Hello, again!
I’m writing this to announce the release of my fourth inspirational self-help book, which is the second in my adventurous travel series.
It features the complete and total honesty that my readers have come to expect from me, along with a wide-eyed wonder about all the experiences I enjoyed along the way.
Good or bad, flattering or embarrassing, success or setback — they are all in here.
I also share with readers the approaches, attitudes, and methods that I have employed to allow me to go off on such a big scary adventure.
And I do it with a friendly, conversational style that will remind you of getting a letter from a treasured friend.
I want people to think that if Max can do this, then What’s My Excuse? And I want to show them how they can do just that with their own dreams.
Even during the times of Corona, there are adventures all around us. From creating art or music in our homes to meeting new people online to starting a podcast or even writing that book, adventures and experiences are all around us.
I am so excited about my new book, and already has two Five-Star reviews.
Lessons I Learned
I had a lot of trouble finally completing this book. After all, it’s been almost three years since I went out on the adventure chronicled in this book.
So, you are probably asking yourself, “Why couldn’t the ‘no excuses guy’ finish his book?”
I had to ask myself that same question and give myself an honest answer.
I took an inventory of all of my activities online and in person. And I asked myself what could I most easily eliminate to give me more time and energy to write, edit, and work with my editor Lorraine Reguly to finish the book and get it out into the world.
I decided that the first thing I could do without or severely pull back from was social media.
I imposed a limit on the amount of time I would spend online until the book was published.
I chose two networks to focus on and even with them I was strict on myself.
I decided to keep up my Twitter account, and my membership in a wonderful online mastermind group Creating A Brand.
I decided to only visit Facebook, LinkedIn, or Instagram if someone posted something negative on my profiles, or if I felt someone really needed a reply.
That helped, but I still had to do more.
I eventually pulled back from replying to emails as promptly as I usually did. I sent more messages to the trash folder instead of doing something with them. And sadly, I missed a few important occasions of friends by doing so.
Finally, I had to accept that I couldn’t keep up with my schedule for posting new podcast episodes. I kept recording them because I find conversations energizing and upbuilding. And when you are pushing through to finish an especially difficult challenge, you need those emotional boosts. In hindsight, I should have pre-recorded a bunch of episodes and created posts that were scheduled to go out at a later date, because I would have been okay.
Beyond that, I could have thought to ask someone to help with the posting of the audios and the creation of the blog posts.
Thankfully, the editing and publishing of this book are behind me. And I find the work of promoting myself and my story much less stressful mentally and emotionally than writing a book.
Saying Thanks
Another thing I’m known for is showing gratitude. And I don’t just mean in the acknowledgments page.
I’ve already mentioned Lorraine once,
but she deserves an even further mention. She showed remarkable patience with me during the publishing process. She encouraged, comforted, and challenged me all along the way. And she managed to find time for me in amongst other work she was doing.
I also want to thank my friend Catherine, (Cat Lyon).
She is a friend I met during this trip and has been amazingly helpful in the process of promoting my books.
Where I do podcast bookings, she does press releases and book site submissions. Thanks to her efforts, many more people are finding out about my books. It just shows that anything is possible with friendship.
If you are an author, or you are thinking about writing a book; you really should think about engaging us. 😉
Then there is Joe, (Super Joe Pardo). Who was the first person to have the courage to put a mic in my hands and trust me with his audience.
Not a small thing when you consider he was inviting a first-time, totally blind speaker from halfway across the country.
He also consented to write the foreword for the book. And I will always treasure the knowledge that I can teach and inspire such an amazingly accomplished man as Joe.
There are so many more people that I need to thank… who I don’t want to risk your not meeting. But if I tell you who they all are and why they are important, there won’t be any reason to read the book.
I do hope you will read the book and use some of my ideas to help you accomplish your own goals and dreams.
I also hope you are entertained by the book and are transported out of your current troubles by the wonderful storytelling.
But most importantly, I want you to get to know me in the process. I’m hoping that you will see yourself as the friend I wrote the book to and reach out to me.
I want to hear about your journey. I want to share in your successes, setbacks, solutions, and celebrations.
Because without you and people like you cheering me on, I probably wouldn’t be where I am today.
Please share this post or the link to my book. It’s the best way you can show your appreciation for me and the best way you can thank yourself for having been part of my online community during my continuing adventures.
Thanks and take care out there!
~Max