Jeff Goins's Blog, page 75

How Nine People Are Embracing the Little Things in Life: My Secret Video Project

Today is a special day. I get to announce something pretty cool, something I’ve been working on for months, something only a small group of people knew about.

Back in August, I was honored to host a number of friends and family in my hometown to launch my newest book, The In-Between.

Having a hundred of your favorite people, including some of you fabulous readers, party until the wee hours of the night certainly meant a lot.

But at the end of the evening, after the pancakes and ice cream and a few tears shed (mostly by me), I realized we had a chance to do something more than celebrate. We had an opportunity do something special, something significant.

So we did.

The secret film project — now revealed!

The day after the party, I hosted a meetup to discuss the concepts of The In-Between, hang out with readers, and announce a secret project I’d be thinking of doing for awhile.

My New Snippet!

Honestly, I had no idea how the day would go.

About a dozen people showed up, and with the help of my good friend David Molnar (assisted by Will Knowles), we spent the afternoon filming each person as they shared a 60-second snippet of their story.

Everyone was asked the same question: “How are you learning to live in the in-between?”

I was blown away by the responses. The stories were beyond moving and inspiring, which reinforced the belief that everyone has a story to tell.

We turned the stories into an interactive experience

We filmed these stories because The In-Between isn’t just my story. It’s your story, too. And thanks to the Snippet app (which offers the most beautiful reading experience on a device I’ve ever seen), I’m excited to see these stories come to life.

You can read it on any device.

This companion work, The In-Between: Shared Experiences, contains nine unique narratives along with completely original content from yours truly that can’t be found anywhere else.

To correspond with each of the three lessons in the book, there are three stories per section:

Part 1: Slow Down (Chuck Parish, Katie Strandlund, Kyle Reed)
Part 2: Let Go (Brett Henley, Lindsey Hartz, Chad Miller)
Part 3: Be Grateful (Laurel Staples, Paul O’Rear, David Hooper)

Throughout the snippet, I add my own thoughts, sharing what we learn about the in-between from each of the stories.

All proceeds go to charity

We decided the proceeds of the book should go to a great cause, and I can think of none better than charity: water. If you choose to buy this Snippet (for the price of a regular coffee), you’ll help bring clean water to people in need around the world.

Charity Water is one of my favorite causes.

I’m really excited about this project. It was a lot of fun, and I think you’ll enjoy the outcome. The Snippet reading experience is unlike anything I have ever seen. (If you’d like to create your own Snippet, you can request an invite by clicking here.)

So are you ready to read it? Here’s what you need to do next:

Download the free Snippet app from the iTunes store.
Launch the app on your mobile device.
Download my Snippet, The In-Between: Shared Experiences .

Enjoy — and please let me know what you think.

More About Snippet

Part of why I did this project was to test out a new technology and see how multimedia could spread the idea of a book even further. For those interested in the behind-the-scenes, read on for more about the experience of working with Snippet.

Q: What is a “Snippet”?

Snippet is a unique way to share short-form content in book format through interactive multimedia. Each chapter is no more than 1000 words, and a Snippet (i.e. a book, but it’s a lot more than that) is around 10 chapters long.

What makes the Snippet App so unique is the attention to aesthetic excellence and its ability to embed audio, video, and social media right into the book itself — all on a mobile platform.

Q: How will this affect publishing in the future?

I’ve spoken with the founder, C.J., and he told me Snippet isn’t intended to replace eReaders but to offer an alternative way to experience content.

I don’t think books will ever go away, but technology like this can expand upon ideas and stories and provide a means of continuing the conversation begun in a book.

Q: What made you decide to work with Snippet?

I first heard about it via Pat Flynn, who launched his book, Let Go, on Snippet. It sounded like a neat way to involve readers and build on the ideas from The In-Between. (For those who read my book, you may recall I included reader-submitted stories at the end of each chapter. Snippet takes that to a whole new level.)

I should mention Snippet didn’t pay me to work with them or endorse their product. It just sounded fun.

Q: Would you recommend Snippet to other writers and content creators?

Yes. Whether it’s for your first writing project or as a complement to an existing work, I recommending checking it out and seeing if there’s any benefit for you.

Q: Will this experience affect the way you write books in the future?

Absolutely. Hearing people’s stories about the in-between left an indelible impression on me, reinforcing the value of connecting with your audience. It made me want to do more projects like this.

By the way, for those who download the Snippet, there is an opportunity at the end to add your own story. Our vision for the project is that it will continue to be a means of discussion and interaction.

Find out more about my Snippet here, and be sure to download the free app in the iTunes store.

What’s one creative way you could use multimedia to tell a story? Share in the comments.

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Are you ready to embrace the "in-between" and experience all life has to offer? Check out my new book.

Why Listening Must Come Before Writing

Editor’s Note: This is a guest article by Keith Ferrin, who is an author, blogger, and speaker. You can connect with him on his blog, Facebook, and Twitter @KeithFerrin. His new book came out this spring.

I had it all figured out. I knew what I was going to write — a simple little eBook I would give away to people who subscribed to my blog. Somewhere between 5000 and and 800 words.

Not only that, but it was going to be easy.

Photo Credit: Fey Ilyas via Compfight cc

After all, I’ve been speaking on the topic for almost two decades. This would be a simple, short compilation of my most practical tips and illustrations. It certainly wouldn’t take longer than a month to write, and maybe another month to let people read, review, and share it.

Yep. I knew exactly what this was going to be. (Ignore that chuckling sound. It’s just God. He does that to me a lot.)

Asking for help

In a rare moment of clarity, I decided to write a blog post about what I was planning and ask readers for help.

Mainly, I wanted ideas of what to include in case I was leaving out something important. I thought there would be a handful of responses, and I would crank this out quickly.

I had no idea what would follow:

“Do you remember the time you spoke about…? “
“What about this story…?”
“Have you thought about a study guide?”
“I know seven people already I want to give this to.”

The biggest surprise came when I was telling someone about the book and he replied,

What if I donated some money so you could create a video series for this? 

Um. Yes, please.

Creating a community

At this point, I knew had to push “pause” and continue these conversations elsewhere. So I started a private Facebook page to further flesh these ideas out before writing my book.

I sent one email to my mailing list, thinking a dozen or so people would join the group. It ended up being 98.

The results with the book (so far) have been incredible:

It ended up three times as lo2eng as I originally imagined.
There’s a print version.
There’s an audio version.
On April 18, 2013 “10 Tips for Liking the Bible (Because Believing It’s True Is Not Enough)” was released. (The title might be the only thing that hasn’t changed.)
It ended the day at #4 in its category on Amazon.
There’s a 50-page Study Guide for individuals and groups.
Several bloggers who write on a whole host of topics are helping me spread the word.
Filming for the video series begins next month!

Here’s the takeaway: None of this would have happened if I hadn’t listened before I wrote.

This experience of writing my latest book taught me three important lessons about listening that, quite frankly, I had neglected.

1. Until you listen, you don’t know what your audience wants

I thought I knew. And yes, I knew some of what they wanted.

But I had no idea what they were most passionate about. What had to be in there. What could be left out.

After sitting down with people — as well as reading emails, blog comments, Facebook posts, and Twitter messages — I knew.

2. Until you listen, you won’t be as good as you could be

My launch team taught me this one. (If you are a writer and you’re considering a launch team — do it. It’s a blast.)

The quantity of mistakes they caught in my first draft were, well, embarrassing. They were also necessary. Typos. Wrong words. Missing words. Analogies that didn’t stick. Sentences that didn’t flow. You name it, they caught it.

Simply put: The book is heaps better because I listened to them.

3. Until you listen, you don’t know what’s possible

This one is huge. Listening helps you dream.

Your audience will see possibilities you pass over. They will tell you what “could” be. They will let you know what they want and need from you. They will share their expectations.

What better way to exceed expectations than to know them ahead of time?

They will also give you a testing ground for all those ideas.

Next time you think you know what you’re going to write, push pause and listen to your audience.

Who knows? They might even offer to fund a video project.

Note: This was so above and beyond what I expected, I’ve decided to GIVE AWAY the book for the rest of the year. Grab your copy here.

What’s one project you’re currently working on that could benefit from a little more listening? Share in the comments.

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Are you ready to embrace the "in-between" and experience all life has to offer? Check out my new book.

The Permission to Be Yourself

I’m a big fan of permission.

In a world full of noisy self-promotion, the best way to get attention and keep it is by building trust. Make promises and deliver on them; and over time, you’ll have people lining up to listen to you. That’s how you create fans for life.

But that’s not what this post is about.

Photo Credit: MSVG via Compfight cc

When permission fails

Sometimes, waiting for permission is the worst thing you can do.

Hear me loud and clear: I’m not saying you should ever force your message on someone who didn’t ask for it. But I am saying this:

No one’s going to give you permission to be yourself. [Tweet that]

Do you want to be a writer? An artist whose whose work is acknowledged and revered? Maybe you dream of starting a movement that matters.

Well… what are you waiting for? ”An engraved invitation?!” as my dad used to say.

You might be waiting a long time.

The reasons we wait

We’re busy.
We’re scared.
We’re insecure.
We don’t believe we have anything to offer.
We think we’ll fail.

All those reasons are valid. Life moves quickly, and scary things lurk around every corner. We’re nowhere near as good as we could be, but we’re good enough to start. And we often get better as we go.

But here’s the thing about excuses: they typically don’t go away until you start moving. So maybe it’s about time you got started.

Awards don’t eradicate anxiety

Sure, it’s nice to receive accolades, to get affirmation. But even those aren’t enough to motivate you, if you don’t already have that inner drive, the will to keep following your passion when no one’s cheering you on.

This isn’t easy work, or cheery work, but it’s good work. And it rarely occurs until you realize you’ve got a gift to give the world.

We are all missing out until you make that one crucial decision — the decision to be yourself.

I know this is as scary as much as it is exciting. But we must move forward, casting aside the fear and overcoming the obstacles that stand in the way. You will have to be brave in this endeavor, making the first move.

But as you do, you will gain a sense of momentum that will be hard to shake. And as you continue, you’ll become a force to be reckoned with.

That is, of course, if you don’t quit.

And yet…

Many of us are still waiting to be picked.

We hope someone will give us the keys, the right to enter. We hope for the paperwork to come in or for a form to fill out that will finally qualify us to be who we are.

But that won’t happen. Because no one can make you start but you.

(No wonder we’re so afraid.)

As it turns out, this call to be our truest selves rests entirely on you and me, on our ability to be authentic and honest with ourselves. And honestly, is there anything scarier than that?

I doubt it.

What kind of permission are you waiting for… before you choose to be yourself? Share in the comments.

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Are you ready to embrace the "in-between" and experience all life has to offer? Check out my new book.

How to Find Clarity & Confidence as a Writer

Editor’s note: This is a guest post by Gary Korisko. You can download a free copy of his eBook, How to Influence All the Right People ,� a guide to breaking away from the herd. Check out his blog.

You’re sitting there staring at your latest piece on the computer monitor and find yourself asking, “Is this any good?”

It’s gut wrenching to have to ask yourself a question like that, isn’t it? Even more painful is to realize you honestly don’t have a good answer.

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It’s as if there’s a haze of doubt that clouds your vision and clogs your mind — and you just can’t see. You can’t see what’s good, what’s bad, or what you can do to fix it.

That’s a frustrating and hopeless place to be, emotionally.

Misplaced blame

The first place your mind goes is a self-critical one. You start thinking things like:

“I’m not as talented as other writers.”
“Maybe I just don’t have what it takes.”
“Why don’t I just quit?”

We’ve all been there, and as negative as those thoughts are, I understand why we writers buy them. Logically, when you write, it’s just you and your pen — or you and your computer.

Since pens and computers are inherently innocent, they can’t legitimately be blamed for bad writing. And if they’re not to blame, who’s left to pin it on?

Just you.

So you assume the problem is you and start to believe you’re just not good enough. But what if I told you your level of talent or potential isn’t really the problem?

Growing pains

Remember growing pains? Not the sitcom — but the pain you felt in your legs as an adolescent?

Since children grow rapidly and many of them experience pains in their legs during their heavy growth years, we naturally put two and two together and call these pains what they seem to be — growing pains.

The interesting thing about growing pains is that while many children experience them, (and the pain is very real) medical science is pretty certain they have nothing to do with growing.

As a developing blogger, you go through a similar process.

Though you know how vital it is to find your focus and your voice, putting it all together can be a long and uncomfortable process. And during uncomfortable processes, we naturally start looking for the source of discomfort.

More often than not, we blame our abilities. But attributing your struggle for confidence to a lack of talent is the same as calling adolescent achy legs “growing pains.”

It’s a misdiagnosis. The real culprit is a lack of clarity.

Welcome to Clarity Central

Call it flattery if you will, but I don’t believe you could be on a better blog to learn about finding your blog’s focus or your voice. Jeff explains both as well or better than anyone I’ve come across.

But even when we’re just starting out, we all have a sense of who we are and what we want to achieve with our writing — even if it’s only in the most general terms.

Most often, when we become confused and lack confidence, it’s because we’ve allowed ourselves to stray from our true voice or focus.

When we stray from our voice, we betray part of who we really are. Our brains take great offense to that betrayal, and the clouds of confusion roll in.

A clarity checkup

When you’re feeling confused and your confidence is waning, ask yourself these four questions as a clarity checkup:

1. What do you know?

When do we most often feel confused and full of doubt? When we don’t know what to do. Expert chefs don’t feel confused in kitchens because they are masters of that domain and have been for many years. They know exactly what to do.

Often when you’re writing and feel confused or unconfident, the culprit might be a lack of knowledge in a particular area. Maybe you haven’t pinpointed your voice or your platform. It could be that you need to study up on writing structure.

If lack of knowledge is to blame, chin up. It’s one of the easiest problems to fix. Stellar writing instruction is abundantly available on this very blog.

Learning is a process. Stick with it and you’ll eventually navigate the learning curve.

2. Are you in the right shoes?

What if your confidence is in the cellar but you’re someone who understands your voice, the technical side of writing, and building an audience? The common denominator with a more experienced writer probably isn’t lack of knowledge.

Then what is it?

Often, the cause is abandonment of what you do know. When you try to write in someone else’s voice, or project someone else’s worldview, or write in a different style to suit someone else — the clouds again roll in.

Once you’ve “become” as a writer, your brain will boycott any attempt to abandon your real identity. Consider it a dose of tough love from your mind and soul. It’s a sign something isn’t quite right.

You write your best work, with the most clarity when you’re standing in your own shoes.

3. What are you measuring yourself against?

We tend to measure our work and results against the truly elite. Measuring your work in apples-to-oranges fashion like that sets an unrealistic expectation and will almost always lead to disappointment.

Instead, measure yourself against people who are in the same place as (or even slightly ahead of) you in their development.

You know the old cliché, “Shoot for progress, not perfection?” There’s a reason it gets repeated so often: it’s great advice.

Keep practicing, strive to improve every time you write, and always shoot for that next level. Not the pinnacle just yet – but the next level.

4. Do you need to break a rule?

Recently, when I was feeling stuck and confused about structuring a piece I was writing, a writer friend of mine shared something with me that really helped me out of my funk. She said,

Take what you want and leave the rest.

Though structure is important, trying to adhere to it too strictly can create confusion and choke the “you” right out of you.

This phrase gives you permission to color outside the lines occasionally. Remember that sometimes it’s fine to skip a step or add a step to the flowchart.

As long as what you’re writing speaks to your readers and feels natural, it doesn’t matter if you break a rule here or there.

Embrace the process

Becoming a better and more confident writer is a process. It boils down to understanding who you are, setting realistic expectations, practicing, and committing to the craft.

The next time you’re feeling stuck, instead of wallowing in the frustration, take some action. Ask yourself these four questions and get busy addressing the real problem.

What about you? What undermines your confidence, and how do you get through it? Share in the comments.

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Are you ready to embrace the "in-between" and experience all life has to offer? Check out my new book.

The Tug-of-War Battle Between Adventure & Commitment

Who doesn’t want to live an adventure?

It’s been the subject of many a new book and blog recently, but is adventure really all it’s cracked up to be? Where does the role of commitment and integrity play in “living a great story”?

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Committing after the adventure

Awhile ago, I wrote piece for RELEVANT Magazine about “committing after the adventure,” and it articulates a lot of my struggles with growing up. Here’s an excerpt:

After graduating from college, I had all kinds of hopes and aspirations. I wanted to change the world.

My first job was working as a writer for a nonprofit organization. I thought it was a short-term commitment, because everything I had done up until that point in my life was. A semester abroad, a summer in Texas, a year on the road—these were my ideas of commitment.

It didn’t take long, though, to realize this opportunity would be different. I was about to learn a painful, but important, lesson about commitment. And it would be years before I would be able to start thinking about my own dreams again. 

If I had known this going into the job, I wouldn’t have taken it.

My first work project was to launch an online magazine telling missionaries’ stories. This was followed by a short-term mission trip to Mexico, where I would be cataloguing stories of young people who were traveling the world.

I was certain this 15-day trip would spark another season of adventure in me. I envisioned Machu Picchu. The Great Wall of China. Africa. All in the same year. This was going to be amazing. Maybe I would even write a book about it some day.

But I was rudely disappointed. Instead, all I got were spreadsheets, trips to our Georgia headquarters, and a new, shiny, $500 Dell laptop. Hardly the adventure I expected.

So, what kept me there? It wasn’t the paycheck (I had to raise my own salary). It was the opportunity to be part of something bigger than myself, to be led by vision and opportunity.

Sure, I didn’t get to participate in crazy, round-the-world journeys like I had in previous seasons of life, but I got something better: a chance to serve someone else’s dream.

“More” isn’t better

We begin our adult lives seeking thrills. We want more. More fame, more fortune, more friends. We want a moment worth retelling.

But the problem with that thinking is this: Many moments are fleeting.

If we live for the thrill of the week, we constantly find ourselves chasing the wind. And some things take longer than a weekend road trip to come to fruition.

The tragic, painful realization of my twenties is that most stuff doesn’t last. Most relationships fizzle out. Most jobs end. Most sources of comfort start feeling dull after awhile.

The secret to happiness is committing to something, anyway.

Not because it’s the best job in the world or the greatest relationship you’ll ever have, but because we all need to learn how to commit before we can do it well.

Start practicing commitment today

The only way to really learn something is to do it. To try it out for awhile. Not for a week or a month, but a year. Maybe longer.

I know this is difficult and sometimes scary, but it’s also good for you. How else is character formed — except through the hard, sometimes painful, work we don’t want, but need, to do?

And what better time to start than today?

What’s your perspective on this adventure/commitment dichotomy? Share in the comments.. Oh, and be sure to check out my piece on RELEVANT (part of their Reject Apathy site). While you’re at it, read this other piece, too.

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Are you ready to embrace the "in-between" and experience all life has to offer? Check out my new book.

Three Ways to Avoid Mediocrity in Art and Work

Editor’s note: This is a guest post from Todd Henry, the author of Die Empty  and The Accidental Creative . He writes at toddhenry.com and accidentalcreative.com. In his new book, Todd tells how to do your best work each day and how to avoid the forces that lead to mediocrity. I asked him to share some advice that would be especially helpful to writers.

We writers traffic in uncertainty every day. Charged with turning our thoughts into life-giving words, we weave together experiences, aspirations, and the needs of our audience into something (hopefully) meaningful.

Photo Credit: Tommy Hemmert Olesen via Compfight cc

However, there are certain forces that inhibit our ability to engage and can cause us to compromise what we do. If left unchecked, these subtle forces can rob us of days, weeks, and even years of valuable engagement, causing us to take our best work to the grave with us.

We need to be careful. Here are three warnings worth heeding that will lead to producing better work — before you die:

Avoid the danger of comfort

I know all too well how easy it is to slip into the comfort of routine.

Once we’ve experienced a measure of success, routines become reinforced and it’s easier to default to whatever’s easiest or most comfortable. But this is quite damaging to the quality of work we do.

You cannot pursue comfort and great work at the same time. You may experience comfort along the way, of course, but at some point you will probably have to choose between the two.

Brilliant work is done by those who consistently choose to do the right thing even when it’s uncomfortable. [Tweet that]

Where in your life and writing are you falling into comfortable habits that are inhibiting you from making something remarkable?

Establish “hunting trails”

There’s a cat in our neighborhood that makes an appearance around the same time each day outside my office window. She has a routine that looks something like this:

She paces slowly to the edge of the woods, then carefully along the edge of the woods, and back down the side where there’s some wild grass area. Next, she slowly stalks along the back of our storage shed, around the side, and makes a beeline to the back of our house. Finally, she walks all around our deck and the bushes, then she’s off.

This happens two to three times each day. I call it her “hunting trail.”

Bella is not hurting for food. She’s catching lots and lots and lots of prey. I’ve witnessed it a few times, and she’s tenacious. When she is walking this trail, she is intense, instinctively looking for a break in the norm as she goes about her routine. When she sees a disruption — some unlucky creature jumping out of the grass — she pounces.

She knows how to put herself in the right place at the right time to have the best chance for success.

Just like Bella, we each need “hunting trails” — daily routines and practices that put us in a position where we’re likely to experience creative insights. Many people don’t build these kinds of hunting trails. Instead, they wander aimlessly, waiting for an opportunity, some “mouse” to simply wander across their path.

You need to identify your hunting trails and commit to walking them often, paying attention to what you observe and preparing to pounce.

This is what applied curiosity looks like. It’s intense, hopeful searching for answers to your most pressing questions. It’s knowing where to go for inspiration, then doing it consistently.

Follow the arrows

I love the story of how the incredibly popular NPR show RadioLab found its “voice.”

One night, co-host Jad Abumrad was toying around with audio files and happened upon a particular combination of edits that resonated deeply. He says it was like a “pointing arrow placed there by your future self that says ‘follow me’.”

That arrow led to more arrows, and over time RadioLab evolved into the unique, celebrated show it is today.

There are several arrows we can follow to help us unlock the motivation for our own best work. Here are a few questions to ask yourself:

What wrecks you? What angers you, or causes you to feel mobilized to action when you experience it?
What makes you cry? Emotional response is a key indicator of passion. Are there any connections between the events, stories, and experiences that move you emotionally?
What’s obvious? The things that are obvious to you are not obvious to everyone. Pay attention to the things that others come to you for that seem obvious, but that others are amazed by.

We need you to contribute. There is something you offer the world that will never be seen if you don’t make the effort to get it out of you each day.

Don’t fall prey to the forces that lead to stagnancy and mediocrity, and refuse to take your best work to the grave with you. Be intentional, be aggressive in how you approach your life and work, and die empty of regret.

How do you avoid mediocrity? Share in the comments.

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Are you ready to embrace the "in-between" and experience all life has to offer? Check out my new book.

Celebrating Unsung Heroes

Our culture understands heroes. Kind of.

We invented the cowboy. And the action movie. We spread stories of sports icons through advertising and marketing, challenging people to believe in something more.

Though motives may be mixed, one thing is certain: we want to believe in heroes. But I submit we’ve been going about it the wrong way.

Photo credit: Randy Pertiet (Creative Commons)

A different kind of hero

Some heroes fly beneath the radar.

They aren’t celebrities and you won’t see them on the conference main stage. But they give of themselves for the greater good. They act nobly. Their lives inspire.

And yet, we forget to acknowledge their sacrifice. They receive no parades or holidays. They largely go unnoticed, and this is unfortunate, if not a crime.

So when Tim Abare told me he was going to put on a formal gala to honor missionaries, I was excited.

These people have committed their lives to fighting poverty and bringing hope to dark places in the world. They’ve crawled through the mud and muck, enduring more than their fair share of discomfort.

They deserve recognition — precisely because they didn’t ask for it.

How to celebrate an unsung hero

There are two ways to look at an event like this:

Think of it a schmooze-fest, another black tie event with hors d’oeuvres and all that.
Treat it like a homecoming — a huge party to honor those who may not find recognition anywhere else.

I like to think of it in the latter way. The heroes that deserve our praise rarely get it. So why not take a chance like this and make it special?

The folks at Epoch are renting the Fox Theatre in Atlanta, completely decking it out. They’re giving away $50,000 to worthy candidates who are fighting AIDS, rescuing sex trade victims, and changing the world in 100 different ways.

Face it. Some of us need to be more radical in our celebration. We need to lavish love and appreciation on those whose work is often unrecognized by a celebrity-crazed culture.

We need to go to special lengths to show someone that they matter, especially when it comes to the people making a real difference in the world.

We can all do this better

The very best storytellers do this.

They tell the tale of an underdog, illustrating an ideal through an ordinary “everyman.” They inspire us to take note of unsung heroes all around — and through their actions, we are called to action.

You can do this, too. With your words. With your voice. With your life.

Homemakers and teachers, baristas and best friends, Little League coaches and Wal-mart greeters — these are the heroes who deserve our celebration.

Wherever you are, whatever you do, you can do something to celebrate a hero today. Not a rock star or a Nike ad. A real-life hero. An unsung one.

If you’d like to join Bob Goff, Joy Eggerichs, and others in honoring unsung heroes all around the world, you can buy a ticket for Epoch (on October 28) here. Enter the code “Goins” to get a $25 discount. Find out more at Epochawards.com.

What’s an example of an unsung hero in your world? Share in the comments.

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How to Be a Champ Like Michael Phelps

Last year, Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps announced he was done competing. Having set the all-time record for most medals won in a single Olympics, it wasn’t a bad place to end.

As I watched him own the games, I thought, “Man, this guy can do whatever he wants…”

And that’s just what he’s doing.

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For starters, he said he’ll travel the world. After that, who knows?

There’s something to be said about controlling your own destiny, about declaring, “Just because I’m good at this doesn’t mean I have to do it forever.”

When I first heard the news of this world-class athlete’s early retirement, I thought it was interesting. It takes guts to end with a bang and not let your career consume the rest of your life.

So many professionals let their work dictate what they can and can’t do. It’s sad, really. But the mark of a true champion is being able to quit when you want, to master the game and move on — and not letting the game master you.

So what can we learn from this?

If you want to conquer the world and be a champ like Phelps, here’s what you have to do:

Start. Don’t overlook this step in the process of becoming a champion. For most of us, it’s the scariest part.
Turn pro. Phelps admitted to a journalist that for years, he played around, not taking swimming seriously. It wasn’t until he got really disciplined about his diet and schedule that he started to see results. As our friend Steven Pressfield says, you have to first turn pro in your head.
Work harder than anyone else. For years, all Phelps did was eat, sleep, and swim. (Sidenote: there is a small perk to this; the dude could eat whatever he wanted — calories just melted at his glance.) No wonder he’s moving on; he wants his life back.
Have a cheerleader. For Michael, this was his mom. For me, it’s my wife. You need someone who is on your side when the world turns against you. Without a fan-for-life in your corner, you’re much more likely to quit.
Don’t settle for anything less than your best. I don’t know what drove Phelps, but something did. He was determined to do something nobody else ever accomplished. And now that he’s done just that, he can do whatever he wants.
Work with a team. It was inspiring to see Phelps encourage his teammates and even though they were competitors, to spur them on. He knew that the only person he was really competing with was himself.
Begin with the end in mind. Most of us begin our pursuits with no real finish line in sight. Part of this is good, because it means the work itself is the arrival. But for Phelps, he knew he wouldn’t be an Olympian for the rest of his life (although, I’m sure he’ll continue to swim until his limbs stop working). He had a particular milestone in mind and knew when it was time to finish.

That’s what it takes to be a champ, a true Olympian.

But he’s not done swimming…

He’ll continue to swim, of course — just for different reasons.

It’s admirable what Phelps is doing, moving on without disavowing his passion. Which raises an important point: He’s not turning his back on swimming. He’s just done competing (for now) and wants to make space for other things he cares about.

In your life’s work, there will be times when you have to ask, “Is this all I hoped for? Or did I want more from life?” As for Phelps, he decided there was and made a bold move to pursue it.

Some day, you may have to do the same. Then again, you could just skip all of the above and keep doing what you do because you love it. And we certainly couldn’t fault you for that.

What’s your definition of being a champ? Do you think it’s okay to “quit while you’re ahead”? Share in the comments.

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How Breaking Bad Taught Us to Be Good

This past Sunday was a sad moment for me and my fellow Breaking Bad addicts. We bade farewell to our favorite chemistry-teacher-turned-drug-dealer.

(Spoiler alert: This post contains a few spoilers from the season finale of the show and reveals what I’ve been doing with my free time for the past six months. You’ve been warned.)

Photo credit: Wallpaper Abyss

The series finale came and went, and we all watched with bated breath as Walter White met his bitter end.

It’ll be difficult to find a replacement for late-night compulsive TV-watching, but I’ll do my best.

Actually, I don’t like watching TV. I’d much rather read a book or work on a writing project. But after the first episode of Bad, I was hooked.

What was it about this show that captivated so many?

It told us the truth (about ourselves)

What made Breaking Bad so good was the truth it told us about humanity. Here are five lessons we learned from the show:

All life is sacred. No human life can be sacrificed without something special being lost. You cannot justifiably take one life to save another.
The end does not justify the means. No matter how hard Walt tried to believe this, it never worked out for him. The means always had a way of catching back up with him.
Every action has a consequence. This might as well be the theme of the show. The wages of sin is death, and we see this most clearly as one man’s actions have a domino effect throughout the lives of his family members, friends neighbors, and even strangers who cross his path. Walt’s actions wreak havoc on an entire town, even when he doesn’t mean them to.
Influence reveals intention. Breaking Bad was supposed to be about a nice guy becoming bad, but I think Walt was always a bad guy. Even in earlier episodes, we saw hints of his pride that would one day lead to destruction. He just never had an opportunity to exercise it to such extremes.
We are all bad. Just about every character in the show has a dark side. Marie shoplifts. Hank’s kind of a racist jerk. Skyler smokes around her baby and has an affair. And Todd is all kinds of messed up. No person is immune to immorality, but what saves some and condemns others is the willingness to repent (or lack thereof).

What ultimately led to Walt’s downfall was his refusal to accept these realities, which we all need to acknowledge — or suffer the consequences.

A picture of hell?

Vince Gilligan said in an interview that he created Breaking Bad because he wanted to believe in hell. He wanted to be sure “that there is some comeuppance, that karma kicks in at some point.”

That we pay for the bad things we do.

In a way, the show was just that: a picture of one man paying the consequences for his actions. Maybe that’s what hell is: a place where we get what we think we want, regardless the cost, and then have to live with it.

We all want something, something to be good at, an identity to define us.

But if we’re not careful, such a thing can consume a person until there is nothing left. Just the thing we once wanted and now despise — and the shell of the person we used to be. For me, that was the message of the show: there is darkness in us all.

What matters, though, is what we do with it.

That’s what made BrBa so good — you saw an authentic portrayal of how each character managed their own inner demons.

And as we watch Walter White leave a bloody handprint on a metal mixer before falling to his death, we see what ambition without compassion gets us.

And we should all be warned.

What do you think about these five truths (regardless of if you’ve seen the show)? Share in the comments.

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5 Reasons Why You Need a Signature Product

Editor’s note: This is a guest post from Paul B. Evans. Paul is an author and international speaker who’s helped over 10,000 people create and launch their first information product. Follow him on Twitter @PaulEvans.

What’s the one thing you point people to when they ask, “I’m super interested in getting one of your products — which one should it be?”

Without hesitation, you would recommend your signature product. It’s the work you’re most excited to get into the hands of customers and subscribers.

But the question is: Do you have one?

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A signature product is typically a digital product that costs anywhere from $97 to $997, and it’s the keystone offering you would recommend to just about anyone if they could only buy one thing.

But after working with thousands of people who want to share their expertise with the world, I’ve learned that most creative professionals — especially writers and artists — don’t have a signature product.

Why not?

Usually, it’s because of a fear or some sense of inadequacy (which is really just another version of fear). They’re afraid that they don’t know enough or aren’t good enough or that people will just reject them.

The truth is your audience needs what you have. But how can they do that if you don’t create it?

Here are five reasons why you need a signature product…

1. More income

“Whoooooaaaaaaa! Did he mention money right out of the gate?”

I know, I know. Creatives and money don’t always get along. We love to talk about craft, and message and art.

Let’s reframe. Instead of thinking about how much you want to make, here’s a new, better question:

How much do you want to give away?

Your signature product allows you to make more so you can give more — and so you can live more.

How much do you want to give away? How many orphans do you want to sponsor? What house or school would you love to build for those in need? What charity would you love to surprise with a giant gift?

Never apologize or feel guilty about making money. Yes, you can still help people for free by writing, speaking, blogging and podcasting.

But there are people and children and organizations that CANNOT be helped for free. It’s our responsibility to make as much as possible to help as many as possible. A signature product helps you do that.

2. More impression

There are more than 193 million blogs. Amazon publishes over two million titles. And the truth is ANYONE who wants to start a blog or get a book on Kindle can pretty much do it. There’s no real barrier to entry.

That means the tranquilizers (at best) get displayed right alongside the interesting. The initial impression may be the same by a casual reader of two vastly experienced bloggers.

On the other hand, let’s say a person lands on a goal-setting blog, and the person has a $10 ebook. Pretty good, right?

That same person lands on my site and sees a complete program called R.A.W. Results. It’s four modules with video, MP3 and transcripts. Plus, cool software that helps people accomplish more in less time.

Which site would the browser most likely trust? Who would she believe knows more about achievement? Who is she most likely to subscribe to? Even if an initial purchase isn’t made, the initial impression is vastly different with a signature product.

3. More impact

A higher-end product based in your core message allows you to help people at a deeper level.

Even if a person reads ALL of our blog posts, they will never move forward as fast as taking a course or going through a step-by-step program.

You can solve a specific problem for your readers and get them accelerated results if you offer a signature product.

4. More ink

Whether it’s publishing ink or guest posting ink or social media ink, it’s easier to get the attention of leaders when you stand apart from the crowd.

A few years ago, I desperately wanted to be featured on a particular website and epublication. I couldn’t break through. It didn’t seem to matter what I did.

Then I decided to send free access to one of my products. That opened the door: I was featured in their next release and gained an interview slot.

No, I can’t guarantee that will work every time, but it’s been far more successful than sending a standard query email. A signature product gives you leverage.

5. More identity

A published book remains one of the best ways to build your brand identity. A signature product deepens that identity ever further.

It proves that you know more about your subject than others in your field. And it demonstrates that you are anchored in the market and want to improve it.

It legitimizes your platform that much more.

6. More growth

The process of creating your signature product increases your…

knowledge
skill set
wisdom
experience
network

Focusing on this higher-end offering will allow you to grow in so many ways that will further sharpen your craft. As a result of creating it, you’ll be better equipped to serve others in the future.

7. More grins

The accomplishment that comes at completion — well, it will just make you happy.

You made a plan, stuck with it, and now have a resource to offer your audience. You’ve built something that adds value and makes the world a better place.

That should make you smile.

Not to mention, all the lives you are changing because you had the courage to share your expertise.

To find out more about signature products, you can watch this free video and sign up for more updates. (Disclosure: Paul has a signature product course, and I’m an affiliate. If you sign up, I’ll get a commission. This is one way I cover the costs of this blog and support my family.)

Do you have a signature product? What is it? If not, what would it be? Share in the comments.

You just finished reading 5 Reasons Why You Need a Signature Product! Consider leaving a comment!

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