I love the quote above from Inception (one of my favorite movies):

The movie explores how ideas are created, stolen, and shared. You might wonder why do I love ideas so much? Here’s why: because ideas infect people.

Inception asks:

• What is the most resilient parasite?  An idea.  Once an idea has taken hold of the brain it’s almost impossible to eradicate.

Are ideas that powerful? YOU BET!

Unfortunately, not all ideas are created equal. Some thrive, while others just die…and never see the light of day.

So what makes a killer idea?

The past few years I went on a journey to discover the answer to that question. In this week’s podcast I share the 7 essential stages required to create a killer idea. This idea could be for your business, book, ministry, invention, etc.

These 7 stages are:

1. Messaging
2. Envisioning 
3. Engaging
4. Freethinking
5. Pitching
6. Ideating
7. Choosing

You can listen here or by clicking on the pic below.

Although I take you on a deep dive in the podcast, I knew this topic deserved something even more. Simply put, you deserve something more. Idea anatomy is one of my passion projects for one single reason:

Ideas can change the world. 

As a result, we created a FREE 7 day video course. Although it’s called MY BOOK HOOK you can apply the framework to any idea, not just books. We allowed a beta group test it the past few days. You can check out a few of their comments below:

 

Hosting your own live event can make or break your business.

If done correctly, events can propel you forward and increase your influence, impact, and income. But if done incorrectly they can be a fatal drain on your time and money.

So how do you know if doing your own live event is the right move? In my 12 years as an author I’ve discovered 6 reasons why doing them makes sense. (Listen below)

 

 

In a way, these 6 reasons serve as a filter for our team. They help us stay focused on our ultimate goal—Igniting Souls. These 6 reasons spell the word T-A-C-T-I-C.

Quick refresher on tactics. The dictionary defines tactic as:

an action or strategy carefully planned to achieve a specific end. This is the ONLY reason we do live events, when we have a specific end in mind. The event is NEVER an end unto itself.

In this episode I share how live events (done the right way) achieve these 6 tactics:

1. Teamwork = Events require you to rely upon other people.
2. Assets = Events create assets you can repurpose in the future.
3. Clarity = Events demand you to clarify your message.
4. Transformation = Events create an environments of change.
5. Immersion = Events amplify the ability to integrate content.
6. Community = Events ignite and sustain dynamic community.

Besides merely listing these 6 tactics, I take you on a deep dive how to achieve each tactic too. Listen in and discover how to leverage events to work for you and your business. Learn how to maximize your message in a significant and successful way.

(Resources I mention in the podcast = Example of a one sheet. Inspirational video on your Why. Stephanie Lefler’s FB. View the photo album from #IgnitingSouls15)

QUESTION: Have you ever experienced life change at a live event?

(Please comment below. I’d love to hear your thoughts. And if you know someone who needs to read this, please encourage them by sharing this post) 

Are you coming to IgnitingSouls#16? Click on the pic below for more details.

 

Sales and marketing?

Those two words sound like cuss words to most of us creative folks. (BTW…you are a “creative folk” in my book, regardless how you feel on the topic.)

But without effective sales and marketing the best product or service doesn’t have a chance of survival. So what’s an entrepreneur to do?

• Do we focus on sales and marketing and go against our gut?
• Do we ignore sales and marketing and die a slow death?

How about neither!

I chose to redefine sales and marketing instead. For the past several years I’ve redefined sales as serving and marketing as storytelling.

Smart entrepreneurs view sales as serving and marketing as storytelling.
(Click to Tweet)

So does it work?

The results speak for themselves. Our business has doubled every year the past four years. I never focus on “selling” any client. Rather, I focus on serving them instead. In the process, many end up buying (remember Jonily’s own testimony from episode 53?)

Sadly, most businesses aren’t using social media intelligently. Unfortunately, they’re making some simple, but costly mistakes. In this week’s episode of the Igniting Souls Podcast, I unpack why most marketing I see on social media ISN’T WORKING.

I also share practical steps on how to make the switch effectively. I want you to maximize AND monetize your message to its fullest potential. (Click on the play button below to listen.)

 

If you want to change your marketing results you must change your marketing strategies. Listen to episode 61 and run circles around your competition.

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QUESTION: What do you think is more effective feeling sold or being served?

(Please comment below. I’d love to hear your thoughts. And if you know someone who needs to read this, please encourage them by sharing this post) 

I believe you have what it takes. You may just not have the tools…at least not yet. Click on the pic below to discover how to get busy living. See yourself through new eyes and begin creating the life you want.

 

You’ve probably heard of passive income—right?

Passive Income is INCOME from a venture in which an individual does not directly participate.

(Listen here, on iTunes, or via streaming audio by clicking play on the pic below.) 

There are plenty of advantages to this type of income. In this structure customers and clients pay you repeatedly for work you only did once. This income is recurring because it’s not limited to your presence, your focus, or your schedule.

Obviously, passive income factors scalability. You can serve five orders just as simply as five thousand. Although your product or service initially takes time to create, you’ll repeatedly get paid for the original time, effort, and energy you invested.

Passive income works even when you don’t. It knows few limits because it’s not finite like you.

Passive income is cool, BUT HAVE YOU ALSO HEARD ABOUT PASSIVE IMPACT?

Passive Impact is IMPACT from a venture in which an individual does not directly participate.

I think passive impact trumps passive income. I share why on this episode, but I’ll tell a quick story that will fill in some blanks.

My fourth book (Your Secret Name) released in September, 2010. In a matter of weeks we realized this book was special without much of our own doing. The book touched on an issue common to many adults and teens alike—identity. I blended my story overcoming self-injury with the reader’s journey of discovering who they were created to be.

My friend Gabe created an interactive website that combined free tools with support from our growing community. My friend Josh produced a beautiful book trailer, and we began getting emails from people of various backgrounds and struggles.

They told us about their newfound freedom and how they discovered a connection with their Creator, their community, and their core.

Stories of victory over suicidal thoughts, depression, prostitution, workaholism, anorexia, and low self-esteem poured in. We continued sharing the message as best we could, but we’d clearly reached our capacity.

My day job brought its own set of challenges and commitments. And although I entertained thoughts of jumping into my dream job full-time, book sales alone didn’t come close to paying the bills.

Then it happened.

I received an email from Desiree Arney, a stranger in New Jersey touched by the message. Long story short, after a couple chats David and I asked her to join our “team.”

The word team was a bit presumptuous. Although we wanted to change the world, we didn’t have a plan, a platform, or a paycheck. We figured passion was enough so we kept moving forward. A few months later we decided to have a conference and over one hundred people showed up. Toward the end of the conference we blocked off an open mic time for participants to share their thoughts about the day.

The stories of transformation people shared blew us away. Feeling momentum and divine favor, we created the Your Secret Name Team. Clearly we needed a way to multiply our impact and fund our efforts. I knew I couldn’t accept every gig, and although I felt a little guilty turning down some opportunities, my family and day job took precedence.

We priced the Team at a modest $997 and in no time we added a dozen members from all over the world, including Europe and New Zealand. Additional team members trickled in, and our impact and income increased slowly but steadily.

Because of our desire to alleviate suffering and pain in impoverished areas, we gifted a few slots to nonprofits in Uganda and Honduras. (We felt their lack of resources shouldn’t prevent them from helping those in need.)

Even better than the passive income was the passive impact.

I remember one chilly Ohio afternoon playing with my three children on the living room floor. I think Isabel won out with her game choice—sleeping giant. Our stomachs were full from a scrumptious Sunday lunch and the wood in the fireplace crackled and popped. Snowflakes fell softly outside and my wife and I smiled at each other as we tried to keep up with three active kids.

Later that evening I checked our Secret Name Facebook group. Thrilled to read the posts, I learned how that weekend three separate team members had conducted Your Secret Name events in their own cities.

I smiled. While I enjoyed my loved ones in the comfort of my home, our passive impact business was igniting. Our team was communicating this message of hope to people who needed healing. It hasn’t stopped since.

In episode 60, I teach you how to create your first product (for ZERO start-up costs). In the process you’ll also create something else—passive income AND passive impact.

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QUESTION: What is one product you could create?

(Please comment below. I’d love to hear your thoughts. And if you know someone who needs to read this, please encourage them by sharing this post) 

I believe you have what it takes. You may just not have the tools…at least not yet. Click on the pic below to discover how to get busy living. See yourself through new eyes and begin creating the life you want.

Your passions are not random or accidental.

Rather, they’re indicators, leaving clues about your divine destiny. So many people are lost and directionless. They go from person to person hoping a stranger can tell them which way to go.

As long as you’re disconnected from your heart, you’ll never know which way to go.

Rather than running from his passions, throughout Dan Miller’s life, he’s run toward them. This raises questions with many people:

• Does God want us to be happy?
• Should we enjoy our lives and pursue our hobbies?

Through an entertaining chat, with fast cars as a filter, I sit down with bestselling author Dan Miller and ask him key questions related to life and business. We unpack how:

Success doesn’t ruin you; it reveals you. (Click to Tweet or Share on FB)

In this episode we dive into topics like:

• How to avoid spoiling your kids and  teach them entrepreneurship and ownership instead.
• How to study your spouse and create shared connections.
• How to start your business small and lay a foundation for bigger impact. 
• How your view of yourself and God sets you up for success or sabotages your story before you even begin. 

In this episode, realize what it means to become a Soul on Fire as you realize all of life is connected. What you believe about one thing impacts what you believe about everything.

———————

QUESTION: What do you enjoy most about your life?

(Please comment below. I’d love to hear your thoughts. And if you know someone who needs to read this, please encourage them by sharing this post) 

I believe you have what it takes. You may just not have the tools…at least not yet. Click on the pic below to discover how to get busy living. See yourself through new eyes and begin creating the life you want.

What if you could predict the success of your idea BEFORE you launched it?

What if you found a map to help you steer through all the minefields?

• Imagine the time and money you’d save.
• Imagine the embarrassment you’d avoid.
• Imagine the insight you’d gain.

 

But crystal balls don’t exist and no one knows for sure anyways, right?

Up until now, maybe this were true. But what if you did have a 5-step framework, chocked full of case studies, stories, examples, and insights that told you otherwise?

• Will that beef jerky subscription company succeed?
• What about leveraging your design expertise into an educational online experience?

In WILL IT FLY, these real life ideas and many more are pushed through a specific paradigm. On the other side, you’ll see why these ideas experienced success.

Wisdom advises us to determine if our idea will fly or flop BEFORE we launch it. (Click to Tweet or Share on FB)

Forget “luck” and “chance” or “knowing the right people.” Just like airplanes fly because of certain universal laws relative to flight, so do effective business ideas.

In this candid conversation, I sit down with serial entrepreneur Pat Flynn and unpack the finer points of WILL IT FLY—a manual for how to test your next business idea so you don’t waste your time and money.

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QUESTION: What’s your cool idea?

(Please comment below. I’d love to hear your thoughts. And if you know someone who needs to read this, please encourage them by sharing this post) 

Do you need help launching your book idea?  If so, be sure to access these FREE tools immediately. Click on the pic below.

 

Ever hear this before…

THAT BUSINESS CARD CHANGED MY LIFE

Probably not. But have you ever heard this before…

THAT BOOK CHANGED MY LIFE

Probably so.

Your book is not a business card

I go to a few conferences a year. Many times I meet authors or aspiring authors. I often hear them refer to their books as a business card. I’ve heard them say statements like:

• I need to crank out some kind of book so I have more credibility in my industry.
• My book is just an extra thick business card.
• People don’t actually need to read my book; I just want them to think I’m an expert.

Sad, but true. These types of books don’t change lives. What business card ever has?

Your book can change lives

I take the topic of books very seriously. Why? Because books have changed my life. For starters, my favorite book is the Bible. That book has shaped the way I see myself, the world, and God.

Other books have inspired me to make major shifts in my life—like The $100 Startup. It came to me a time when I needed vision. It helped me think my Dream Job was possible. Notice the pic. Do you think I got a lot out of it?)

Just the other day I got a handwritten card from someone in the mail. This girl read my book (Your Secret Name) AND joined our related coaching program (Your Secret Name 5 Week Journey). Here’s what she said:

Thank you for your gift of journeying through Your Secret Name program. My roommate has gone the longest she has ever gone without acting out her eating disorder. She’s at over 3 months now.

By going through the program together, so many deep spiritual things were brought up that we had never discussed together. We had some incredible conversations and were challenged with so many things to think about and talk to God about.

I feel it helped me in my intimacy with Jesus. I feel like I grew in the ability to ask God really genuine questions and I feel like he revealed His love for me in a new way. You are a wise and Godly man and I am so thankful that you are willing not only to share your story, but also to provide a safe and beautiful place for others to share theirs. Thank you for your gift! Two lives were changed!! 

Your book can be a business

If you want your book to become a business you need to position it that way. Successful authors think of their books as a business. Even better, they structure their books as a business, even during the writing phase.

———————

QUESTION: What book changed your life?

(Please comment below. I’d love to hear your thoughts. And if you know someone who needs to read this, please encourage them by sharing this post) 

Need help on this topic? If so, check out my FREE resources. Click on the pic below. Discover how to write, publish, and market your book the right way.

 

A master in the art of living…simply pursues his vision of excellence through whatever he is doing, and leaves others to determine whether he is working or playing. To himself, he always appears to be doing both. —L.P. Jacks

Is your life defined by “duty”?

In 2009, on a Friday morning, I met my friend Chet Scott at a local Panera.

“Why are you so happy?” I asked. Chet’s glowing smile needed an explanation.

“Oh, nothing much,” he replied with sincerity. “I guess I’m just content.”

Content? Now there’s a word you don’t hear much, I thought.

“Tell me, Chet, why are you so content?” I joked back—sort of.

Truth is, at that point in my life I secretly wanted to know his secret.

“Well . . . I guess I’m just at a place in life where I don’t have to be anywhere I don’t want to be,” he stated.

I let his words sink in for ten seconds, then blurted out, “What planet are you living on? What do you mean you don’t have to be anywhere?”

Despite my tone, I knew exactly what he meant. Chet spoke authentically of a freedom few people ever find. Six years prior, he’d left his day job and entered his dream job. Since then he had created a life of freedom. He only worked with his “ideal” clients and he had the bandwidth to read, write, and exercise.

His life seemed . . . light. Not easy, but light.

Me, on the other hand? I lived on a different planet. Maybe even in a different solar system.  My life seemed like one big duty.

Is your life defined by “desire”?

I’m not going to sugar-coat the truth. It wasn’t a easy process. The transition from a life of DUTY to a life of DESIRE took effort. Chet showed me how to author my OPUS. Slowly, everything changed. I went from STUCK to a SOUL ON FIRE.

Although the journey never ends, my clarity gave me the confidence I needed to make tough decisions. I realigned my entire life. Today my days aren’t pain-free, but they are truly unbelievable. I have:

• A gracious God
• A loving family
• A dream job

I don’t HAVE TO do anything any longer. Instead, I get to IGNITE SOULS—full-time.

You can become a Master in the Art of Living too

When you experience this type of transformation you can’t keep quiet. To do so would be unkind and criminal. Although some won’t listen, I still have to try. I want to wake-up others who are sleepwalking though life—just like I was.

True, few people are willing to admit their lives contain HAVE TO’s. Most would rather pretend they’re the ones in control. But if you’re brave enough to unplug from the MATRIX and bold enough take off the MASK then you may want to check out the FREE resource below.

Life didn’t change until I did. Become a Master in the Art of Living.

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QUESTION: What’s your favorite line in the L.P. Jacks quote at the top of the post?

(Please comment below. I’d love to hear your thoughts. And if you know someone who needs to read this, please encourage them by sharing this post) 

Click on the pic below. See yourself through new eyes and begin creating the life you want.

 

 

In this episode I take a deep dive into the Living Forward phenomenon via an exclusive chat with authors Michael Hyatt and Daniel Harkavy.

Living Forward starts out by addressing THE DRIFT.

The DRIFT is the tendency to arrive at destinations you don’t consciously choose. The DRIFT is facing life in a reactive way and happens when you’re:

1. Unaware
2. Distracted
3. Overwhelmed
4. Deceived

No one wakes up and says:

“Today I want to DRIFT.”

However, if you’re not living a life according to design, then you’re living a life according to DRIFT.

So how do you change direction and snap out of the DRIFT? Michael Hyatt and Daniel Harkavy reveal that the average person spends 5 hours researching and shopping for a new car. The average bride-to-be spends 40 days planning a three-hour wedding. However, the average person never spends 1 day planning his or her life.

Why?

The reality is most of us don’t know how to plan our lives. Besides, it sounds daunting and out of reach.

“People who’ve lost their way are people who’ve lost their why.” (Click to Tweet)

Thankfully, Hyatt and Harkavy close the distance by demonstrating how to do a life plan. Even better, they provide examples of real Life Plans from real clients. These individuals come from a variety of backgrounds and life stages so readers of all kinds can relate.

The book is broken into 3 main parts:

1. Understand Your Need
2. Create Your Plan
3. Make it Happen.

It literally walks you though the Life Plan process in a step-by-step fashion. The Life Plan is facing life in a proactive way.

As you read this book you’ll answer 3 powerful questions:

1. How do I want to be remembered? This is your legacy.
2. What matters most to me? These are your priorities.
3. How do I get from where I am to where I want to be? This is your action plan.

Design your own “Regret Free” life by crafting your Life Plan.

• The Life Plan creates clarity. It acts as a GPS.
• The Life Plan creates courage. It acts as a filter.
• The Life Plan creates commitment. It acts as a motivator.

Page 154 says it all, “This may sound grandiose, but we are out to change the world.”

In Living Forward authors Hyatt and Harkavy do just that. They change the world one person at a time by challenging readers to create greatness one life plan at a time.

Living Forward is a fantastic tool to design the life you want and then clarify the steps you need to take to get there.

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QUESTION: What’s one thing you’re looking forward to?

(Please comment below. I’d love to hear your thoughts. And if you know someone who needs to read this, please encourage them by sharing this post) 

Are you getting the results you desire? If not, click on the pic below to discover how to begin creating the life you want.

If part of your Life Plan includes a writing a book someday, be sure to access these FREE tools immediately.