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How I Learned To Make $20k From A Single Reader

I never questioned my intellect. I studied hard. Went to a great school. Got a good job. Met a nice guy. Got married. Bought a house in Connecticut.  Had a baby.

I was 33 and it was all coming together.

There was just one problem: I was 315 pounds.

I’d gained and lost 100 pounds 4 times before, but work or school or pregnancies or whatever would get in the way and I’d gain weight at 3 times the pace I would lose it. I’d take a year, lose 100 pounds and then in 3 or 4 months – poof! I was back up to my old weight… and then some! With a new job and a new baby, Jenny Craig wasn’t cutting it.

I went to an endocrinologist who said if I took my synthroid, religiously stuck to 800 calories a day and exercised vigorously for 1-2 hours a day, I might be able to reset my weight point. But she didn’t seem to have a lot of hope.

I wanted a plan B. I needed a plan B! And that’s when I found Brooke Castillo’s book IF I’M SO SMART, WHY CAN’T I LOSE WEIGHT?

If anything was going to help – it was my brain. I had to use my intellect to my advantage. I believed Brooke’s book would help.

And that’s how I started my 5th and final weight loss journey.

I read her book. I bought her audio classes. I signed up for her live retreat. I committed to a year of one-on-one coaching. All told within 12 months of buying her book, I’d spent around $20,000.

In the 8 years that have passed since I purchased that book I’ve lost about 125 pounds. And kept it off. It did not happen overnight. But that book created a permanent change in my life. She had the answer I’d been desperately searching for 13 years.

Spending that $20,000 was an easy decision and one of the best of my life! I didn’t have the money sitting around.  It was a stretch for me. But of all the options in front of me… like say dying young, getting diabetes, losing toes, having my jaw wired shut, scoring a place on the Biggest Loser… none of them were cheap and this seemed like the best option.

Now, Brooke admits openly she didn’t love writing that book. It was hard work for her. She could have come up with a million reasons not to write it. She hadn’t coached enough people. She didn’t have enough weight loss success stories. There were already so many weight loss books. But she didn’t. She stepped up to her calling and has helped tens of thousands of people lose weight and built an amazing business in the process.

I’ve always known books had a powerful ability to change lives. I’ve been an avid reader since I was 5 years old and had worked in the book industry since I was 21. But as my personal growth journey developed I was shocked and saddened by something you may not realized:

MOST AUTHORS DON’T MAKE A DIFFERENCE WITH THEIR BOOK.

Most authors touch fewer than 250 lives with their books and invoke no permanent change in their readers.

Back in 2010 I got really curious about this. What was it about Brooke’s book that changed my life and so many others when hundreds of other weight loss books I’d read had no or little impact?

And then I had an epiphany — I read a book by a coach who shall remain nameless – and it was literally the BEST PERSONAL GROWTH BOOK I had ever read. It had a big name publisher. And no sales.

She asked me to market the book and I realized I couldn’t. The book was great – but unmarketable. I was heart broken. I thought about the people her book was meant to help and I was sad they would never get that help.

What if Brooke had called her book “Take Full Accountability for your Weight.” Or “Love Yourself Thin”? I would have never had the same experience because I would have never FOUND her book!

Time and time again this happened to me. Big name coaches with big followings would ask me to help them market their book… and I was stumped.

They HAD messages of hope and healing and transformation… but they had not written books that could make a difference. These books were more about what the AUTHOR wanted to say without really responding to what their readers needed answers for. These were not books that would or could get into readers hands and hearts unless there was some unexpected lottery win.

It was the “If You Build It They Will Come” approach to changing the world.

Good luck!

My sadness led to curiosity. I had a PhD in philosophy where I studied the causes of social change. And so I put my academic skills to use and began a rigorous content analysis of over 1000 personal growth, spiritual and self-help books. What separated good reads from books that changed lives?

It took nearly 3 years to perfect but my findings became THE DIFFERENCE PROCESS™, which I trademarked this week!

I created the DIFFERENCE PROCESS because I wanted a world where more people could find the exact answers to their problems at the touch of a button.

I created the DIFFERENCE PROCESS because I wanted coaches to be able to make $20,000 from a client AND really change their lives instead of making $10 or $100 dollars and making a tiny dent in a huge problem.

I created the DIFFERENCE PROCESS because I wanted more for authors, more for readers, more for the world, and yes, more for publishers who are so focused on book sales (since that’s how traditional publishers make their money) that they have lost sight of what really matters: DEEPLY CHANGED LIVES.

Tomorrow we kick off our 5th THREE DAYS TO DONE event. 5 authors will write their books with me over the course of the next 3 days. Keep an eye out on Facebook for updates. These will be books that change lives… maybe yours.

Do you want to make a difference? Drop me a note back. I have a few spots left (like 2 or maybe 3) for programs that would get your book published on January 12, 2016. How amazing would it be to start the year off as a published author???

Click here to apply.

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How Will You Market Your Book?

Make money with your book—watch
our book marketing webinar

By opting in, you’re joining our vibrant community! Expect 2-3 weekly newsletters packed with curated content, exclusive updates, and valuable insights to fuel your journey. Welcome to the conversation!

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