0 (2s):
Boom, shake the room, Fire Nation. JLD here and welcome to Entrepreneurs On Fire brought to you by the HubSpot Podcast Network with great shows like I Digress. Today, we'll be asking the question. So you're thinking about writing a book to drop these value bombs. I brought Ken Rusk into EOFire studios. Ken specializes in mentoring and his coach, hundreds of young people in areas such as short, mid and longterm goal setting, light visualization, career paths, and sound financial planning. He is passionate about helping people achieve their dreams regardless of their educational backgrounds or past and today. Financial we'll talk about the writing, editing and publishing process.

0 (44s):
How do identify target readers, how to get your message across and so much more. When we get back from thanking our sponsors, have you ever thought about what it takes to make you profit by selling content online? Then you need to join Amplify with Thinkific. This free event features 30 plus expert creators who will show you how to make revenue selling content online. Visit thinkific.com/amplify to RSVP for free. The My First Million podcast features famous guests, discusses how companies made their first million and brainstorm new business ideas based on the hottest trends and opportunities in the marketplace. One recent app was all about how venture capitalists make money. Listen to My First Million, wherever you get your podcasts Ken say what's up to Fire Nation and share something that you believe about becoming successful.

0 (1m 33s):
That most people disagree with

1 (1m 36s):
So much for having me in what up Fire Nation out there. I think, I think it's pretty simple. I think people think that entrepreneur, the, the spirit of being an entrepreneur or entrepreneurship is something that is a special gift that's given to certain people. And I don't believe that at all. I think, I think when entrepreneurs share more than anything is a real crystal clear vision for what they want for the future. And I can tell you that once you, once you figure out a way to put that out in front of you, all the characteristics that make an entrepreneur, they come out of all of us. I mean, they come out of everybody, so see what you want and then go get it.

0 (2m 14s):
I see what you want. Fire Nation, go get it. Because at the end of the day, what's the alternative. What's the alternative. See what you want and not going after it. That sounds like a pretty sad lame pathetic life. Now, Ken, we're going to be asking the question. So you're thinking about writing a book. I want to first talk about your journey to becoming an author. Tell us that story.

1 (2m 38s):
I have been hiring people for a very long time. I, I, I, I've been in this in the ditch digging business for more than I cared to remember. I think it's almost 35 or 36 years now. And in that time I started really young. I started when I was like 15 or 16 and in that time growing my company from six to 200, I had to hire a lot of people. And it was amazing to me to see the different forms of, of how prepared these people were to come into not only the job field, but the world, their personal world and, and, you know, launching their career. So I started becoming an almost involuntary life coach and I absolutely loved it.

1 (3m 20s):
I mean, we talked about, you know, their first job, their first credit card, their first car there, you know, getting their driver's license, straightened away, their first apartment, the first checking account, all of those things that were first for them. And I became almost like, you know, that uncle that knows everything to these, to these folks. And, and it was wonderful. So the more I did it, the more we came up with these systems and in, in the, this course that we put our folks through, the more people said, you know, Ken, this really works. You need to get this message beyond the four walls of your building. So I started jotting down some notes and here we are,

0 (3m 57s):
It was a pretty good summation of how you got to where you are today, but what was the motivation behind it? I mean, I know you like helping people. I know you like seeing people succeed in life, but what really motivates you to the core to keep doing what you're doing.

1 (4m 13s):
I just think that there's a lot of simple things that aren't taught out there that can make a huge difference in how your life turns out and it begins with you and what you think is going to be. So, you know, I used a lot of simple processes in my life that I thought were kind of common sense. And then I found out that they're not being taught out there. So, you know, I started writing a letter to my daughter about what I thought was really important in life. You know, the, the, what, what are we chasing? What's the Nirvana we're after. And I kept coming back with these three words, comfort, peace, and freedom. And I talk about those a lot in the book. And, and, you know, my daughter was suffering from a pretty serious illness at the time.

1 (4m 53s):
And I wrote this letter to her and it just kept on going and going. And when I matched that up with what I was doing with coaching, it just seemed like a real natural thing for me to, you know, write these things down, you know, come from, you know, to whom much is given much is expected and see if I couldn't give back and help some other people out,

0 (5m 13s):
One thing, Fire Nation. I really hope you take away from a lot of what can you share? It is common sense. Isn't always common practice. I mean, just because it's obvious to you or to me doesn't mean as obvious to somebody else. And that's why you can always take your expertise, your life experience and share it with others. So writing, editing, publishing, I mean, Ken, it all seems so overwhelming. What was the writing, editing and publishing process like for you? Tell us that story, give us the ups, the high points, give us the downs, give us the dark moments.

1 (5m 48s):
In my case, I never really set out to become an author like, okay, I'm going to become a plumber or a carpenter. I'm going to be an author. So it kind of evolved into, I think I have a manuscript here and then, and then we'll see if somebody else might be interested in it. Gee, I never thought this thing would go 10 feet, much less than 10 miles that it's gone. But it turns out that writing the book was probably the easiest part because there's so much involved in, you know, getting an editor and having what they call kind of a ghost writer to help you clean up your manuscript and then reorganize it and then do some research to shore up. Some of the things you talk about, and then you have to go through, you know, you, you find an agent who will represent you and, and you know, that's a very humbling experience.

1 (6m 36s):
And, and then that agent takes your book and cleans it up even more. And hopefully it doesn't change too much, which in my case, they didn't, I'm grateful for that. But then you have to go through the publishing process where these companies, you know, they really put you through the ringer. Like, why should I buy this book? Who's going to read this book. Who are you to talk about these things? Why would anyone want to listen to what you have to say? And it just kept going to the point where it, the tables kind of turned. And I had a bunch of publishers actually bidding on this book. So it was, it was a pretty crazy experience having to write and then rewrite and then edit and then add and change. And again, thankfully, most of the book is, is intact and instill in there, but it it's a grind.

1 (7m 20s):
And like I said, writing, it was the easiest part. I think getting it across the finish line with all these other agencies is probably the tougher part.

0 (7m 28s):
It was the lowest point. Like what was the darkest moment? Like tell us when you are just distraught over something.

1 (7m 35s):
The most anxious time for me was as we started approaching the launch date, which I had all this media set up, I had all these great interviews. I had all these podcasts set up and, and, and, you know, then, then COVID hit and it pretty much wrapped a lot of that opportunity for me. So we, we launched our book in the middle of a pandemic, which was really, really challenging, so much so that we relaunched it recently and it's been much more successful. So yeah, I leave it to me to write and launch a book in the middle of a pandemic that hasn't hit us in a hundred years. Right. So, yeah, that was

0 (8m 15s):
Tough time for shore. And one thing that I will say Fire Nation is you are going to have the twists, the turns, you're going to have things that come up that are not expected, and you're either gonna make lemonade or you're going to let lemons ruin that parade. So it's always going to come down to your choice, your attitude, your decision. We have a lot of great things coming up. When we get back from thanking our sponsors at the time of reading this, there are 2 million people making a full-time living by producing content online. And that 2 million is only scratching the surface of what's to come. How would you like to start making more money by creating and selling content online? Great news.

0 (8m 55s):
Our friends that think havoc are inviting you to kick off 2022 at their free online events Amplify , where you can learn just that this jam packed virtual summit will empower you to turn your knowledge into content that will sell over this two-day virtual event. You will hear from 30 plus industry leaders at the forefront of the digital creator movements. So if you're ready to learn how to create and sell digital content to reach a wider audience, build revenue and make a bigger impact than Amplify 2022 is a must attend events tune in from anywhere, even from the comfort of your home. Sign up for free today at thinkific.com/amplify. That's T H I N K I F I C.com/amplify.

0 (9m 41s):
The new year is here. And my guess is that you have big goal set for you and your sales team over the coming months from new projects to bringing in more leads a new year can often feel like a totally new start, but let's not forget the most important part, arming your team with the best tools so they can focus on giving your customers the best experience possible. And this starts with getting ahead of the learning curve so that new challenges turn into new ways to grow with new features, dedicated to helping your sales team improve your customer experience. HubSpot is on a mission to help millions of companies grow better. Starting with yours. Conversion intelligence tools helps your teams get real-time insight into calls with automatic recording transcription and call analysis. With more visibility into customer conversions, coaching and customer feedback becomes that much easier.

0 (10m 25s):
Plus easy share meeting links, let customers see availability and allow them to book meetings with you all from the HubSpot platform, which cuts out the endless cycle of scheduling emails. Learn more about how you can transform your customer experience with a HubSpot CRM platform at hubspot.com. Now Kent, when I talk to my audience, when it comes to creating podcasts, I talk about the avatar, the one single perfect listener, the person that I speak to when I'm interviewing people like yourself, like I'm speaking to Jimmy right now, Jimmy is my avatar. Most single one. Perfect listener. Do you have target readers?

1 (10m 60s):
There's the target reader is someone who thinks I'm not really fully in control of my life. And that could be someone who's 15 or 50, and that could be the son or daughter of somebody or a grandson or daughter that could be a mentor, a mentee that could also be maybe someone who manages a company. Who's looking to create some really awesome self managing self-directed employees, but anyone who thinks that maybe I don't have the control of my life that I think I should. That's definitely someone that I want to read this book

0 (11m 33s):
That is so important to you. Fire Nation, to have that clear individual, that clear targets, that clear reader in mind. Now, what is the message that you hope to get across through your writing? Like when you're writing this book, when you're writing words on the page, what is this message you're trying to get across?

1 (11m 51s):
All of us can do it. JLD, it's, it's that simple. All of us can do what we set our minds to. You know, they, they talk about us only using 25% of our brain. And, and I can tell you that if you look at any entrepreneur, the first thing they start with is what exactly do I want my life to look like? Like what, what, what, what are my hobbies? What are my health moments? What are my charity moments? What are, what kind of house do I want to live in? What kind of transportation in my driving? You know, what kind of pet do I see myself owning? You know, what are my hobbies going to be? Like, all those things are really crystal clear in, in quote, unquote entrepreneurs, minds.

1 (12m 34s):
And they start with that. And then they find one of several different paths to get there, knowing that there isn't just one, be it, be it like a college education or taking a, going to acquire a skill or a trade, or, you know, starting your own company. We all can do this. None of us are uniquely special that we have this gift or power that somebody else doesn't have.

0 (12m 59s):
The rest of the episode, talking about advice that you have for other would be authors. I mean, there's a lot of people listening right now. My audience Fire Nation, they have a voice, they have a message. They have a mission that they really want to share with the world you've been there. You've done that. What advice would you have for our listeners who want to go down that path of becoming an author?

1 (13m 21s):
I think the most important thing is to just talk about what you know, and what you know very well. You know, it, if, if you're into specifically in my category, cause I was in non-fiction business, I wanted to really channel the message to a unique individual, an individual like the one we just talked about. And so I kind of pointed everything that I talked about to that one person, you know, that one, you know, Johnny or that one, Susie that was out there going, God, I need some help. I need to get past, you know, where I'm at right now, living for Friday and not knowing what my future looks like. I think the first thing you have to start with is who exactly is the reader.

1 (14m 5s):
And then talk about something that, you know, very well directly to that one person, not trying to be a, you know, an end all for everybody.

0 (14m 13s):
Other advice would you have for somebody that doesn't even necessarily know where to start? I mean, maybe they do have a topic they want to talk about, but they really don't know what that next step would be.

1 (14m 24s):
You know, it's funny because I remember being on an airplane and I'm writing really feverously with a pen on a legal pad. And I was shaking my hand because you know, my hand was getting tired and the gentleman sitting next to me said, what are you doing? And I said, well, I think I'm writing a book. And he goes, well, I realized that, but like, you're writing it like with a pen, you know, we have these things called keyboards now. And I said, I know, but every time I type a word, I have to erase it. So for me, it was more spiritual, more holistic to just take a piece of paper and a pen and start writing. So the advice I would give people is get some legal pads, put them somewhere where it's very quiet and every time you have a thought, write it down, you don't have to do this in order.

1 (15m 5s):
You don't have to do chapter one chapter two, chapter 10, just write down all of the thoughts that you have morning, noon night, whenever it hits you. And just keep doing that until you have, you know, 60, 70,000 words of, of, of something that can be organized by people that know that business inside and out,

0 (15m 26s):
Then take us home, brother, what is the one message you really want Fire Nation to get from our entire conversation here today?

1 (15m 34s):
My ability to gain the life that I want for myself is based on a couple things. It's based number one on what my input is, which is under my control and nobody else's, it's also what my output becomes. And, and that is under my control and nobody else's, those two things normally build a financial gain for yourself, which is again under your control. And once those things start to happen and you see your life start to, you know, come into fruition for your, for, for the picture that you have for your life and your world, you will become a really crazy, good, effective self-managed self-directed self-motivated goal, crushing machine.

1 (16m 17s):
And every one of us has those abilities inside of us. For sure.

0 (16m 21s):
Ken, how can Fire Nation connect with you? What call to actions you have for our listeners?

1 (16m 27s):
Well, first off, thank you for having me. We have the book on, on kenrusk.com. In fact, we have a special section with an offer for your listeners. It's kenrusk.com/fire, where you can see the project that we're working on and, and you can see the course that we built in and see if it's for you. You know, it's also on a, for sale on Amazon and Barnes and Nobles, and don't forget your, your local bookstores. But I think the most important thing that I want everybody to know is I've been very blessed and I'm extremely grateful. So all the money that I get from these books and these courses, I just donate back to, to charities like Make-A-Wish and those types of things.

1 (17m 7s):
So if you're helping yourself, you're helping somebody else at the same time,

0 (17m 13s):
Fire Nation. You're the average of the five people you spend the most time with. And you've been hanging out with KR and JLD today. So keep up that heat, head over to EOFire.com type Ken in the search bar, the show notes page will pop up with everything that we've talked about. Of course your direct call to action Ken Rusk. That's kenrusk.com/fire. Ken thank you brother, for sharing your truth, knowledge value with Fire Nation today, for that we salute you and we'll catch you on the flip side. Hey, Fire Nation today's value bound content was brought to you by Ken and Fire Nation. What can 3000 of the world's most successful entrepreneurs teach you?

0 (17m 55s):
How about how to achieve financial freedom and fulfillment? My first traditionally published book, The Common Path to Uncommon Success is a revolutionary 17 step roadmap that will lead you to the lifestyle that you've been dreaming about. This book took me 10 years of accumulating the genius of the world's top entrepreneurs. And you can get it all in one place. When you visit UncommonSuccessBook.com and I'll catch you there or on the flip side, have you ever thought about what it takes to make you profit by selling content online? Then you need to join Amplify with Thinkific. This free event features 30 plus expert creators who will show you how to make revenue selling content online.

0 (18m 35s):
Visit thinkific.com/amplify to RSVP for free. The My First Million podcast features famous guests, discusses how companies made their first million and brainstorm new business ideas based on the hottest trends and opportunities in the marketplace. One recent app was all about how venture capitalists make money. Listen to My First Million, wherever you get your podcasts.