Leah JM Dean has this month released her latest book, Be Different: Listen Purposefully, Love Courageously, Live Intentionally.

Ms Dean, the founder and chief executive of Conduit International Ltd, a leadership strategist, adviser, coach, speaker and the author of Assemble the Tribe, is living out her purpose in touching the lives of others through her company's activities.

Ms Dean revealed that although she had been “open to the possibility” of writing another book, it wasn’t something she was pursuing when the inspiration for Be Different came.

“In November 2021, I woke up one morning, navigating some people issues — as we all do,” Ms Dean said. “And I was praying about it and saying, ‘OK, God, I love these people, and I know they love me, but this doesn’t feel great; how do I process that?’

“In my devotion time, as God and I were talking about how to make sure I was showing up in the right way, He started to speak to me. When it was over, I was like, oh, that was good.

“So I wrote that down, which became Be Different's first chapter. I would say very regularly after that, for the next year, I would wake up in the middle of the night with these ideas and write them down. It was probably the easiest book I have written.

“I have some others that I am working on, but it just flowed onto the pages every night when I woke up. For me, it was amazing.”

While organising Be Different, Ms Dean realised it was a “natural continuation” from her first book, Assemble the Tribe.

She explained: “In the first book, I wrote a formula, and the formula for building tribes is to believe, belong, and be different. If you want to build a community, I first offer readers to consider that they must believe in their value because we often have to deal with our brokenness. If not, we take our brokenness into our relationships, and we break them.

"There is a certain belief we have about our value as individuals. Then, we have to put in some work to find places to belong and experience belonging. Whether at church, work, or creating a community, some effort is involved. So, I write about that process in Assemble the Tribe. But the thing that really makes the difference is that whole idea of being different.

"Once you have the relationships and community, you discover that people are complicated. I believe tribes are individually complex people who choose to come together to create relationships. So, what do you do to keep those relationships healthy?

“Interestingly, the book [Be Different] was a natural continuation and sequel to the first book. I also found it interesting that was the very next place that God led me to.”

Ms. Dean continued: “As I have travelled worldwide to women and organisations about this whole idea of building community, I sometimes found in church settings because I have spoken to many churches. There is still a lot of pain.

“I find it interesting that God would wake me up and give me this insight into how to tackle relationships, not just from Leah's perspective but based on biblical principles of what we can do to be different.”

When discussing the process of writing Be Different, Ms Dean shares how it impacted her, saying, “For me, Be Different has reminded me that when it comes to people, there’s always going to be an opportunity to stretch and grow, think differently, and talk differently. It has impacted me by reminding me that you have never truly arrived because people are complicated, and they bring different dimensions to our lives.

“When you think you’ve got it down, a different person will come into your life and add a new, interesting dimension. I think there is a certain measure of grace that we have to give people and ourselves to create those communities where we can experience the love and the joy and all of the things we want.

“It’s helped me to understand that I'm beautifully complex, but I'm also complicated, and because people are different and unique, that's going to complicate the relationship journey. So it’s really about the way we choose to show up.

“The book’s premise is that the woman who pursues peace and love will place herself on the path to building the kingdom of God. [We do this] when we allow ourselves to be His hands on earth and to touch the lives of others in our unique way.”

The book’s connecting theme is showing up differently in relationships, and Ms Dean offers readers five key ways they can do so, which she calls the five pillars. The five pillars are: listen different, trust different, think different, talk different, and live different.

Ms Dean said her book is a tool that she uses in her own life and reflect on what being different means to her. “I find in my personal experience that I use the pillars depending on what I'm navigating and what's happening in my life,” Ms Dean said.

“I need a different one at different times. I'm navigating something right now where I have to say, ‘Okay, how can I think differently and talk differently’ if I want the person to see God’s love and not some of the things I'm feeling.”

She continued, “While I was contemplating the idea of when we sacrifice and fast, God gives us more. God also said to me that it is the same way when you are different. He said that when you sacrifice what you want to say or how you want to react, or maybe even sometimes have a conversation that you don't want to have for the benefit of keeping the relationship healthy, that is when you're different.

“So, being different is about sacrificing the me I want to be so that others can see the God in me. That is what being different means for me: a sacrifice.”

“[However] this is not about being a pushover, this is about saying how could I have this conversation or how can I think differently, how can I talk differently, how can my actions be different such that people can see God.

“Sometimes, we must have the necessary, uncomfortable, and difficult conversations. So it’s not you that needs to shrink or be a pushover; that’s not what I'm suggesting — it’s the full spectrum.”

She added: “I hope readers, through the decisions they’re making and conversations they’re having, can show other people God’s love. In my personal experience, the more I do that, the more I challenge myself with how I can be different in this moment, the more community, love, and joy I have because I'm choosing a different route.“

Additionally, a song resulted from Ms Dean’s friendship with singer/songwriter Janita Burke. The song can be heard through Ms Burke’s social media platforms, handle @iamjbpsalm.

“It is the most beautiful, inspiring song that reminds people of the power of being different and how God loves us,” Ms Dean said.

“It's been wonderful to collaborate with her. We released it during my live event. Again, it's a beautiful example of the power of community; she used her gifts to pour into my life, which inspired me to continue to do my work and vice versa.”

• Leah JM Dean will hold a HerStory/Woman’s History Month Festival book reading and signing at 3.30pm in St George’s today and another book signing at Brown & Co in Hamilton from 11.30am to 1.30pm on April 4. There are few more events to be determined, which can be accessed athttps://www.leahjmdean.com/events. The book is available at The Adventist Book Centre, the Bermuda Bookstore, Brown & Co and Long Story Short