Last week I told you a little bit about the new book I’m writing. 

The book is mostly done. I submitted nearly 400 typewritten pages to my editor about two months ago. He very quickly informed me that 400 pages would equal a ±700-page volume and that nobody would buy or read such a long book. 

Instead, he helped me cut it down substantially. Based on the concept of unintended consequences, there may be an unexpected advantage here – I probably have enough material for a sequel IF I can figure out how to manage and edit the worthwhile parts that wound up on the cutting room floor.

When I returned home from vacation on Saturday, I found a package with a proof copy of the book waiting for me! The book is now about 424 printed pages including index, table of contents, et al. I’m currently proofing it (AGAIN!!) and just reached page 239 so I’m a bit more than halfway through.

The title is “Is That All There is?” and the concept of the book is simple; it’s about people like you and me who reach a level of professional success and then change our lives. 

The beginning of the book is my personal story and then some of the research I’ve done into this phenomenon. The next three quarters is made up of personal interviews with 14 outstanding people who tell their stories – what they did, what they encountered, how they responded, and how they prospered when they changed their own lives. The final section looks at the similarities and differences in their recommendations and offers their proven and actionable tools, tips, and techniques for successfully changing your own life.

Each of the people profiled in the book tell fascinating human stories full of successes, failures, visions, fears, insecurities, and triumphs. And, as you might imagine, the ideas each of them offers don’t always agree with each other’s. But the benefit of their transparency and individual experiences is that you can find what works best – and what wouldn’t work – for you based on what others suggest.

Here’s one of the things I find so fascinating about this book project – the problems the folks in the book dealt with and the concerns they had dovetail almost precisely with the problems and concerns that some of your fellow blog readers tell me about. For example:

1. I’m never really certain that I’m going about things in the right way…

2. I’m not sure what my next steps should be…

3. I don’t know the best way for me to achieve maximum growth…

4. I wonder what it would be like to have a group of like-minded people working with me…

But what really blew my mind was not just the synchronicity between the interviewees and the readers, but also how I felt about the project itself. You see, 

1. I wasn’t certain I was telling the story the right way – that’s why I interviewed more than 45 people and included 14 of their stories in the book.

2. Even though I’ve already published five books, I didn’t know what my next steps were – that’s why I turned to professionals for assistance.

3. I also don’t know the best way to put my book in as many hands as possible –another reason why I’ve been working with others to get the book out there.

4. And wondering what it would be like to have other people working with me is why I interviewed folks, why I share these blogs with you, and why I created my Strategic Roundtables.

As I said, I ultimately interviewed about 45 people for the book. But now I really want to know your answers. Do these issues resonate with you? What are you thinking about for your life? What’s holding you back, where are you stuck, where do you want to go? Please click HERE to send me an email and let me know what you’re thinking. I really do want to know, and I really care about your answers.   

Thank you.