INTRODUCTION
Way back in December 2019 we heard on the news that a virus was creeping up in some remote place in China. We ignored it, we did not think it was going to be important and we all thought that they will find a cure anyways.
Little did we know that this ‘monster’ was about to show its glory and change the whole world. Who would have
thought that the streets of the main cities in the world would in a few months become deserted.
Would it ever have come to your mind that you will not be able to travel and the airports will come to a standstill??!!!!!
Never in our wildest dreams would we have imagined to be advised to stay indoors for weeks, months and more.
The New Year 2020 looked normal until…….we understood that this ‘monster’ was persistent and was on
a mission to make history. When the new regulations, restrictions and changes were set in March, I was initially
afraid and questions were starting to pop in my mind. How are we going to keep on running our network
marketing business? How am I going to share my new self published book to the world? In an instance I felt that
all my work and dreams were going to be shattered in a few seconds.
Yet because I come from a background of resilience and tenacity and have the ‘never ever give up’ attitude in my veins, I stopped for a minute to understand what changes I had to embrace to keep moving forwards. So I shifted my mindset to accept change.
The first thing I did was transfer all our network marketing business 100% online.
Working from home was now the name of the game. There was never a dull moment and it was a particular
time to be grateful for technology and the word Zoom was starting to turn into a life. Zoom became my new
companion. It is hard to not communicate with people face to face and instead share everything via the Mac, or
as I labelled it each morning, “lets help people through the box”. One thing I learned is that you can still transmit
your aura, your message, your vibe and authenticity even through the box. I am not saying here that that replaces human touch. That stands on its own. But if you can do a presentation to a live audience, you can do it virtually too.
Then comes the book launch saga. In 2019 I have set a goal to myself to write the book I always wished to do for
a couple of years. It was one of my dreams on my bucket list. In life when you say “one day I wish to do this and
that” you will never accomplish what you wished to do. There is a sheer line between wishing and wanting and a
level of success is expected when you put a time frame on your goal. So in that same year I set a goal that “by
December of that same year (2020) my book will be ready for publication”. There again, a tough goal to incorporate within my busy schedule. Yet I never welcomed ‘busy’ in my life. Busy is finding the time to do what you said you will. My book was ready to be ‘born’ in December and ready for printing in the first weeks of January 2020. I named my ‘baby’ SHINE YOUR LIGHT. It is a book of inspirational messages and personal insights of life’s
journey which can motivate, inspire, help people in their darkest moments.
The motive was to make a difference to the people. We were excited to organise a book launch
in an Art Gallery in Valletta, the historical capital city of the Island of Malta. Preparations were high on our list to
launch S.Y.L. book on Thursday 19 March 2020. Both Paul and myself were excited, going through the guest
list, organising the catering, the outfit I was going to wear, the launch speech. It was simply an exciting time and so much fun.
A week before the book launch, restrictions were set out, events were cancelled and shops were shut down. To say I felt shattered is an understatement, and initially yes I panicked. Resilience bounced back to me again. So I
said to myself….”covid or no covid this book is going out in the hands of the people. That is my mission”. So how
was I to do that? One thing that life taught me is that when you let go and do not focus on what you do not
want, and instead put all your energy to what you want life happens. So what did I do?
Each morning I walked to the village post office posting the ordered copies of S.Y.L both locally and to other parts
of the world. How could I imagine that this book was now a message of hope in such particular times in the story of mankind. It was a time when going out was not the norm, the early morning walk to the village square post office turned into a luxury. I found out that outward circumstances can change the meaning of things, yet outward circumstances can never destroy your will, your passion, your empowerment. That happens if you only
allow it, because your personal power comes from inside of you.
I look upon this Covid thing as a Great Pause during which it gave me the permission to reflect, to understand,
to feel grateful, to appreciate the little things in life, and above all else to reinforce the belief that LIFE IS INDEED
BEAUTIFUL and to live is a gift every single day.
Penned by Odette Chetcuti
