I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.
Author Lloyd Ratzlaff shares profound and moving thoughts on life through powerful essays in his book “The Crow Who Tampered with Time”.
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The Synopsis
Lloyd Ratzlaff brings the prairie landscape to life through a capacious imagination charged with wonder and the gentle irony of an awareness tempered by time and love. A remarkable new talent in the burgeoning field of literary non-fiction, Ratzlaff connects with the challenges posed by scepticism and belief, countering both the cynicism and doctrinairism of contemporary life with a renewed praise of the profound depths of the spirit and the natural world.
The Review
This was a profound and thought-provoking read. The author did an incredible job of capturing some pretty strong themes, from faith and nature as more general themes to more intricate themes like the nature of reality itself and the need to focus on the here and now rather than the future constantly. The thoughtful atmosphere the author crafted balanced the personal nature of the author’s writing style.
The heart of this narrative was in the author’s personal and heartfelt delivery of each essay. The connection the author shares to his homeland of Saskatchewan in Canada and how the land doesn’t connect to bodies of water made for powerful imagery and a great way to input imagery into the author’s writing style. The wonderment and spiritual nature o the author’s experiences and views will resonate greatly with many readers.
The Verdict
Heartfelt, captivating, and engaging, author Lloyd Ratzlaff’s “The Crow Who Tampered with Time” is a memorable collection of essays that readers will want to identify with. The emotional weight of this author’s experiences and the personal nature of each essay will allow readers to connect to the author’s messages and themes in a great way. If you haven’t yet, be sure to grab your copy today!
Rating: 10/10
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About the Author
Lloyd Ratzlaff is the author of a triptych of personal literary essays, the editor of an anthology of seniors’ writings published by READ Saskatoon, and a monthly columnist for Prairie Messenger Catholic Journal. He has served on the boards of several writing organizations and has taught writing classes for the University of Saskatchewan Certificate of Art & Design (USCAD) and the Western Development Museum. Both his creative non-fiction and professional pieces have been widely published throughout Canada and the United States. Ratzlaff lives in Saskatoon.
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.
Author Melanie Faith showcases to readers the path and means of taking their story from the writing phase to the publication phase in her book “From Promising to Published”.
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The Synopsis
You’ve been writing and honing your craft for months or years and are curious about seeking publication for your latest project. Perhaps you wonder about the next steps in the process. Look no further!
This book has a little something for every writer interested in expanding their audience and sharing their writing with readers, from pre-writing and writing your drafts to choosing your market and the writing life before, during, and after publication.
Topics covered include:
The Lovely Littles: Breaking into Literary Magazines
The Spinning Spider: Keeping Track of your Brainchildren
Options, You’ve Got ’em: Traditional, Indie/Small, University Press, or Self-Publishing
Two Streams with One Stone: To Simultaneously Submit or Not
Monetize it! Part One: All about the Benjamins; Monetize it! Part Two: Risk and a Swimming Metaphor
The Myth of the Fancy-Pants Tools
The Art of Writing the Author Bio
Paradox Meets Passion: Writer vs. Author
The Slam-Bam Reply: Now in Two Painful Varieties; Creative Noodling
F.U.N
and so much more!
The Review
This was such a thoughtful and meaningful read. Authors and aspiring writers will absolutely love this book. The author’s writing style was very pointed and personable, allowing the reader to feel more like they were in a conversation and less like they were being preached to. This friendly and relatable approach to the subject allows readers to connect more to the author’s message, and the lessons found within.
I absolutely loved the amount of information the author was able to fit into this book. From the process of crafting an author bio and finding a target audience, to more thoughtful approaches such as making multiple submissions and finding a literary magazine to be featured in, as well as the differences between an author and a writer, this book does an incredible job of not only drawing the reader in but finding the right balance of inspiration and education.
The Verdict
Honest, thought-provoking, and engaging, author Melanie Faith’s “From Promising to Published” is a must-read guide and reference book on the publishing process for authors. The knowledge the reader is able to glean from this book and the writing style will allow readers to return to this book time and time again and keeps authors invested in learning the process of getting their work published in a cohesive way. If you haven’t yet, be sure to grab your copy today!
Rating: 10/10
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About the Author
Melanie Faith is a night-owl writer and editor who moves through the daytime world with her camera. She’s an introvert who likes to wear many hats, too, including as a poet, photographer, professor, and tutor. She’s been a doodler for years but just recently started to share her perfectly imperfect doodles. She loves to write about historical settings in poetry and prose, and this fall she taught both a Leaping Worlds class for historical fiction and time-travel writers as well as a university class about publishing. She especially enjoys creating nonfiction craft books that assist fellow authors on their writing paths, including books packed with tips about writing flash fiction and poetry. Her latest published craft books are: Photography for Writers, guides for teaching online and writing a research book respectively, and From Promising to Published: A Multi-Genre, Insider’s Guide to the Publication Process (all from Vine Leaves Press). Read more about her books, classes, and arts projects at https://melaniedfaith.com.
Join WOW as we celebrate the launch of Melanie Faith’s blog tour of From Promising to Publishing. Read an interview with the author and enter to win a copy of the book
Visit Angie’s blog and read her review of From Promising to Published by Melanie Faith. She hosts a giveaway and also interviews author Melanie Faith about her book.
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.
Author and Hypnotherapist Jill K. Thomas takes readers on a journey to explore how to succeed as a business or entrepreneur pursuing your love and passion for healing in her book “The High Income Healer: How to Turn Your Healing Gift into a Full-Time Business”.
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The Synopsis
Dream of having a flourishing and fulfilling practice as a healer,
but are wrestling with the “business of healing”?
Countless healers today are stuck in jobs they hate—doing what they love at night, in fits and starts. Others are practicing their craft but struggling to make ends meet. And some never get off the ground because they have no idea how and where to start. Sound familiar?
What do they all have in common?
They’re far better healers than businesspeople.
Yet, to succeed in a healing profession today, you have to be BOTH.
Enter The High Income healer, written by Jill K. Thomas, a thriving 18-year certified hypnotherapist and successful solopreneur, who, over the years, found herself fielding endless questions from colleagues about the “business” of healing.
She quickly realized there was a huge need, not only for solid, practical nuts-and-bolts info, but also for guidance in banishing the limiting beliefs about money that keep so many healers strapped and struggling. In The High Income Healer, you’ll learn:
-The basics of business start-up, pricing and workflow planning
-Anxiety-free sales, marketing, advertising and networking
-How to effectively communicate your value, and most importantly…
-How to develop a “Money Mindset” that will have abundance flowing freely to you
Add in “barrier-busting” journaling exercises, practical action steps, and straight-shooting advice—all delivered with Jill’s empowering “you-can-do this!” guidance—and you’ll be quickly powering through blocks on the way to living your “healing dream.”
Ready to thrive as a healer, while shaving years off your “ramp-up” to profitability? Use The High Income Healer to boost your confidence as both a healer and a business person, as you build a practice that supports you—not just your clients!
The Review
This is a fantastic and well-developed read. The balance the author found between the business side of things and the healer’s path was the first thing that stood out. This balance was enhanced through the author’s writing style, which was both educational and yet very personable and honest in its delivery, and the striking tone the author made as they delivered these lessons kept the reader invested in the topic throughout the entirety of the book.
It was that balance that the author found that really become the heart of the narrative. The way author takes the time to explore what makes someone a healer, the ways in which healers are made through intense life experiences that affect them, and how healers are meant to guide their clients towards the right goal and teach them how to accomplish things, and yet it is up to the client to implement these ideas, made this half of the book shine. It was great to see this harmony as the author then showcased how healers need to find the means of separating their healing gift from the business-sided mind of their brains. Eliminating the need to stay in an employee mindset and transition into an employer state of mind was great to see explored, as were the basics of starting a business and how to interact with a client as both a healer and a business owner.
The Verdict
Captivating, thoughtful, and engaging, author Jill K. Thomas’s “The High-Income Healer” is a must-read nonfiction health and business read. The perfect way to jumpstart 2023, the author will give readers the tools they need to not only discover their passion for healing as a profession but start their own business and leave behind the day jobs they have been forced to work for years. If you haven’t yet, be sure to preorder your copy today or pick up copy on January 25th, 2023.
Rating: 10/10
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About the Author
As an Intuitive Hypnotherapist, Clairvoyant Reader, Author, Medium and Vocal Channel, Jill K Thomas, CHT has over 18 years’ experience helping clients move past limiting beliefs, discover their authentic selves, and create a life of peace and harmony. Jill has helped thousands of people realize lifestyle and wellness goals they could never before achieve, including attracting prosperity and success, overcoming debilitating phobias, healing toxic relationships, and losing weight.
Among many of her accomplishments, her most recent book, “The High Income Healer: How to Turn your Healing Gift into a Full-time Business” helps healers take their business to the next level. Her other books include “Tales From the Trance”, published by Ozark Mountain Publishing, and her well known weight loss book “Feed Your Real Hunger: Getting off the Emotional Treadmill that Keeps you Overweight”.
She has appeared on numerous radio shows, maintains her popular online blog “Confessions of a Hypnotherapist”, and has authored articles for magazines read across the nation. Her “30 Day weight loss Jumpstart” CD has also helped many people finally lose the pounds, after years of trying.
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.
Authors “Produce Pete” Napolitano and Susan Bloom take readers on an engaging journey into the life and memories of TV icon Produce Pete in the book “They Call Me Produce Pete”.
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The Synopsis
Pete Napolitano began his career in the produce industry in the early 1950s at the tender age of five, peddling fruit and vegetables door-to-door to help support his family’s New Jersey-based produce business. “Discovered” at his store by a TV producer decades later and given the moniker “Produce Pete,” he’s since become a fixture on WNBC’s Weekend Today in New York show, where his tips on selecting, storing, and preparing various produce items – all shared in his authentic, endearing, and plain-speaking style – have captivated viewers in metro New York and other U.S. and international markets for 30 years and rendered him one of the longest-running segments in TV history.
In They Call Me Produce Pete, Napolitano shares candid memories of growing up poor in post-WWII America, striving to achieve the American Dream, and landing unexpected fame as one of the nation’s leading experts on produce. Sprinkled with touching stories, photos, and family recipes that have held a special place in his heart throughout his life, They Call me Produce Pete is a nostalgic nod to simpler times and a must-read for anyone who dares to dream the impossible.
The Review
This was a touching and heartfelt read. The author did an incredible job of writing in a way that made the memoir feel personal and engaging all at once. The author’s story speaks to so many different people, from those who grew up in post-WW2 America to those who have worked in food, in particular with produce, and even those who have worked in the television field.
The balance the author struck between personal life stories and memories with the behind-the-scenes look at his career and the family recipes that have held a special place in his heart was heartwarming to read about. The honesty and passionate way the author relayed his story to the reader spoke to the author’s storied career, and yet showcased the man behind “Produce Pete” in a brilliant way. I loved how personal and memorable each recipe the author included felt to the tapestry of his life story, and kept me both emotionally and intellectually invested in the author’s life.
The Verdict
Insightful, memorable, and engaging, authors “Produce Pete” Napolitano and Susan Bloom’s “They Call Me Produce Pete” is a must-read memoir and nonfiction book. An iconic member of the television community and a leading expert in the field of produce, the story of Produce Pete will have readers invested as the author’s life plays out on the pages of this book, and the relatability of the author’s life will have readers feeling connected to the author on a personal level. If you haven’t yet, be sure to grab your copy today!
Rating: 10/10
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About the Author
With over 70 years of experience in the produce industry, renowned fruit and vegetable expert, author, and TV personality “Produce Pete” Napolitano has appeared on a highly-popular segment on NBC’s Weekend Today in New York broadcastevery Saturday morning for 30 years. They Call Me Produce Pete is the long-awaited follow-up to his first book, Produce Pete’s Farmacopeia.
Susan Bloom is an award-winning writer whose work has appeared in such New Jersey-based publications as The Star-Ledger, The Asbury Park Press, New Jersey Monthly Magazine, and Jersey’s Best Magazine as well as such national mediums as USA Today, The New York Daily News, and Natural Awakenings. She’s collaborated with Produce Pete on a broad range of articles and monthly columns for over a decade
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.
Author Eli Cohen and photographer O Zhang share an intimate look at the question of gender through a series of photos outlining an experiment on body hair in the book “A Body Hair Experiment”.
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The Synopsis
As an experiment, Eli Cohen removed the hair off the left side of his body and began to journal about the experience. The result is a luscious and intimate photo essay that invites us to challenge assumptions and unearth hidden beliefs around masculinity, femininity, and gender. These tenderly provocative photos and words create a powerful prompt and open a doorway to the vast potential of experiences within our human bodies.
Can our seemingly inconsequential decisions around body hair limit or expand our relationship to our own bodies, to desire and pleasure, and our range of emotions?
What paths toward personal and societal transformation lay upon our skin?
Does it make sense that most sweaty men never consider trimming their underarm hair?
How much meaning is braided into our body hair?
Is body hair a marker of masculinity, femininity, gender or genderqueer-ness?
How would society change if each of us had access and the ability to choose with ease and intention, smooth or hairy, for each and every body part?
The acclaimed O Zhang’s works have appeared at Guggenheim Museum and Miro Art Museum, as well as solo exhibitions in New York, Beijing, London, and Istanbul. In A Body Hair Experiment she works her magic again. These luscious black and white photos will have you going back for more.
A Body Hair Experiment is a gentle and delicious invitation. Eli Cohen presents his body in his vulnerability, showing and telling. His words weave through reflections both personal and societal, while inviting the reader to do the same.
The Review
This was a completely short yet powerful read. The author’s intimate and personal writing style allows readers to connect to the deeper themes of sexuality, gender identity, and gender norms as a whole as it relates to the human body and how we perceive it. The thoughtful atmosphere each passage invoked in the reader allowed for a more introspective reading experience that challenged the reader to fully grasp these themes.
For me, the power of this book came from a balance of the author’s moving words and the photographer’s stunning imagery. The themes speak to so many people and reflect on how our society forces certain roles and perspectives on different groups of people. From men not being able to feel comfortable being in touch with a more “feminine” ideal to the need to assign physical and material aspects of our daily life to a specific gender, and having these impact our perception of a person’s sexuality as a whole, really moved me, and to see this stem from something that seems so simple such as a body hair experiment and to see it blossom the way it does was powerful to read.
The Verdict
Heartwarming, thoughtful, and reflective, author Eli Cohen’s “A Body Hair Experiment” is a must-read photography book. Due to its release in January of 2023, the author and photographer both deliver a moving story of redefining our relationship with our bodies and separating society’s expectations from our own feelings and emotions. The passionate way the author shares his story and the deeper themes really will speak to many readers out there. Be sure to grab your copy early 2023.
Rating: 10/10
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About the Author
Eli Cohen was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. At the age of fifty, he began to share his personal journey through the prevalence of arbitrary gender markers and his transgression of them. He is the founder of Spacious Human, a movement to create thoughtful awareness for human expression.
Cohen is a personal embodiment activist and a facilitator of events and experiences during which people can explore clothing and appearance norms with intention and feel in their bodies the corresponding freedom that alternate choices can provide. He uses the transformative powers of dress and expression to provide humans with the opportunity to excavate their own hidden emotions and beliefs relating to both masculinity and femininity.
Cohen is also a writer, dancer, and speaker, and has been featured on podcasts such as Late Night Health Radio, The Positive Head, and The Pleasure Report, among others. He has given talks at venues such as the Lightning Society and has appeared in the Gothamist.
He is a father, grandfather, and lives with his wife and daughter in Brooklyn, New York.
1) Tell us a little bit about yourself. How did you get into writing?
I never imagined I would write a book. I grew up on a farm where if you “had enough time to read a book, you had enough time to do chores”. No one in my family, or community, read books, or had an education beyond year 11. I was the first.
I read nonfiction for my education, but I never read for pleasure. Then I started reading bedtime stories to my now 10 year old daughter. I wanted her to see me reading. I bought a kindle and the rest is history.
I have worked as an borderline academic and independent consultant for many years. Before I started writing THE JOB HUNTING BOOK my writing style reflected that. Yawn. It needed to change.
I wanted to instill a voice into my writing. I studied books on craft like William Zinsser’s classic “on writing well”, books on book marketing, and books on writing fast. I listened to writing podcasts. I had always learnt new skills through studying nonfiction books, and so I thought I could learn storytelling that way too. I discovered narrative nonfiction and creative nonfiction styles, but reading books about those only took me so far. I realized that I had to read fiction if I was to understand storytelling.
These days I read widely. Nonfiction business, marketing and career books. Podcasts have introduced me to whole new genres. Monster, billionaire, sweet, erotic, enemies to lovers, and a bunch of other romance styles. Also, time travel and fantasy genres, and historical fiction, especially WWII historical fiction. Oh my, I do read a lot these days.
But, the books that most helped me find my writing voice were Richard Wake’s Alex Kovacs historical thriller espionage series. I found myself forgetting that I was reading. It was like I was there. I’d not been in that headspace before. Richard nailed the banter I witnessed from WWII veterans when I was a teenager. I had found the “voice” I had been searching for. Its unlikely you’ll see the connection in my book, but that lightbulb moment was pivotal in turning my book from a dry consultant’s report into something that, I hope you agree, is an easy to read nonfiction book.
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2) What inspired you to write your book?
I was good at winning work for my small consultancy and the word had got out. In my circle, I became the go-to person to help apply for jobs. The draft job applications and cold pitches people presented me with were usually terrible. Consistently my (mostly) young friends undersold themselves and failed to address a job’s description.
In my consulting life I had learned that if you want to have your best chance at winning a tender, you need to make it easy for your client to hire you. That’s means, addressing the tender selection criteria and having a “profile” that’s big enough to give project officers the ability to confidently go to their superiors and recommend a contract be awarded to you.
I saw the link between me winning tenders and job seekers winning a job. Job seekers need a profile that’s “just big enough” to make it easy for a hiring manager to hire them. These days there’s any number of possible home bases for that, but for most people it will be LinkedIn. The trick is to use your home base to demonstrate to an employer that you’re the perfect hire. By doing your research, you can align yourself with a business, and even a hiring manager. Magically, you’re the candidate who meets their needs. You’ve made their life easy. Yay. Of course, you’ve done the hard work, so it’s not magic.
3) What theme or message do you hope readers will take away from your book?
Once you have a career in mind, you need to play the long game and make yourself just famous enough to get onto a hiring manager’s radar. When you do this right, you’re more likely to have success with the jobs you apply for, but employers are also likely to approach you. Imagine that… being approached by an employer and so not having to compete for a job!
4) What drew you into this particular genre?
I’m a teacher at heart. I always enjoyed the feeling of making a difference to people’s lives when I was teaching geography at my local university. Knowing that I had helped inspire someone into a career that they obviously loved, I was proud when former students sat next to me at conferences. I wanted more of that feeling.
I could have written another geography book, or a sustainability book. But to be honest, I wanted a change. Being a first generation graduate, I had always felt that my career would have been a lot easier had I had a career mentor. I needed more than the generous skills-mentors I had always had. I wanted to offer to young people what had not been offered to me.
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5) What social media site has been the most helpful in developing your readership?
LinkedIn
6) What advice would you give to aspiring or just starting authors out there?
READ. READ. READ. Read widely and read often. Listen to podcasts about writing, and about book marketing. Start working on your social media presence early.
Pay attention to book metadata like keywords and categories and incorporate them into your book title and book description if you can. Don’t skimp on your book cover and get your blurb professionally written.
7) What does the future hold in store for you? Any new books/projects on the horizon?
I’ll continue marketing THE JOB HUNTING BOOK until early 2023. I’m already planning my next two books – probably a workbook to accompany THE JOB HUNTING BOOK, and a LinkedIn for Job Seekers book. Once again, they’ll be aimed at early career job seekers.
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About the Author
Life has a way of throwing up challenges. Mine happened in my late teens. In the final year of my apprenticeship a nasty workplace accident forced me to rethink my career.
Fast forward to my early 30s, I’d been a furniture restorer, a furniture removalist, a bingo caller, a pedestrian accident researcher, a condom tycoon (for some reason that failed to impress my girlfriend’s mother), a software engineer, and a lecturer and researcher in spatial science. I won jobs, sometimes due to my tenacity, but looking back, mostly through word of mouth.
In the 90s I started a consultancy and did spatial modelling for universities, the water industry, all levels of the Australian government and the UN. Magically, consulting work and now my employees came via word of mouth.
So, after 40 years as an employee and as a consultant, I’ve learnt that the secret sauce for getting work is relationships, especially professional relationships. These need not be insincere or manipulative. Opportunities naturally arise for those who make the effort. The trick to giving relationships their best chance of yielding work is to put yourself in the other person’s boots and empathize with their problems, their hopes and their dreams. Getting work becomes a simpler exercise when you’ve customized your offering to meet someone’s needs. And that idea is essentially what I’m on about.
I’m a teacher at heart. Now, in my 50’s, I can look back on my career as an employee looking for work, as a consultant winning work, and as an employer hiring and firing. The guidance I write was not around for me when I was starting out. In the absence of a mentor, I had to work it out for myself. And so here are some of my thoughts for you.
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.
Author Mark James Murphy takes readers on a journey to find the means of leaving the rat race behind and living a life of travel and adventure in his book “Travel For As Long As You Wish: The Blueprint for Budget Travel, Backpacking, and Escaping the Rat Race.”
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The Synopsis
Learn how to escape the 9 to 5 and live your dream life, without delaying any longer!
What if you could say goodbye to the daily grind and fill every day with adventure and experiences, packed with true value and meaning right now?
From humble North-East roots, in the industrial city of Sunderland, U.K to becoming an artist, adventurer and teacher, Mark James Murphy did exactly that and wants to show how it’s possible for everyone.
This book gives you the ultimate tools and knowledge to get unstuck from the rut of the rat race once and for all and travel for as long as you wish. Whether you are young and inexperienced in travel or a seasoned globetrotter or you have retired and have more time on your hands to explore the world, this book will give you the very latest travel advice and explore the following topics:
How to prepare for your trip, what and how to pack
The latest digital devices for traveling and useful apps
Insightful personal experiences from my own adventures
Reasons why we want to travel and what meaningful travel is
Why you can travel with very little money
How to find your own value and generate finances from this as you travel
Avoid scams while in a new country
Great tips and discount information for senior travelers
Plus: Unique travel destinations for 2023 and beyond, some of which you may never of heard of before!
Escape your day job and travel the world now. Don’t wait until tomorrow, make this book a vital part of your collection and live your dreams today.
The Review
This was a truly well-researched and valuable guide to travel for newcomers and experts alike. The author’s honesty and hopeful tone in the book helped to elevate the information the author provided, and the imagery of the author’s own personal experiences and memories help to illustrate these lessons and themes the author imparts to the reader.
As someone who has always dreamed of traveling the world, the concept behind this book was definitely appealing. The thing that stuck out to me was the author’s emphasis that this was not a book you would read once and walk away from, but instead, return to over and over again as the need to fine-tune one’s road trip goals comes up in life. The exploration of the journey and self-exploration as being part of the travel experience was inspiring, and the way the author challenges the reader to confront our fears and shed the doubts that always prevent our goal of traveling and experiencing new cultures was both bold and inviting.
The Verdict
Thoughtful, engaging, and insightful, author Mark James Murphy’s “Travel For As Long As You Wish: The Blueprint for Budget Travel, Backpacking, and Escaping the Rat Race” is a must-read nonfiction travel guide that you won’t be able to put down. The educational purpose of the book balances out the relatability and emotional connection readers make to the author and his experiences in travel, and the thought-provoking look into travel itself will keep readers invested in the author’s story as time goes on. If you haven’t yet, be sure to grab your copy today!
Rating: 10/10
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About the Author
Mark James Murphy is an artist, teacher, adventurer, and writer. He was born in Sunderland, North-East England in the early 1980s. He has solo traveled extensively throughout the world and in 2017 decided to leave behind his job and apartment in the UK to teach English in Vietnam, South East Asia, for almost five years, describing it as the best moment of his life so far. There he also continued developing his practice as an artist and printmaker, documenting his travels through the medium of linocut. In 2019 he fulfilled a childhood dream when he backpacked for two months throughout the whole of India, ending up in a remote village in the Himalayan foothills. He has played football with local kids in the Sahara desert, lived with Hmong people high in the mountains of North Vietnam, and worked as a farmhand in Southern Spain. Mark is currently based just outside of London.
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.
Author Scott Schwefel shares the strategies and lessons he discovered throughout his life to live a consistent, purpose-driven life in the book “Discover Yourself: Understand Who You Are, What You Do Well, and What You Are Passionate About”.
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The Synopsis
Highly successful people think differently. They own certain habits and rituals that set them apart from others. They know themselves, they operate every day with purpose… and you can be one of them. Successful entrepreneur, author, and global presenter Scott Schwefel, whose Ted Talk has been viewed by more than two million people, now shares these secrets of success with you in Discover Yourself. Schwefel has taught these principles to over 3000 CEOs, and has spoken to more than 1000 audiences across the globe in London, Paris, Shanghai, Amsterdam, Kuwait, and Beijing. He has even lived with the Haadza and Maasai tribes in Tanzania, adding to his global perspective.
Do you want to live a consistent, purpose-driven life? Discover ways to tap into your creative brilliance? Discover your unique personality type to live up to your full potential? Discover your own path to personal success? Then Discover Yourself is for you!
The Review
This was such a passionate and well-researched book. The self-help and motivational guide do an incredible job of cutting to the core of the individual reading through the author’s own experiences and life lessons that can speak to a multitude of people. The fast-paced and thoughtful style of writing allowed the author to really showcase to readers a more grounded approach to success.
One of the first and most impactful things that stood out to me was the author’s focus on an individual’s passion and interests as a driving force for their success in life. Far too often people will encourage others to seek answers outside of their interests, and the passions that fuel them are often extinguished after years of hard work in other industries. The way author allows readers to take a different approach to everyday ways of thinking, from the age-old question of “who are you” becoming “who are you (to others)”, to laying out the detailed 8 steps that the author has found for success, made for both an educational and inspiring read.
The Verdict
Captivating, thought-provoking, and engaging, author Scott Schwefel’s “Discover Yourself: Understand Who You Are, What You Do Well, and What You Are Passionate About” is a must-read nonfiction motivational and a self-help guide for both business-oriented and everyday readers alike. The heart and passion that the author writes with shine through and adds a depth of interaction between the author and reader as the educational aspect of the book comes to life. If you haven’t yet, be sure to grab your copy today!
Rating: 10/10
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About the Author
Scott speaks to organizations who want to leverage new communication strategies to increase sales, profits and productivity. As a serial entrepreneur, Scott founded and grew Minnesota’s largest technology training company to over $12MM, and then sold the company in 2003. His company was named one of the 50 fastest growing private companies in Minnesota in 1997 and 1998, and he was named to Minnesota’s 40 under 40 list of successful top executives. Scott then founded and grew Insights Twin Cities to over $3MM and sold it to Insights in Scotland in 2014.
Scott Schwefel is a Certified Speaking Professional, CSP, a designation held by less than 10% of all professional speakers. He has been speaking and teaching the Brain Science of Communication to organizations globally for over two decades. His Ted Talk has over 2,750,000 views. He has presented in Paris, London, Amsterdam, Geneva, Shanghai, Portugal, Beijing and Kuwait, and he has also trained and coached over 3000 CEOs personally. He is a published author, has lived remotely with the Hadza and Maasai tribes in Tanzania, and is a featured speaker for Vistage, the largest organization of CEOs in the world.
I have always been a doer and banked on working my way through anything, but how effective that is change throughout life. My first hint was at 41 years old and a few weeks away from delivering my first and only child, when my midwife was packing up her bag from our visit, she looked over her shoulder to say, “You know it’s good for moms to have things to do that are just theirs.”
I nodded.
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“You, know,” she mindfully continued, “some Moms have to work, and some moms choose to work and it’s not so much the money at times, but what you get back for doing something that you really love to do, or just like to do, but it is something for you.”
“Uh-huh,” I smile. I am so naive in this moment I can only esoterically nod at what she was saying; I cannot really understand the lifeline she has thrown me before she walks out the door that day, but I bet she did.
My son came into this world fully loaded with fire and change; his arrival opened a new era, and all change brings some dissolution. We can be surprised in the form, but as we journey forward in years we can start to sense those waves of change coming.
“You should start a podcast,” my sweet and reliable friend Joe told me one day out of the blue.
“What? I have a baby. I have no time,” I retorted.
“It’s not that hard and I think you would really enjoy it. Our podcast together has the highest ratings,” he continued. “And I could share my equipment with you..”
“What do you mean highest ratings?” I listened as Joe talked about the numbers on our one off show, and the details of microphones, and the help he was going to give me to get going. Our decades-old friendship had this swinging cadence of uplifting each other, so I was able to entertain this perplexing thought of me starting a podcast with only internal scrutiny because I knew his intentions were pure.
I hemmed and hawed over it. Crafted an intention and an arc, reached out to inspirational people I knew and the Rebirth podcast was born. You know what? I loved it. I loved talking. I loved the microphone. I loved sharing people’s stories. It brought me so much joy. Even when I had to record episodes in my car because the baby was sleeping, and there was no reception in the basement to record. Even when someone asked me how many listeners I had, and I didn’t know 50 downloads an episode was low, because 50 people was a great number for a local talk, which was how I looked at it. The podcast became a respite of creativity in a sea of self-less motherhood.
Life wasn’t in the easiest flow otherwise, and someone said to me, “You spend a lot of time on that podcast and it doesn’t make any money.”
I was sitting at a table eating, legs crossed, fork in hand; I blinked. I felt a small dip in my stomach, when a voice inside—who I hadn’t heard for awhile—quietly cautioned me that this was not the thing to let go of. Her quietness gave me pause, even as my mind agreed that the podcast was not producing monetarily. I kept a solid face. I gave a non-verbal acknowledgment of the statement and decided to stay the course, with or without support.
About six months later, and I tell this story in the book, an acquaintance calls and tells me she is starting a publishing company and she wants to sign me as an author. I say yes, and again tell no one. If I had no time for a podcast, I certainly didn’t have the resources to write a book, but a someday-author doesn’t say no when the call comes.
A good six months after the call from my now publisher, I have moved out of the house where I held my fork and my tongue, and I am sitting at a new coffee-table, a single parent with a book contract, immense writer’s block and deafening pressure. I keep going though, unseen and well loved hands, helping along the way. I invite my publisher on to my podcast to share her story of leaps and faith.
She calls me the next day, “Kate, the podcast is the book.”
“What?” I echo.
“You are so good at asking the questions and distilling the essence. I was thinking about it last night and I woke up this morning and realized, the podcast is the book.”
I felt a full body rush of agreement.
The podcast began on a borrowed microphone in 2018, and the book hit #1 in New Thought on its release day (purposely set on Fall Equinox, a day of balance and harvest) in 2022. The book started as a postpartum project in agreement that sometimes it is good for a person to have and create what they love, to not get lost in the waves of sacrifice. The fire of change and dissolution that came through in my son’s birth, also created fertile soil for the lifelong-someday dream of being a published writer. If I had planned it, I would not have lived the process of growth to become it.
Do not let go of that which brings you joy, for in the moment when you think there is no way possible, the innate roadmap of your rebirth has already begun making its way to you.
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About the Author
Kate Brenton, author, teacher and mother, helps women connect the dots between their purpose and their passion. Her first book Rebirth: Real-life stories about what happens when you let go and let life lead hit #1 on Amazon for New Thought, and can also be found at your favorite bookseller. Once a high school English teacher, Kate spent seven years in Hawaii learning holistic healing and now braids the power of story — whether in the bones or on the page — to inspire and uplift. She teaches online classes and retreats for spiritual development and inspiration. She also hosts a cohort, Sit & Write for mission-led authors.
