Celebrating ILLUMINATION and its First Year

Shining so bright, coming so far

This week marks one year of ILLUMINATION. Yes, our beloved publication is celebrating its 1st birthday.

I chose to submit this article today (March 25, 2021) as it was exactly one year ago that I submitted my first article…

…AND WHAT A YEAR IT HAS BEEN!

I started on Medium in December of 2019 and though I made an effort to write as often as possible, no one really noticed. I was starting to lose hope and I was losing motivation to continue to share — as no one seemed to care.

I had been hearing that Medium was the place to be but I certainly wasn’t seeing it. Until my business advisor, Thomas Anderson connected me with Jeff Herring and Tim Maudlin— and through Tim, ILLUMINATION was brought into my view.

Many, if not most, of the original writers, were invited by Dr Yildiz to join this NEW venture. I decided to invite myself — and I’m so glad that I did.

It pays to step outside of our comfort zone and see what can happen. I started with the introduction article of myself — and met so many fabulous writers that soon became friends :).

In a time when we faced lockdown and isolation, I connected with this amazing group virtually every day. I wrote I read, I spent those 3 months of lockdown filled with love instead of fear…

…Thank you everyone for shining your light during those dark times — and allowing me to shine mine.

Now as I look back, I realize that I have written documentation with my thoughts and feelings during a time when the world faced unprecedented uncertainty — in a time like no other that we have seen in our lifetime.

Once I went back to work full time, along with working my business, I was able to write only once a week. And I do my best to continue to connect with reading other’s work — my friends as well as NEW writers to me.

Please know that I wish I could comment on every article I read — I am doing a lot through my mobile app, which makes it more challenging as I can only type with one finger :).

And please know that it always brings a smile to my face as I see the names of my buddies and read what they have to share.

A year later and we are still connected, even though the publication has grown by leaps and bounds. How thrilling to be a part of such a major publication — one that when I joined had 150 writers.

As I have shared before, ILLUMINATION is so much more than a publication in Medium….it’s a caring community and like a family.

Dr Mehmet Yildiz— What can I say…You are one amazing man who has created ILLUMINATION as well as other publications in a year’s time. And you keep adding ways to make the writers visible on other platforms, such as our YouTube channel. I don’t know how you do it — or when you sleep!

You are such a blessing to me, and to all who are connected with you. Thank you for helping me share my message and shine my light… I am so grateful. From my heart to yours — I truly appreciate you!

And I to all my writer friends — I am thrilled that we continue on together! You are brilliant minds and beautiful souls and I am grateful for our bond!

Please take some time to read their work, if you haven’t already: Trista Ainsworth, Gurpreet Dhariwal, Amy Marley, Aurora Eliam, CMP, Kathryn A. LeRoy, PhD, Desiree Driesenaar, Selma, Keno Ogbo, Melissa Bee, Dipti Pande, Francine Fallara, Sandra Szubert, Erin King, Karen Madej, Ann K Frailey, Sumera Rizwan, MaryJo Wagner, PhD, Britni Pepper, Chowa Sekai, Ksenia Sein, Alison Tennent, Livia Dabs, Neha Sandhir S, Lanu Pitan, Sherry S, Agnes Louis, Chris Hedges, Paul Myers MBA, P.G. Barnett, Terry Mansfield, Rasheed Hooda, Henery X (long), Timothy Key, Tim Maudlin, Bob Jasper, John Ross, Joe Luca, JeffHerring.com, Indra Raj Pathak

And thank you to those that have followed me — and read my work! I am so grateful to have you with me!

Always celebrating, Dr Mehmet Yildiz, Founder & Leader of ILLUMINATION

Until next time ~

Sending you love & light — here’s to ILLUMINATION as it continues to shine!

Be Well,