There are many proud moments in an author’s career like when you finish your first draft, when the first copy of your book arrives in the post or when you get your first review.
I was on Amazon this morning and I felt a pang of pride I simply have to share with you and it’s seeing that Amazon are listing that my three non-fiction books as being “Frequently Bought Together”.
Now I’ve no idea how many people have to do this before the Amazon algorithm kicks in – it might just be one!! It is however a significant milestone in any author’s strategy.
1. If you are just starting out – think how you can write a series – publishers and readers alike will love you for it
2. If you have written one book and want to sell more copies – write at least two more
3. If your book is out in print only, make sure it’s available for the Kindle too (as it can be then read on all devices)
Note that your books don’t have to be published with the same publisher or a linked sequence of titles – it’s best if they follow a particular theme or logical progression though …
Light Bulb Moments – tune into a special class of thoughts that take you on amazing leaps of imagination and creativity
P.S. the fourth book is being crafted right now and it extends the thoughts in these three to a whole other level … watch this space and I can’t wait until Amazon list all four as being Frequently Bought Together đŸ˜‰
Afterword in 2013 – here is that book Planes of Being and another I didn’t even plan to write called This We Know
P.P.S. Not even two years after I wrote this blog, I find Amazon recommending not just three but five of my books to people via email
A wonderful and eclectic chat with the inspirational Julia McCutchen from IACCW on how authors can use light bulb moments in their work …
Topics covered :
Where do light bulb moments come from?
What blocks light bulb moments?
How to use your whole brain and whole mind
The beauty and power of Mapping Your Mind
The importance of meditation and the breath in ideas generation
The latest interview in the Moments of Lights series of podcasts is with Eddie Yu, author of a new book called Speedlights and Elephants.
At a surface level you might take it as yet another book on how to make a million online perhaps making claims that worked for the author but are out of reach for normal mortals. You might cynically think it’s said author’s attempt to make that million for themselves.
Well you’d be wrong on both counts – Eddie’s approach is a breath of fresh air. He is wise well beyond his years and has tuned into two factors that make the difference between failure and success for any business or initiative.
They are our mindset and having a meta-strategy
Listen to interview to find out more and get a copy of the book today if you want to reap the success for your business you so richly deserve …
After speaking to Eddie, it made me think about my own meta-strategies and that, although I have them, I haven’t communicated or shared them with anyone but close friends.
So I’d like to try an experiment and publically state them here and also send out a call for action which is threefold:
1. Declare your meta-strategy – either in a comment in this blog or elsewhere
2. If you think I can help you with yours, let me know
3. If you think you can help me with mine, let me know
My meta-strategies
To show the world how to tap into unlimited inspiration
To help people how to embrace fears and fulfill their magnificence
To be an instrumental part of the transition from Humanity v2.0 to Humanity v3.0
I had the great pleasure last week of hearing Dr David Hamilton talking about the remarkable properties of mirror neurons in the brain. They are the mechanism behind how we empathise, emulate, copy and learn.
This resulted in many light bulb moments firing in this particular head of mine.
I’ve been doing talks and workshops on creativity and innovation for some years now and I’d noticed that when I get into the state where I can receive light bulb moments, people in the room would follow shortly after.
To find out how this all works, I recommend you buy David’s book called The Contagious Power of Thinking or, better still, attend one of his talks and then buy the book – as he explains it all much better than I ever could.
So at my talks naturally people will pick up on my body language, the words I say and the images should I use any slides or handouts. The mirror neurons are the mechanism whereby such empathy is achieved. There is something which is more subtle in operation too however.
Before I even get to the venue to do the talk, I set my intention that the attendees of the talk will get into the state of having light bulb moments. Furthermore, that this state will linger either for a few days after the talk or even permanently.
People report having not known why they came to a particular talk but that they felt strangely drawn to attend. They also can’t remember where they first heard about it.
Now I am not claiming any extrasensory powers. What everyone is experiencing is a natural state of affairs and happens all the time but, mostly, outside our conscious awareness.
What is interesting is how this concept can be applied in business – especially if the business is involved in new product development or any creative field such as publishing, marketing, design or any artistic endeavour.
Any mindset we adopt will spread unconsciously – including anger, fear and guilt – and any behaviour and culture set will also ripple throughout an organisation like gossiping and lunchtime drinking.
So if you want innovation to spread in your organisation, it needs to be seeded and then it will spread organically. For example, apocryphally a US president visiting NASA in the Apollo era asked a janitor what he did and the reply was, “I fly rockets to the Moon”. This type of team spirit amplifies, reflects and ripples from mirror neurons to mirror neurons in each team member working to a common goal.
Sowing the seeds for innovation
The first step is to initiate the culture change with a thought and attitude and it can start anywhere in the organisation but ideally with senior management. The end goal is for it to be adopted from the bottom up whilst also aiming to remove the whole idea of the top and bottom hierarchy, as one could not exist without the other and it is in essence more like a symbiosis.
Then practical steps should be taken to foster innovation throughout the business, such as:
1. A simple suggestion box [perhaps anonymous]
2. A suggestions wall or whiteboard [best seeded with an associative Mind Map]
3. A more formal and facilitated intervention like a Walt Disney Three Rooms session or de Bono’s Six Thinking Hats. Even better again would be to use Appreciative Inquiry which additionally generates a positive thinking mind set. The idea of positive thinking also spreads like wildfire and is based on taking what works and making it even better rather than focusing on woes and trials and tribulations.
The latest podcast in the Moments of Light series is with the sublimely wise and intelligent soul who is Nicola Phoenix.
Nicola is a Spiritual Psychologist and yoga teacher with such a simple approach to share by which we can all get to a place of happiness. Where many make the journey over-complex and arduous, Nicola makes it accessible and do-able. What’s more, we can all start doing it today – right now.
Have a listen to the interview to find out more … and then get yourself a copy of the book !!
Details on how to get your copy of Reclaiming Happiness and how to contact Nicola here … www.nicolaphoenix.com
There are many proud moments in an author’s career like when you finish your first draft, when the first copy of your book arrives in the post or when you get your first review.
There are many proud moments in an author’s career like when you finish your first draft, when the first copy of your book arrives in the post or when you get your first review.
