Manifesting Momentum – how my book took me around the world

The first email arrived in April 2024 from a Chinese email address. The writer told me how much she loved my book, ‘The Life List: Master Every Moment and Live an Audacious Life’ and that she planned to have it published in China. ‘Scam’, I thought as I deleted the email. The second email came a few months later advising that a publishing deal had been secured. ‘Sure, right’! I scoffed, and again went to press the delete button… but then I hesitated and instead forwarded the email to my publisher – ‘Is this legit?’, I asked.

Turns out that it was. And so I found myself in China.

How is started  

In September 2022, I wrote an article for CEOWorld Magazine called Life is Too Short. I shared the story of losing my ex-husband to pancreatic cancer at just 54. That loss shattered me and my children, but it also woke me up. I resolved to stop putting off living until ‘later.’ No more asking, ‘What do I want to do before I die?’ Instead, I started asking, ‘What do I want to do – right now – while I am still young enough to enjoy it?’

That question became the central question – the heartbeat – of my book, The Life List. At its core, The Life List is a story of the transformative power of loss and grief – of harnessing the hardest moments in your life as the force to change your life for the better. It’s about setting bold goals, overcoming inertia, facing your fears, and pushing forward—no matter what.

The Power of Momentum  

One thing became crystal clear to me as I wrote—and lived—the lessons in The Life List: when you create momentum in your life, nothing can stop you. Call it the power of prayer, manifestation, serendipity, or the alignment of the planets—when you fully immerse yourself in a goal-setting way of living, doors start to open. And not just the doors you expect or dream about, but doors you never even knew existed.

China was never a door I imagined I would open. Not in a million years. But that’s the magic of momentum: you start by knocking on one door, and suddenly, a hallway of new possibilities appears.

Here’s how it played out:

The Life List was published in 2023, and is now an award-winner and bestseller. A Chinese woman traveling in Australia bought the book, loved it, and shared it with her University lecturer in Beijing. That lecturer, Tracy Gan, is a renowned academic and Director of Gender Studies. Tracy loved the book so much that she personally translated it into Mandarin and began the challenging process of securing a publishing deal in China.

In September 2024, after The Life List—retitled ‘More Than One Choice in Life’—was published in China, I shared a picture of the book cover on LinkedIn. That post was read by the Trade Commissioner, NSW Australia to Shanghai and she commented on my post. She recognised that the messages from The Life List – of women designing and living their best lives – are universal ideas and values that resonate regardless of nationality or cultural background. So, she shared The Life List with her colleagues at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in Beijing and they agreed.

In January 2025, I received a formal invitation from the Australian Ambassador to China for a two-week speaking tour to coincide with International Women’s Day.

Living the Audacious Life   

Over two weeks, I was guest of honour and keynote speaker at more than 30 events across Guangzhou, Chengdu, Shanghai, and Beijing. I met ambassadors, consuls, business leaders, government representatives, alumni, and hundreds of inspiring audience members. I was honoured to donate both the English and Mandarin versions of my book to national libraries in Shanghai and Beijing. I saw pandas and the Great Wall, navigated airports, rode bullet trains, zip-lined down a mountain, swam across the Liangma River, ate hot pot, visited museums, and, everywhere I went, met incredible, welcoming people.

Your Life starts now  

Here’s what I know for sure: when you create your own Life List and start living it—when you harness each small moment to generate momentum—extraordinary doors will open for you, too. Not just the ones you expect, but doors you never even dreamed of.

If I can offer you one piece of encouragement, it’s this: stop waiting for life to happen to you. You get to design your best life and start living it, right now. Ask yourself, ‘What do I want to do while I am still young enough to enjoy it?’, Take one small step. Then another. And watch as your own audacious life unfolds.

Because when you say yes to life, life says yes to you.

Written by Kate Christie.
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