I was on the phone with my brother yesterday, and I gave him some career-related homework (the pro or the con of having a sister who's a life coach, depending on how you see it). I asked him to write this question at the top of a piece of paper:
What am I uniquely suited to do, given my random talents, skills and interests, that makes me feel ALIVE?
Dig back to your childhood. My brother manufactured and sold Creepy Crawlers and hustled so that he could own every new gadget -- probably to a fault (remember MiniDisc players? Biiiig mistake). I practiced being a news anchor, took dance classes, started a family newspaper, hosted a neighborhood carnival, and opened a library operation out of my bedroom.
What lights your SOUL on fire?
It might be a set of skills so random you have NO clue how they relate. Write them down anyway. Those of you who have been around a while know that I love teaching, organizing, inspiring people and dancing (ideally on tables in Las Vegas if we're getting really serious -- ha).
Enter Seth Godin, The Domino Project and a peek into my crazy brain
Yesterday was a big GIANT day for me. Seth Godin linked to my 15-tab book marketing spreadsheet from The Domino Project blog, and it set my inbox ablaze. Within an hour we had 100 retweets. I watched with glee as dozens of people seemed to exhale a collective sigh of relief upon seeing the spreadsheet -- something that at one time I was afraid to share for fear that it makes me look LIKE I'VE LOST MY DAMN MIND to a bout of uber-neurotisism and compulsive organization.
But alas! Yesterday clarified that one of my superpowers is organizing complex ideas in service of making people's lives easier. How many thousands of authors have gone before me, and yet -- none have chosen to share their process in this much detail before. If you're promoting a book -- or anything really -- check it out. You can read the full back-story of how the Seth connection came about here. An excerpt:
Against today’s conventional book marketing advice, I decided to self-fund a 14-city ACTUAL book tour (in person! not virtual!). When I was invited to share my experience with Seth Godin and his team at The Domino Project headquarters in New York (by my good friend Willie Jackson), I jumped at the chance.
I had 15 minutes to present something related to my experience as an author. With a bit of nervous excitement, I decided to share the book marketing spreadsheet, which also felt very vulnerable. I was sure that sharing my spreadsheet with Seth and his team would brand me as a Type-A obsessive compulsive freak. But there was also a small chance that they would like what I had done — and that my crazy template brain could be put to use to make other author’s lives easier too.
Long story short, everyone loved it. Willie remarked that my spreadsheet “glows in the dark,” and Seth’s literary agent Lisa wanted to recommend it to every single one of her clients as a way to get organized. Seth offered to share it with his readers -- and that's when I knew I was really on to something.
Here's one of my favorite tweets from the day:
Pop on over to The Domino Project blog to check-out the post -- HUGE thanks to Seth for the great opportunity!
Speaking of superpowers...the Only72.com personal development fire-sale ends tomorrow morning! (9am Pacific Time on Thursday)
I can't think of a better way to reveal, dig-into, enhance and plot world-domination-style greatness around your unique strengths than with the Only72 mega-pack of over 22 personal development products. A quick reminder for those of you still thinking about grabbing a set: the bundle is valued at $1087 and is selling for $97...but for three days only (ending Thursday at 9am PT). It will not be offered again.
I think this is a killer deal, but it won't be for everyone. This offer is great for anyone who has considered buying these products independently (a particularly good deal if at least three or more look interesting), and for those of you who are looking for a summer boost on productivity, relationships, and goal-setting.
If you purchase the bundle, you'll get a sneak preview at the course I'm launching later this summer called Make Sh*t Happen. This is my new baby: an 80-page e-book formatted very similarly to my actual book that I started working on in January to help you tackle a GINORMOUS goal. I think you're going to love it :) To receive a free preview of 3 sample chapters and to get on the early notification list for when the 8-week Make Sh*t Happen coaching course launches this summer, sign-up here.
I leave you today with a set of questions to consider:
- What lights your soul (and your brain) on fire? What fills your heart with glee (beyond puppies, wine and chocolate)? What would you pay someone to be able to do?
- What brings out your inner hustle? What gets you out of bed in the morning on your very best days?
- Given your random background, education, job history and skillset -- what are you UNIQUELY qualified to do or talk about? It might be the psychology of stardom, how to crush it when your parents are no longer with you and you're allergic to the 9-to-5, or first-class hustlin' -- buying office supplies from stores going out of business and selling them BACK to Office Depot for profit (ahem...my brother).
- If you weren't waiting to be good enough, smart enough, skilled enough or rich enough -- what would you share with the world?
Don't know the answers? GOOD! That means we're running your brain through some new and exciting calisthenics. Write these questions at the top of a piece of paper and let them marinate for a week or two. And answer in the comments when you think of something! Nothing lights me up more than hearing about what gets you going :)