Hay House, Inc., Awards New Publishing Contract to Flow State Expert

The Hay House awards Laurie Smith a publishing contract for The Flow Habit, a self-help guide to help readers use flow to improve their lives

SAN FRANCISCO, CA, UNITED STATES, April 23, 2024 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Laurie Smith, founder of The 28-Day Flow Challenge, was recently awarded a publishing contract with Hay House, Inc., for her upcoming book The Flow Habit. This self-help book will guide readers to use flow--when we are so engaged in doing something that we lose track of time--to experience more peace, purpose, and to positively transform their lives.

Public interest in flow is on the rise especially in the fields of athletics and business. Since the start of the COVID pandemic, Smith has been leading individuals around the world in making flow a habit by choosing a simple daily activity that they love to do that has a high chance of getting them into a flow state. Their stories inspired Smith to write The Flow Habit.

“At this time when there’s so much focus on why we should distrust each other, I absolutely love that flow is a powerful skill that we all have in common." said Smith. “What makes my approach different is that rather than focusing on flow as a way to beat the competition, I see flow as a connector. We are all Flow Experts. There's so much we can learn from each other.”

Smith originally learned about how flow boosts creativity and happiness after graduating from The University of Pennsylvania from the then newly-published book Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. As a young boy during World War II, Csikszentmihalyi noticed that when he was playing chess, he wouldn’t notice bombs falling nearby.

“Flow has an incredible ability to help us experience calm even when the outer world is in chaos,” said Smith.

In addition to being an expert on the flow state, Smith has more than 30 years of experience as a writer and professional speaker in the fields of emotional healing and life coaching. She is the author of several other books, courses, and programs including Leap With Me: A Creative Path to Finding and Following Your True Voice.

Smith was awarded the publishing contract as The Grand Prize Winner of a writing contest Hay House offered as part of a writing bootcamp.

“While I’ve had the idea for The Flow Habit for years, I’ve been so filled with passion for the work I’ve been doing leading groups and speaking about flow that there never seemed to be enough time to stop and put a book proposal together and find an agent,” said Smith. “Hay House’s workshop was so helpful. They were so supportive and made the process simple.”

“As soon as I submitted my proposal to Hay House, I put it out of my mind and got right back to doing my work,” said Smith. “When I got that phone call and heard Reid Tracy, President and CEO of Hay House say the words ‘Welcome to the Hay House Family,’ I was absolutely shocked.”

Smith had dreamed of becoming a Hay House author since she was in her twenties and read Louise Hay’s book You Can Heal Your Life. At that time, Smith was working in the field of healthcare marketing in New York City.

“In many ways, Louise Hay's work started me on this journey,” said Smith. “While I enjoyed working in healthcare, after reading Louise Hay’s book, I felt called to help people more directly.”

Smith started taking professional trainings in many different coaching and healing modalities including teaching meditation, NeuroLinguistic Programming, life coaching, energy healing, space clearing, and soul coaching. “Whenever something sparks my interest, I’m like a learning machine. I devour everything I can on the topic,” said Smith.

Smith developed several original workshops and made a career switch. Shortly after launching her coaching business, she and her husband went on what was supposed to be a dream vacation to Nairobi Kenya. While on the plane, one of the other passengers attacked the pilot. The experienced changed Smith’s life.

“In those moments when we faced what seemed to be certain death, I felt a deep sense of peace,” said Smith. “In many ways, my memory of that day is the driving force behind my passion for sharing this message.”

Nine months later, the terrorist events of September 11, 2001 happened. Smith’s husband elected to take a voluntary severance package, and Smith took a three-month sabbatical from her business. The two left their home in New Jersey and traveled across the U.S. on a soul-searching journey.

When they arrived in Carlsbad, CA, Smith had one thing in mind. “I told my husband we needed to track down the Hay House,” said Smith. “Even back then, being a Hay House author was my dream. He took a photo of me in front of the sign at their headquarters, my arms open wide as if to say: ‘Yes, this will be me someday!’”

Hay House is a leading wellness publisher and was recently acquired by Penguin Random House, one of the Big Five publishers. Nihar Malaviya, CEO of Penguin Random House, said, “Hay House is one of the most recognized health, wellness, and self-help brands in the world, and we look forward to working with Reid and his team on expanding upon their innovative and diverse product offerings.”

“Our Flow Community has a motto: ‘When we lift each up, we all rise,'" said Smith. That’s exactly what seems to be happening at The Hay House too. Reid Tracy, my editor Sally Mason-Swaab, and all the other Hay House authors have been so supportive. Hay House feels like the perfect partner for sharing my message and my book The Flow Habit.”

In addition to writing The Flow Habit, Smith offers groups, teaches meditation, and is a professional speaker on the flow state and creating high-flow cultures in teams and organizations.

“When we get into flow, we connect with our inner spark and activities that make us feel alive. We also find each other, others who are on similar journeys,” said Smith. “Flow has the almost magical ability to lead us to where we feel like we are most meant to be.”

Laurie Smith
Laurie Smith llc
Laurie@LaurieSmith.com
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Hay House Awards Publishing Contract to Flow Expert Laurie Smith