of living, and it’s yours for the taking.

BUY HERE

Tags: featured, women writers

Category: Contemporary Women Writers, On Writing