how to write a book that sells you - key insights from my coach on writing a book that builds your r
August 13, 2025 • 39 mins
Bring your revolutionary ideas to life with guest Robin Colucci, and her company World Changing Books. Robin helps high-impact leaders transform their expertise into a book that redefines the rules, challenges conventions, and builds a lasting legacy.
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Ask Good Questions is broadcast live Wednesdays at 6PM ET on W4CY Radio (www.w4cy.com) part of Talk 4 Radio (www.talk4radio.com) on the Talk 4 Media Network (www.talk4media.com). Ask Good Questions is viewed on Talk 4 TV (www.talk4tv.com).
Ask Good Questions Podcast is also available on Talk 4 Media (www.talk4media.com), Talk 4 Podcasting (www.talk4podcasting.com), iHeartRadio, Amazon Music, Pandora, Spotify, Audible, and over 100 other podcast outlets.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
The topics and opinions expressed in the following show are
solely those of the hosts and their guests and not
those of W FOURCY Radio. It's employees are affiliates. We
make no recommendations or endorsements for radio show programs, services,
or products mentioned on air or on our web. No
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or its employees are affiliates. Any questions or comments should
be directed to those show hosts. Thank you for choosing
(00:21):
W FOURCY Radio.
Speaker 2 (00:29):
Welcome to to Ask Good Questions Podcasts, broadcasting live every Wednesday,
six pm Eastern Time on W four CY Radio at
w four cy dot com. This week and every week,
we will reach for a higher purpose in money and life,
as well as a focus on health and wellment. Now,
(00:49):
let's join your host, Anita bell Anderson, as together we
start with Asking Good Questions.
Speaker 3 (01:01):
Hello, and welcome to the Ask Good Questions podcast. I
am so happy you are here today and you are
in for a treat. I would like to invite my
guests for today to join the podcast stage. Her name
is Robin Calucci, my friend and my book coach. Hello, Robin, Hi, Bonnie.
Speaker 4 (01:26):
Nice to see you.
Speaker 3 (01:28):
Good to see you. Hey, I'm going to tell everyone
a little bit about you first, Okay, cool, Well, Robin Robin.
So I'm coming at you from Hawaii and Robin is
coming at you from Connecticut.
Speaker 4 (01:40):
Right, ma'am, Yes, ma'am.
Speaker 3 (01:42):
Yeah. So we're dealing with time zones. But that's okay,
we're both.
Speaker 4 (01:46):
It's both.
Speaker 3 (01:47):
It's cool. So Robin is more than a book coach.
She's a visionary mentor and a strategist for leaders ready
to transform their expertise into a legacy that reshapes our world.
How about that? Her journey began with a mentorship from
a New York Times best selling author, and she developed
(02:08):
skills in research, writing, editing, and that foundation led her
to roles in journalism in a position as an acquisitions
editor at an indie that means independent right publishing house,
where she found her calling guiding experts to bringing impactful
(02:29):
books to life. With a BA in journalism and an
MA in spiritual psychology, Robin's credentials are only rivaled by
her successes. In a mere four years. Her clients recently
have collected more than six point three million in advances.
Signing with Big five publishing houses as well as important
(02:52):
independent presses, and have gone on to hit best sellers
lists all the way from Amazon to the New York Times.
So as the author of how to Write a Book
That Sells, which is what impacted me, she dismantles myths
about a book's purpose, providing a roadmap to meaningful impact
(03:14):
and inspired by luminaries like Maya Angelo, I think that's
how you say her name. Robin blends skill with a
heart centered approach rooted in resilience, integrity, and bold vision.
To her, a book is more than ink on paper.
It really is. It's a gateway to lasting impact, a
(03:34):
chance to change lives and leave an enduring legacy. So, Robin,
we're going to start today with a little story. This
is actually my story, right.
Speaker 4 (03:48):
I'm excited.
Speaker 3 (03:50):
I had gone through it's been about twenty five years ago.
Then I went through a devastating divorce and it completely
upended my life in the lives of my three daughters.
And I was rebuilding my life, and I had started
writing my story maybe thirteen years ago of rebuilding my
(04:11):
life and the challenges and just what I was doing
to just you know, get going again, and you know
basically that's like midlife, but I never really got anywhere.
I had also been looking at all the different examples
of people losing money in life, because that's what I
was doing and my midlife experiences in starting over, and
(04:35):
I was looking at what the common threads were, you know,
why am I doing this to myself? You know? And
I was looking at common threats from anywhere from athletes
to lottery winners, to divorces to just bad money management.
And so I along the way, I'm starting to listen
to some webinars on writing a book, including some gal
(05:00):
named Robin Calucci. That was maybe a year or so
before the phone rings, so that was about ten years ago.
We conferred on that that it was about ten years ago.
She calls me out of the blue and asked if
(05:22):
I needed help. I was just astounded. I was like,
this is Robin Calucci, the Robin Calucci that I listened
to your webinar sometime back, I don't know, six months
and then you did a webinar. I'm writing a book
that Robin Calucci, And can you tell us why you
(05:42):
called me? Well?
Speaker 4 (05:44):
Yeah, I can actually because I you know, I had
just moved to Connecticut. From Colorado. So it had been
a dream of mine to move back to Connecticut, where
I was born for many, many years. And when my
daughter finished high school in the spring of twenty sixteen,
(06:08):
I loaded up the truck and I moved to Connecticut
like just a few months later. And so I had
just arrived in Connecticut in the fall of twenty sixteen,
and I was also at the time working with a
business coach who.
Speaker 3 (06:29):
You know.
Speaker 4 (06:29):
One of the things he prescribed was if you get
like an inner urging or voice to do something, you should.
You know that would grow your business, you should just
do it. And so I was sitting in the living
room of a house I was renting while I was
trying to find a house to buy.
Speaker 5 (06:47):
And.
Speaker 4 (06:49):
My inner urging said, you should open up your At
the time, they called it infusion soft. I think they
call it keep now. But you should open up your
contacts and look down the list and see if anybody's
name jumps out that you should reach out to. And
so I did, and you jumped out, and so I
(07:13):
because you must have opted into my list when you
heard the webinar.
Speaker 3 (07:17):
I'm fine, I don't remember, but we must have.
Speaker 4 (07:21):
It's the only way I could have had your number,
and so I called and you answered and then we
started talking. So that's how it happened. It was literally
just like an inner voice or pull saying you should
just take a look and see who who. Here's what's interesting, Bunnie.
(07:42):
Is the question that I was with my coach, David Nabel,
the question that I was trained to ask, that this
program taught me to ask, which was which I still
do to this day, is who can I help today?
Whose life can I change today?
Speaker 3 (07:59):
And we can use that for anything.
Speaker 4 (08:01):
Anything, any kind of any service that you are, anything
that you do, and so we're just showing up every day, right,
And so that was the question I asked. And your name,
you know, when I was going down the list, and
obviously you were in the b's or the a's, so
you came up. I don't remember if it was alphabetise
(08:23):
my first or second name, but either way, you would
come up early.
Speaker 2 (08:29):
Well.
Speaker 3 (08:29):
And if you would have told us, if if a
little voice it would have said in ten years, if
Bonnie's going to be interviewing Robin on her podcast, we
would have gone, what's a podcast?
Speaker 4 (08:42):
Right? Right? Don't you know? It didn't take me long
talking to you to realize that you were definitely a
go getter type of a gal. So I can't say
it would have shocked me. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (08:58):
Well, the end result was that obviously I hired her
to get me going because I was really I was
just I just didn't have any oomph to get going
with this, and I really, but I really wanted to
get this done, and I used her book as a
guide as I began thinking about what I wanted to do.
(09:19):
Her book is called how to Write a Book that
Sells You. And there were some things that you stress
to me that I'd like your comments on. Like a
lot of people, Well, see, in my case, I was
wanting this to help my business. Plus I wanted to
just go out and make an impact in the world.
But why do you think books can help somebody with
(09:43):
their business?
Speaker 4 (09:45):
Well, I think that there's a lot of reasons why.
I think the one that people think of generally first
is that you know, if you have an author, it
adds credibility to you know. It's it's one thing to say, oh,
this is Bonnie the wealth coach. It's another thing to say,
(10:07):
this is Bonnie the author and wealth coach. So I mean,
it always carries some ravitas to it, but honestly, I
what I have come to realize over many decades of
helping people write books, because I think that the real
reason writing a book helps your business is it makes
(10:27):
you better at your business. It makes you a better expert.
And the reason it does you made me think, Yeah, exactly,
if you write a book properly and you really force yourself,
or you have someone in your life who really forces.
Speaker 3 (10:44):
You you, yeah, no, would you would push me?
Speaker 4 (10:50):
Yeah? Yeah? And And really, my job when I'm coaching
you or any you know this, or any client, but
you had this experience firsthand, my job is to help
you say what you actually mean to say versus the
first thing that comes out of your mouth, which or
(11:11):
out of your mind, which usually the first time we
say something out loud. The first time we write something
down isn't usually the exact thing that we mean. It's close,
but it needs some refining. And the other thing that
I'm sure you would remember from your experience is that
(11:31):
once we started interrogating the statements, then you discovered things.
Speaker 3 (11:36):
That you didn't even know that you knew yeah or
you didn't. And then we're gonna come back to that
because we kind of switch gears midstream. Yeah, when I
started realizing some things and I was like, oh, so,
so I want you to make a comment before we
(11:57):
go into that more. You have said how you start
is important because it's going to determine how you finish. Yeah,
when you talk a little bit more about that, absolutely,
because I think that.
Speaker 4 (12:15):
A lot of people who've never written a book before
make the mistake if they get a book idea and
then they start writing, and a lot of people even
coach them to do that, Oh you have a book,
well you should just start writing. That's the thing that
you just start writing. And actually when people do that,
(12:38):
usually one of two things happens. Either they never finish
the book because once they start writing on the idea,
they realize it's they don't have enough there for a book.
It's more like an article, and then they fizzle out.
Or they finish the book and then you know, it's
like it's like the cat that catches them out and
(13:00):
doesn't know what to do with it. So it's it's
like I don't know do I eat it? Do I
kill it? Like what do I do? Play with it?
Like I don't know what to do with this thing
because they didn't think about the book strategically, and so
they've gone from there and all the way through publishing it,
and the book doesn't have actually a purpose in their
(13:20):
business or a purpose in the world that's clear. Then
it turns out to not really land the way the
author hoped. So how you start is getting super clear
on why you're writing the book, who's going to read it,
why they're going to read it, and what do you
want to do with that reader once they have your book.
(13:44):
And we worked through all of those with you.
Speaker 3 (13:48):
Well, I want to dive into a couple of things.
First of all, just for everyone to know what we're
talking about, is my book called Suddenly Wealthy, The Athlete's
Guide to Winning the Money Game. Now, the very first
thing somebody might say is, wait a minute, I thought
this was your story. So we're going to come back
to that. But and I tried to squeeze that whole
(14:10):
title onto the little thing out at the bottom, but
it wouldn't go. But it is on Amazon.
Speaker 4 (14:15):
Yes, but.
Speaker 3 (14:18):
Let's discuss the five there's five steps in your book
and the author personality. Yeah, so I'm just let let's
dive into that, and I'm just going to say what
the five personalities are and then let's talk about that
so people can see where that sounds interesting. So the spontaneous, creative,
(14:39):
the methodical, master, the shaman. I think I identified the
most with that one, the town cry and the town
crier was kind of like sometimes, you know, I think
you identified a little bit with this, a little bit
with that calrier.
Speaker 4 (14:53):
Most people have a little better of at least two.
Speaker 3 (14:57):
Yeah, so let's discuss those those five types.
Speaker 4 (15:03):
Yeah. Sure. So basically the reason I came up with
this is I realized it all started before that when
I was chatting with another friend of mine and I
just happened to say, off the cuff, well, you know,
there's only four ways to structure a best selling book.
(15:25):
And she was like, what did you say. I was like, well,
there's only four functional structures for a book. And she's
like that, Robin, that's a million dollar idea. And I said, no,
it's obvious. She goes, no, it's not obvious. We all
(15:45):
need people in our lives. This is a great example
of we're having someone to reflect back on you, back
to you what you're saying. Well, you're because I to me,
it was just of course it was obvious. Well, then
I realized that not everybody's cut out to write in
the same way like some people, like a spontaneous creative,
(16:08):
for example, is a fast thinking, fast moving person with
a probably a fairly short attention span and not a
lot of patients. So to ask that person to write
like a full length narrative with like a three hundred
page story arc is not that they can't do it.
(16:28):
Anybody can write any kind of book with enough effort
and focus and help, but it's not going to come
naturally to them. But there's another structure that's one of
the four bestseller blueprints, which is called an organized list format,
where you have lots of short chapters and you write
(16:50):
the chapter, you make your point, you get out, you
write the next chapter. So this would be like one
thousand and one Ways to Be Romantic or something, a
book like that right where It's got or even you know,
Chicken Soup for the Soul technically is kind of structured
that way. It's like short story in and out, so
you can you can start anywhere in the book and
(17:10):
not be lost, right, So it's great for people who
don't have long attention spans, right. But you know another personality,
the methodical master. That person likes order and structure and
they like things to happen, you know, like they like methodology, right,
So they might be more analytical thinkers, they might be researchers.
(17:31):
It might be you know, scientists. Sometimes my scientists clients
love this model. And that's where you go generally from
the simplest when you start with like the big idea
at the overarching idea, and then you go from the
simplest portion of the idea and you go up to
greater complexity, or you start with step one, step two,
(17:55):
step three, you know. So my book is written as
an as a as a traditional outline blueprint, which is
for the methodical master. Now I am kind of like
a blend between a methodical master and a spontaneous creative
which is really weird. But so I wrote a traditional
(18:18):
outline book, but I could have written whatever structure. I
often do write whatever structure when I'm working with clients.
But the idea of the author personality test is to
figure out where are your tendencies, what type of structure
might be the easiest with how your mind works, And
(18:41):
so that's how I came.
Speaker 3 (18:43):
You might say, you know, which one resonates the most
with you? You know, right, Yeah, that was kind of
how I was looking at it. Yeah, so the shaman,
because I really had done that at all. I hadn't.
I had just you know, like you said, Oh, I
just started writing and yeah, so this was very helpful.
Speaker 4 (19:07):
Good, I'm glad. Yeah. Yeah, people love taking the test.
I mean the feedback I got is everybody's like, oh,
I just love that personality test. I mean I I
don't administer it directly to my clients, but every single
one of them gets my book and they so they
all end up doing it and telling me what they are.
So yeah, okay.
Speaker 5 (19:30):
And then there's the shaman storyteller, right, the shaman shaman
teach true story often so, but there's also.
Speaker 4 (19:48):
Ideally the shaman is telling you a fable. Right, So
when you look at books like Who Move My Cheese
or The Pat Laconi, you know, five dysfunctions of a
team like these, these books are taking truth and converting
it to fiction to tell symbolic stories, and so that
(20:12):
that really appeals to the shaman personality because there's always
an element of the shaman of the magical, mysterious, uh,
you know, otherworldly, And so you can have a lot
of freedom as the if you're if you're a shaman
(20:33):
and you want to write a book, you can give
yourself a lot of freedom by turning practical teachings into
some sort of mystical story. Yeah, and that might be
more fun to write than a traditional, outlined, you know,
step one, step two, step three kind of book for
that personality.
Speaker 3 (20:51):
Yeah, and then what about the town crier. I see
somebody on a box on a street.
Speaker 4 (21:01):
Yeah, exactly exactly. The town crier is the used to
be the person that would shout the news to this
before before we had CNN. So yeah, so the town
crier is basically saying, hey, everybody, look at this. Uh
(21:21):
so this might be I think a really good example
is like Malcolm Gladwell's The Tipping Point right where he
wrote about how trends start and so we all knew
the trends happened, but nobody really had thought about or
thought about it describing or explaining how that happens until
(21:43):
that book. So that was That's an example of somebody
who took a mundane fact that exists and made it
interesting and newsworthy by pointing out to us something that
was right in front of us but we didn't see.
(22:03):
So that can be one example. Yeah, I mean the
town crier is that it's just as they're saying, hey,
look at this in a new way.
Speaker 3 (22:19):
Yeah, right right. Well, and then there's the investigator. And
I can't remember because somebody might say, well, isn't the
investigator the same as like the methodical master. How's the
investigator different?
Speaker 6 (22:31):
Oh?
Speaker 4 (22:31):
Very different. So the investigator was my mentor, David Wise,
who wrote the very first expose on the CIA, became
a New York Times bestseller, and then went on to
write Expose Is on lots of stuff that mostly related
(22:52):
to espionage between the United States and the former Soviet Union,
and then went on to write a book about espionage
from China and to the US. So uh, and every
one of his books was an expose. So the expose
is the book that uncovers something hidden that affects the
(23:18):
community in some way. And the investigator has that bloodhound
mentality where they are going to get to the bottom
of it, and so they're they're they're they're good at research,
they're good at interviewing. I think the best investigators like
(23:39):
my mentor. David Wise was so impeccable. He was so
concerned with making sure he got everything right that well
I got, I got a funny story, and I got it.
So so he was so impeccable, but I got it
(23:59):
about getting everything right that he could get people to
talk to him. And now realize he was talking to
people from the FBI and the CIA who literally could
lose their job or maybe even go to jail for
talking to him, and they trusted him. They trusted him
because they knew he would get it right, and they
knew he would protect their identities if they needed that.
(24:23):
I got to experience his impeccability in one way that
I almost quit my job because because you know, how
you do everything, Bonnie, is how how you do one
thing is how you do everything. Okay, Yeah, I learned
that from Harvicker years and years ago. So this is
a perfect demonstration. So David was impeccable about getting the
(24:46):
facts right, making sure everybody's name was spelled correctly, protecting
his sources, completely reliable, but he was also very particular
about other things and I'll never forget. And he trained
me like he trained me on how to where to
properly place the stamp on an envelope. He trained me
(25:06):
how to properly address a letter to a senator, you know,
like if we're doing like invitations to a party for
a senator and their wife. Yeah, all these proper things.
And I was fine with all of that. One day
he asked me to make a few copies for him.
So I so I did, and I, you know, and
there were a few pages. So I make the copies
(25:27):
and then I put the pages together, and I put
and I staple them together, and I take a look
at and I'm about to put it in his inbox,
and I take a look at the staple and I'm like,
oh man, that might be just a little too close
to the edge for David. And then I said to myself,
stop being crazy, that's ridiculous. It's there, they're together. It's fine.
And I put it in the thing. I get it.
(25:51):
I go out to the home back there's a note
on my desk and it's a plain piece of paper
with two lines in the upper right hand corner and
the upper left hand of the page, and then there's
two arrows with the pencil, and one arrow is pointing
to the one that's closer to the edge, and he goes,
this is not where you put a staple, and then
one arrow, pointing to another line that's literally an eighth
(26:11):
of an inch further into the page, and he says,
this is where you put a staple.
Speaker 3 (26:17):
Okay.
Speaker 4 (26:18):
And it took every ounce of self control I had
not to just walk out that day and say, you're insane,
I'm leaving. Yeah, I'm glad I didn't, because it really
was just who he was, and it was that attention
to detail.
Speaker 6 (26:36):
And Yeah, the thing that I thought really made me
the most mad was that I was starting to think
like him.
Speaker 3 (26:49):
He was it was who you were hanging out with, Robin.
Speaker 4 (26:53):
But I do think like him, and I'm that I
am so impeccable with my clients, and there were and
I mean, and that's so I know that.
Speaker 3 (27:04):
I remember that because yeah, there were times when you're
like no, you know, and you'd make me go back
and rethink something. It's like no, I So that's where
that came from.
Speaker 4 (27:15):
Yeah, yeah, I mean, because he was he was relentlessly impeccable.
But I but even though in the moment, because when
I was twenty one, I wanted to ring his neck
that moment, But I'm grateful to him every day because
he taught me everything I know.
Speaker 3 (27:30):
Yeah, right, well, let's talk a little bit about the
whole idea of a concept. You've talked about how an
idea is not the same thing as a concept, And
I think that when I was starting on this, and
I was like, I think that as I rebuild my life,
I have something to share with other people. So, but
(27:52):
that was really an idea. What would you say about
the best way to develop a concept instead of just
an idea?
Speaker 4 (28:00):
Oh? Great question. Yeah, and there's really it's rather simple.
I just have a I have a three pronged test
that makes us know for sure whether or not we
are still in the idea phase or if we have
what I call a clear saleable concept. And the first
(28:23):
trait is that it has to be aligned with the author,
So it has to be aligned with you, and it
has to be aligned with you on three levels. Who
you are today, who you've been so you're past your experience,
and probably most importantly, who you're becoming. Yeah, because a
(28:48):
book creates momentum towards your future if you utilize it correctly,
and if you write the right book. It generates momental
which you experienced from this book. Yeah, I recall you.
You had some really interesting opportunities open up for you
that came the result of this book. So the clear
saleable concept has to be in alignment with where you're headed,
(29:11):
who you're becoming, and also who you've been, because obviously
you don't want to just come out of nowhere. You've
got to have something grounded in the material too. It
just can't all be aspirational. Then it has to be
a match for your ideal reader, which, in the case
of many of our clients, including you, is also your
(29:34):
ideal client because that's where the book pays you back. Right,
book sales, nobody's going to Hawaiian book sales. Book sales
are a way to have more people know about your book.
(29:58):
But the real ROI from having a book is your
ability to attract the perfect clients into your business and
serve them. You know, we're talking about a book that
sells you, right, So it's got to be a match
for your ideal reader. And this is important what they
(30:19):
already know they want. So we talked about this was
suddenly wealthy, right, Like, what's their big problem? Their big
problem is they got buck buckets of money. Everyone around
them wants some of it, and they don't know what
to do with it.
Speaker 3 (30:38):
Right, Well, let's let's stop there for a minute, because
I want to dive a little bit deeper into I mean, I, Robin,
I remember when it was kind of like this epiphany.
So you know, in my case, I thought I was
writing a book about me rebuilding my life.
Speaker 4 (30:57):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (30:58):
Yeah, And so I'm out there and you have me
researching all this stuff, and I'm I'm focusing on how
people find all kinds of ways to lose money because
I that was something I did. I just it was
pretty spectacular, but in a negative way. And so I
(31:22):
what I was what I found. And I remember the
conversation we had because I was like, I'm really getting
sucked into all these pro athlete stories, Robin, and I'm just, oh,
my goodness, and all I want to do is research
more and hear what these guys are talking about. And
(31:44):
then I also got I was getting sucked into the
female And there was right about the time we were
writing the book, there was all this stuff coming out
about ladies' sports, and look at how much it's changed. Yes,
Ed and how underpaid them long and so I'm going going, Robin,
(32:08):
should I focus this book on the pro athletes?
Speaker 4 (32:12):
And it was like duh, you know, and I remember
something else about this conversation because I think, wasn't your idea?
Is it okay if I share who? I recall your
idea leader was Yeah, because you were living in Seattle
at the time, and you decided your ideal reader was
Russell Wilson, I believe. Yeah, right, and that's.
Speaker 3 (32:34):
You up the Seahawks for those who maybe you've been
underneath the rock and you don't know Russell Wilson used
to be the quarterback for the Seattle Seahawks.
Speaker 4 (32:47):
Yes, exactly. So that was a that was a great
focus for you though.
Speaker 3 (32:54):
Because I loved Russell and I was you know, we
watched you know, I'm a big football fans, so but yeah.
Speaker 4 (33:02):
Yeah, but you have I mean, you know what I did.
Speaker 3 (33:05):
You told me to get into Russell's head. I actually
there's a lake up in northern Idaho called Priest Lake.
I remember going and sitting by the shore of the lake.
It's a beautiful lake and just pondering and just starting
to I was asking him questions. Yeah, it was the
(33:26):
weirdest thing, Robin. But I was asking Russell questions about
his challenges with with you know, receiving millions of dollars
and what people wanted out of them, and I was like, wow,
I never expected to.
Speaker 4 (33:42):
Be but let me ask you this, right, how accurate
do you think those answers were?
Speaker 3 (33:48):
I think it was pretty dog one accurate.
Speaker 4 (33:51):
Really, Yeah, that's kind of the that's a little bit
of the woo woo of my work. But really I
believe that there's there's a un actual explanation for why
it works because the feedback I get from my clients,
because because sometimes it's somebody that they know that it's
not always someone they know, but when it's someone they know,
(34:14):
sometimes they'll come back and say that the client had,
you know, they had like shared something that that their
person that they had identified, identified to virtually interview had
actually later said something that that actually confirmed what they
(34:35):
had without knowing it that I confirmed what they had channeled, right.
And I really believe that whenever we encounter somebody and
we don't even have to know them or talk to them,
even just watching them play football, we're actually being given
possibly all the information there is to know about them,
(35:00):
but we're only paying attention to the obvious. So you
might be watching Russell throw the ball and have it
be intercepted and get mad, or throw a touchdown and
be excited. But we are constantly bombarded with so much
information our minds can't possibly filter it all at once.
(35:22):
But it doesn't mean we didn't get the information. So
when you slow down and you focus on the person
and you think about a specific question, I believe what
you're accessing. And just because I've done this so many
times over twenty years, and I've had it so many
times confirmed that people are getting accurate information. But I
(35:42):
think what's happening is you're slowing your mind down enough
to access the information you were already given by encountering
that person, even if you never encountered them in person.
Speaker 3 (35:52):
Right, Yeah, it was basically, I mean basically what we decided.
And so like if, as someone said, there thinking about
a book, it's okay to change your concept. If you
feel like something is coming along, that's better because what
we decided was, okay, this is going to have a
really strong focus on the issues with that particular segment
(36:16):
of you know, people that are pro athletes and get
all the money and now look at everything that's gone
on with college sports. Oh my gosh. But what I
what I did was then I wove me and my
story into the concepts. I mean, I felt so much
clearer and so much better about the whole thing. When
we made that shift. It was like, yes, so now
(36:39):
I know what I'm doing. Yeah, And that's see.
Speaker 4 (36:43):
That's also part of what's important in building your credibility.
I think a lot of people make the mistake of
thinking that if they share about something stupid they did
in their book, that it makes them less credible. But
what it really does is it makes you more trustable
and makes you more credible. Because I don't know if
you know, but sometimes i've read a book by somebody,
(37:06):
or or I've skimmed a book. I can never stand
to read the whole book by somebody who's like, oh,
and here's another wonderful thing about me, and here's another
fantastic thing I did, and here's another one I had,
and there's nothing at all about any misjudgment or mistake
or loss. Then I'm thinking you're a liar, and I
(37:29):
don't trust anything you have.
Speaker 3 (37:30):
And you can see through it.
Speaker 4 (37:32):
You can see through that exactly. So it's really about
you know, one thing I think it's important for anybody
writing a book to understand is what is actually meant
by conversational tone? Is that? Okay if I go into
that a little bit, because that's kind of what.
Speaker 3 (37:49):
We're talking just about. Yeah, we're well, let's okay, we're
just about out of time. Oh well, it's going to
go fast. But yeah, maybe comment on that. But really
I just want My last question for you was, well,
what difference do you want to make in the world.
Speaker 4 (38:04):
Oh? Great, I want to I want to help as
many people as I can write books that bring new
solutions to old problems and make the world better for everyone.
And that's my mission.
Speaker 3 (38:20):
And you nailed that, girl.
Speaker 4 (38:23):
I've given that one a lot of thought. Yeah. Absolutely.
Speaker 3 (38:28):
Well, just to let everyone know we I always have
on on the Ask Good Questions podcast website, which is
Ask Good Questions podcast dot com. There's a bonus downloads
and they're in the bonus downloads will be information about Robin,
how to get in touch with her if you want
to explore, you know, things with her that that piqued
(38:51):
your interest. And so, oh my gosh, Robin we're out
of time. I could we could just keep on.
Speaker 4 (38:59):
I thank us for hours that.
Speaker 3 (39:01):
I always love talking with you, and I'm go I
love talking to you too, So I want to thank
you for being here with us today. I want to
thank everyone for joining us for the Ask Good Questions
Podcast and we will see you later. Thank you.
Speaker 2 (39:19):
Today's episode is over, but we did Ask Good Questions again,
didn't We don't miss out as we broadcast live every Wednesday,
six pm Eastern Time on W four CY Radio at
w fourcy dot com. Joined Banina Bell Anderson next week
for more conversations with experts on finances, retirement, behavioral finance issues,
(39:41):
health and wellness, and more. Until then, remember to ask
good questions.
The topics and opinions expressed in the following show are
solely those of the hosts and their guests and not
those of W FOURCY Radio. It's employees are affiliates. We
make no recommendations or endorsements for radio show programs, services,
or products mentioned on air or on our web. No
liability explicitor implies shall be extended to W FOURCY Radio
or its employees are affiliates. Any questions or comments should
be directed to those show hosts. Thank you for choosing
(00:21):
W FOURCY Radio.
Speaker 2 (00:29):
Welcome to to Ask Good Questions Podcasts, broadcasting live every Wednesday,
six pm Eastern Time on W four CY Radio at
w four cy dot com. This week and every week,
we will reach for a higher purpose in money and life,
as well as a focus on health and wellment. Now,
(00:49):
let's join your host, Anita bell Anderson, as together we
start with Asking Good Questions.
Speaker 3 (01:01):
Hello, and welcome to the Ask Good Questions podcast. I
am so happy you are here today and you are
in for a treat. I would like to invite my
guests for today to join the podcast stage. Her name
is Robin Calucci, my friend and my book coach. Hello, Robin, Hi, Bonnie.
Speaker 4 (01:26):
Nice to see you.
Speaker 3 (01:28):
Good to see you. Hey, I'm going to tell everyone
a little bit about you first, Okay, cool, Well, Robin Robin.
So I'm coming at you from Hawaii and Robin is
coming at you from Connecticut.
Speaker 4 (01:40):
Right, ma'am, Yes, ma'am.
Speaker 3 (01:42):
Yeah. So we're dealing with time zones. But that's okay,
we're both.
Speaker 4 (01:46):
It's both.
Speaker 3 (01:47):
It's cool. So Robin is more than a book coach.
She's a visionary mentor and a strategist for leaders ready
to transform their expertise into a legacy that reshapes our world.
How about that? Her journey began with a mentorship from
a New York Times best selling author, and she developed
(02:08):
skills in research, writing, editing, and that foundation led her
to roles in journalism in a position as an acquisitions
editor at an indie that means independent right publishing house,
where she found her calling guiding experts to bringing impactful
(02:29):
books to life. With a BA in journalism and an
MA in spiritual psychology, Robin's credentials are only rivaled by
her successes. In a mere four years. Her clients recently
have collected more than six point three million in advances.
Signing with Big five publishing houses as well as important
(02:52):
independent presses, and have gone on to hit best sellers
lists all the way from Amazon to the New York Times.
So as the author of how to Write a Book
That Sells, which is what impacted me, she dismantles myths
about a book's purpose, providing a roadmap to meaningful impact
(03:14):
and inspired by luminaries like Maya Angelo, I think that's
how you say her name. Robin blends skill with a
heart centered approach rooted in resilience, integrity, and bold vision.
To her, a book is more than ink on paper.
It really is. It's a gateway to lasting impact, a
(03:34):
chance to change lives and leave an enduring legacy. So, Robin,
we're going to start today with a little story. This
is actually my story, right.
Speaker 4 (03:48):
I'm excited.
Speaker 3 (03:50):
I had gone through it's been about twenty five years ago.
Then I went through a devastating divorce and it completely
upended my life in the lives of my three daughters.
And I was rebuilding my life, and I had started
writing my story maybe thirteen years ago of rebuilding my
(04:11):
life and the challenges and just what I was doing
to just you know, get going again, and you know
basically that's like midlife, but I never really got anywhere.
I had also been looking at all the different examples
of people losing money in life, because that's what I
was doing and my midlife experiences in starting over, and
(04:35):
I was looking at what the common threads were, you know,
why am I doing this to myself? You know? And
I was looking at common threats from anywhere from athletes
to lottery winners, to divorces to just bad money management.
And so I along the way, I'm starting to listen
to some webinars on writing a book, including some gal
(05:00):
named Robin Calucci. That was maybe a year or so
before the phone rings, so that was about ten years ago.
We conferred on that that it was about ten years ago.
She calls me out of the blue and asked if
(05:22):
I needed help. I was just astounded. I was like,
this is Robin Calucci, the Robin Calucci that I listened
to your webinar sometime back, I don't know, six months
and then you did a webinar. I'm writing a book
that Robin Calucci, And can you tell us why you
(05:42):
called me? Well?
Speaker 4 (05:44):
Yeah, I can actually because I you know, I had
just moved to Connecticut. From Colorado. So it had been
a dream of mine to move back to Connecticut, where
I was born for many, many years. And when my
daughter finished high school in the spring of twenty sixteen,
(06:08):
I loaded up the truck and I moved to Connecticut
like just a few months later. And so I had
just arrived in Connecticut in the fall of twenty sixteen,
and I was also at the time working with a
business coach who.
Speaker 3 (06:29):
You know.
Speaker 4 (06:29):
One of the things he prescribed was if you get
like an inner urging or voice to do something, you should.
You know that would grow your business, you should just
do it. And so I was sitting in the living
room of a house I was renting while I was
trying to find a house to buy.
Speaker 5 (06:47):
And.
Speaker 4 (06:49):
My inner urging said, you should open up your At
the time, they called it infusion soft. I think they
call it keep now. But you should open up your
contacts and look down the list and see if anybody's
name jumps out that you should reach out to. And
so I did, and you jumped out, and so I
(07:13):
because you must have opted into my list when you
heard the webinar.
Speaker 3 (07:17):
I'm fine, I don't remember, but we must have.
Speaker 4 (07:21):
It's the only way I could have had your number,
and so I called and you answered and then we
started talking. So that's how it happened. It was literally
just like an inner voice or pull saying you should
just take a look and see who who. Here's what's interesting, Bunnie.
(07:42):
Is the question that I was with my coach, David Nabel,
the question that I was trained to ask, that this
program taught me to ask, which was which I still
do to this day, is who can I help today?
Whose life can I change today?
Speaker 3 (07:59):
And we can use that for anything.
Speaker 4 (08:01):
Anything, any kind of any service that you are, anything
that you do, and so we're just showing up every day, right,
And so that was the question I asked. And your name,
you know, when I was going down the list, and
obviously you were in the b's or the a's, so
you came up. I don't remember if it was alphabetise
(08:23):
my first or second name, but either way, you would
come up early.
Speaker 2 (08:29):
Well.
Speaker 3 (08:29):
And if you would have told us, if if a
little voice it would have said in ten years, if
Bonnie's going to be interviewing Robin on her podcast, we
would have gone, what's a podcast?
Speaker 4 (08:42):
Right? Right? Don't you know? It didn't take me long
talking to you to realize that you were definitely a
go getter type of a gal. So I can't say
it would have shocked me. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (08:58):
Well, the end result was that obviously I hired her
to get me going because I was really I was
just I just didn't have any oomph to get going
with this, and I really, but I really wanted to
get this done, and I used her book as a
guide as I began thinking about what I wanted to do.
(09:19):
Her book is called how to Write a Book that
Sells You. And there were some things that you stress
to me that I'd like your comments on. Like a
lot of people, Well, see, in my case, I was
wanting this to help my business. Plus I wanted to
just go out and make an impact in the world.
But why do you think books can help somebody with
(09:43):
their business?
Speaker 4 (09:45):
Well, I think that there's a lot of reasons why.
I think the one that people think of generally first
is that you know, if you have an author, it
adds credibility to you know. It's it's one thing to say, oh,
this is Bonnie the wealth coach. It's another thing to say,
(10:07):
this is Bonnie the author and wealth coach. So I mean,
it always carries some ravitas to it, but honestly, I
what I have come to realize over many decades of
helping people write books, because I think that the real
reason writing a book helps your business is it makes
(10:27):
you better at your business. It makes you a better expert.
And the reason it does you made me think, Yeah, exactly,
if you write a book properly and you really force yourself,
or you have someone in your life who really forces.
Speaker 3 (10:44):
You you, yeah, no, would you would push me?
Speaker 4 (10:50):
Yeah? Yeah? And And really, my job when I'm coaching
you or any you know this, or any client, but
you had this experience firsthand, my job is to help
you say what you actually mean to say versus the
first thing that comes out of your mouth, which or
(11:11):
out of your mind, which usually the first time we
say something out loud. The first time we write something
down isn't usually the exact thing that we mean. It's close,
but it needs some refining. And the other thing that
I'm sure you would remember from your experience is that
(11:31):
once we started interrogating the statements, then you discovered things.
Speaker 3 (11:36):
That you didn't even know that you knew yeah or
you didn't. And then we're gonna come back to that
because we kind of switch gears midstream. Yeah, when I
started realizing some things and I was like, oh, so,
so I want you to make a comment before we
(11:57):
go into that more. You have said how you start
is important because it's going to determine how you finish. Yeah,
when you talk a little bit more about that, absolutely,
because I think that.
Speaker 4 (12:15):
A lot of people who've never written a book before
make the mistake if they get a book idea and
then they start writing, and a lot of people even
coach them to do that, Oh you have a book,
well you should just start writing. That's the thing that
you just start writing. And actually when people do that,
(12:38):
usually one of two things happens. Either they never finish
the book because once they start writing on the idea,
they realize it's they don't have enough there for a book.
It's more like an article, and then they fizzle out.
Or they finish the book and then you know, it's
like it's like the cat that catches them out and
(13:00):
doesn't know what to do with it. So it's it's
like I don't know do I eat it? Do I
kill it? Like what do I do? Play with it?
Like I don't know what to do with this thing
because they didn't think about the book strategically, and so
they've gone from there and all the way through publishing it,
and the book doesn't have actually a purpose in their
(13:20):
business or a purpose in the world that's clear. Then
it turns out to not really land the way the
author hoped. So how you start is getting super clear
on why you're writing the book, who's going to read it,
why they're going to read it, and what do you
want to do with that reader once they have your book.
(13:44):
And we worked through all of those with you.
Speaker 3 (13:48):
Well, I want to dive into a couple of things.
First of all, just for everyone to know what we're
talking about, is my book called Suddenly Wealthy, The Athlete's
Guide to Winning the Money Game. Now, the very first
thing somebody might say is, wait a minute, I thought
this was your story. So we're going to come back
to that. But and I tried to squeeze that whole
(14:10):
title onto the little thing out at the bottom, but
it wouldn't go. But it is on Amazon.
Speaker 4 (14:15):
Yes, but.
Speaker 3 (14:18):
Let's discuss the five there's five steps in your book
and the author personality. Yeah, so I'm just let let's
dive into that, and I'm just going to say what
the five personalities are and then let's talk about that
so people can see where that sounds interesting. So the spontaneous, creative,
(14:39):
the methodical, master, the shaman. I think I identified the
most with that one, the town cry and the town
crier was kind of like sometimes, you know, I think
you identified a little bit with this, a little bit
with that calrier.
Speaker 4 (14:53):
Most people have a little better of at least two.
Speaker 3 (14:57):
Yeah, so let's discuss those those five types.
Speaker 4 (15:03):
Yeah. Sure. So basically the reason I came up with
this is I realized it all started before that when
I was chatting with another friend of mine and I
just happened to say, off the cuff, well, you know,
there's only four ways to structure a best selling book.
(15:25):
And she was like, what did you say. I was like, well,
there's only four functional structures for a book. And she's
like that, Robin, that's a million dollar idea. And I said, no,
it's obvious. She goes, no, it's not obvious. We all
(15:45):
need people in our lives. This is a great example
of we're having someone to reflect back on you, back
to you what you're saying. Well, you're because I to me,
it was just of course it was obvious. Well, then
I realized that not everybody's cut out to write in
the same way like some people, like a spontaneous creative,
(16:08):
for example, is a fast thinking, fast moving person with
a probably a fairly short attention span and not a
lot of patients. So to ask that person to write
like a full length narrative with like a three hundred
page story arc is not that they can't do it.
(16:28):
Anybody can write any kind of book with enough effort
and focus and help, but it's not going to come
naturally to them. But there's another structure that's one of
the four bestseller blueprints, which is called an organized list format,
where you have lots of short chapters and you write
(16:50):
the chapter, you make your point, you get out, you
write the next chapter. So this would be like one
thousand and one Ways to Be Romantic or something, a
book like that right where It's got or even you know,
Chicken Soup for the Soul technically is kind of structured
that way. It's like short story in and out, so
you can you can start anywhere in the book and
(17:10):
not be lost, right, So it's great for people who
don't have long attention spans, right. But you know another personality,
the methodical master. That person likes order and structure and
they like things to happen, you know, like they like methodology, right,
So they might be more analytical thinkers, they might be researchers.
(17:31):
It might be you know, scientists. Sometimes my scientists clients
love this model. And that's where you go generally from
the simplest when you start with like the big idea
at the overarching idea, and then you go from the
simplest portion of the idea and you go up to
greater complexity, or you start with step one, step two,
(17:55):
step three, you know. So my book is written as
an as a as a traditional outline blueprint, which is
for the methodical master. Now I am kind of like
a blend between a methodical master and a spontaneous creative
which is really weird. But so I wrote a traditional
(18:18):
outline book, but I could have written whatever structure. I
often do write whatever structure when I'm working with clients.
But the idea of the author personality test is to
figure out where are your tendencies, what type of structure
might be the easiest with how your mind works, And
(18:41):
so that's how I came.
Speaker 3 (18:43):
You might say, you know, which one resonates the most
with you? You know, right, Yeah, that was kind of
how I was looking at it. Yeah, so the shaman,
because I really had done that at all. I hadn't.
I had just you know, like you said, Oh, I
just started writing and yeah, so this was very helpful.
Speaker 4 (19:07):
Good, I'm glad. Yeah. Yeah, people love taking the test.
I mean the feedback I got is everybody's like, oh,
I just love that personality test. I mean I I
don't administer it directly to my clients, but every single
one of them gets my book and they so they
all end up doing it and telling me what they are.
So yeah, okay.
Speaker 5 (19:30):
And then there's the shaman storyteller, right, the shaman shaman
teach true story often so, but there's also.
Speaker 4 (19:48):
Ideally the shaman is telling you a fable. Right, So
when you look at books like Who Move My Cheese
or The Pat Laconi, you know, five dysfunctions of a
team like these, these books are taking truth and converting
it to fiction to tell symbolic stories, and so that
(20:12):
that really appeals to the shaman personality because there's always
an element of the shaman of the magical, mysterious, uh,
you know, otherworldly, And so you can have a lot
of freedom as the if you're if you're a shaman
(20:33):
and you want to write a book, you can give
yourself a lot of freedom by turning practical teachings into
some sort of mystical story. Yeah, and that might be
more fun to write than a traditional, outlined, you know,
step one, step two, step three kind of book for
that personality.
Speaker 3 (20:51):
Yeah, and then what about the town crier. I see
somebody on a box on a street.
Speaker 4 (21:01):
Yeah, exactly exactly. The town crier is the used to
be the person that would shout the news to this
before before we had CNN. So yeah, so the town
crier is basically saying, hey, everybody, look at this. Uh
(21:21):
so this might be I think a really good example
is like Malcolm Gladwell's The Tipping Point right where he
wrote about how trends start and so we all knew
the trends happened, but nobody really had thought about or
thought about it describing or explaining how that happens until
(21:43):
that book. So that was That's an example of somebody
who took a mundane fact that exists and made it
interesting and newsworthy by pointing out to us something that
was right in front of us but we didn't see.
(22:03):
So that can be one example. Yeah, I mean the
town crier is that it's just as they're saying, hey,
look at this in a new way.
Speaker 3 (22:19):
Yeah, right right. Well, and then there's the investigator. And
I can't remember because somebody might say, well, isn't the
investigator the same as like the methodical master. How's the
investigator different?
Speaker 6 (22:31):
Oh?
Speaker 4 (22:31):
Very different. So the investigator was my mentor, David Wise,
who wrote the very first expose on the CIA, became
a New York Times bestseller, and then went on to
write Expose Is on lots of stuff that mostly related
(22:52):
to espionage between the United States and the former Soviet Union,
and then went on to write a book about espionage
from China and to the US. So uh, and every
one of his books was an expose. So the expose
is the book that uncovers something hidden that affects the
(23:18):
community in some way. And the investigator has that bloodhound
mentality where they are going to get to the bottom
of it, and so they're they're they're they're good at research,
they're good at interviewing. I think the best investigators like
(23:39):
my mentor. David Wise was so impeccable. He was so
concerned with making sure he got everything right that well
I got, I got a funny story, and I got it.
So so he was so impeccable, but I got it
(23:59):
about getting everything right that he could get people to
talk to him. And now realize he was talking to
people from the FBI and the CIA who literally could
lose their job or maybe even go to jail for
talking to him, and they trusted him. They trusted him
because they knew he would get it right, and they
knew he would protect their identities if they needed that.
(24:23):
I got to experience his impeccability in one way that
I almost quit my job because because you know, how
you do everything, Bonnie, is how how you do one
thing is how you do everything. Okay, Yeah, I learned
that from Harvicker years and years ago. So this is
a perfect demonstration. So David was impeccable about getting the
(24:46):
facts right, making sure everybody's name was spelled correctly, protecting
his sources, completely reliable, but he was also very particular
about other things and I'll never forget. And he trained
me like he trained me on how to where to
properly place the stamp on an envelope. He trained me
(25:06):
how to properly address a letter to a senator, you know,
like if we're doing like invitations to a party for
a senator and their wife. Yeah, all these proper things.
And I was fine with all of that. One day
he asked me to make a few copies for him.
So I so I did, and I, you know, and
there were a few pages. So I make the copies
(25:27):
and then I put the pages together, and I put
and I staple them together, and I take a look
at and I'm about to put it in his inbox,
and I take a look at the staple and I'm like,
oh man, that might be just a little too close
to the edge for David. And then I said to myself,
stop being crazy, that's ridiculous. It's there, they're together. It's fine.
And I put it in the thing. I get it.
(25:51):
I go out to the home back there's a note
on my desk and it's a plain piece of paper
with two lines in the upper right hand corner and
the upper left hand of the page, and then there's
two arrows with the pencil, and one arrow is pointing
to the one that's closer to the edge, and he goes,
this is not where you put a staple, and then
one arrow, pointing to another line that's literally an eighth
(26:11):
of an inch further into the page, and he says,
this is where you put a staple.
Speaker 3 (26:17):
Okay.
Speaker 4 (26:18):
And it took every ounce of self control I had
not to just walk out that day and say, you're insane,
I'm leaving. Yeah, I'm glad I didn't, because it really
was just who he was, and it was that attention
to detail.
Speaker 6 (26:36):
And Yeah, the thing that I thought really made me
the most mad was that I was starting to think
like him.
Speaker 3 (26:49):
He was it was who you were hanging out with, Robin.
Speaker 4 (26:53):
But I do think like him, and I'm that I
am so impeccable with my clients, and there were and
I mean, and that's so I know that.
Speaker 3 (27:04):
I remember that because yeah, there were times when you're
like no, you know, and you'd make me go back
and rethink something. It's like no, I So that's where
that came from.
Speaker 4 (27:15):
Yeah, yeah, I mean, because he was he was relentlessly impeccable.
But I but even though in the moment, because when
I was twenty one, I wanted to ring his neck
that moment, But I'm grateful to him every day because
he taught me everything I know.
Speaker 3 (27:30):
Yeah, right, well, let's talk a little bit about the
whole idea of a concept. You've talked about how an
idea is not the same thing as a concept, And
I think that when I was starting on this, and
I was like, I think that as I rebuild my life,
I have something to share with other people. So, but
(27:52):
that was really an idea. What would you say about
the best way to develop a concept instead of just
an idea?
Speaker 4 (28:00):
Oh? Great question. Yeah, and there's really it's rather simple.
I just have a I have a three pronged test
that makes us know for sure whether or not we
are still in the idea phase or if we have
what I call a clear saleable concept. And the first
(28:23):
trait is that it has to be aligned with the author,
So it has to be aligned with you, and it
has to be aligned with you on three levels. Who
you are today, who you've been so you're past your experience,
and probably most importantly, who you're becoming. Yeah, because a
(28:48):
book creates momentum towards your future if you utilize it correctly,
and if you write the right book. It generates momental
which you experienced from this book. Yeah, I recall you.
You had some really interesting opportunities open up for you
that came the result of this book. So the clear
saleable concept has to be in alignment with where you're headed,
(29:11):
who you're becoming, and also who you've been, because obviously
you don't want to just come out of nowhere. You've
got to have something grounded in the material too. It
just can't all be aspirational. Then it has to be
a match for your ideal reader, which, in the case
of many of our clients, including you, is also your
(29:34):
ideal client because that's where the book pays you back. Right,
book sales, nobody's going to Hawaiian book sales. Book sales
are a way to have more people know about your book.
(29:58):
But the real ROI from having a book is your
ability to attract the perfect clients into your business and
serve them. You know, we're talking about a book that
sells you, right, So it's got to be a match
for your ideal reader. And this is important what they
(30:19):
already know they want. So we talked about this was
suddenly wealthy, right, Like, what's their big problem? Their big
problem is they got buck buckets of money. Everyone around
them wants some of it, and they don't know what
to do with it.
Speaker 3 (30:38):
Right, Well, let's let's stop there for a minute, because
I want to dive a little bit deeper into I mean, I, Robin,
I remember when it was kind of like this epiphany.
So you know, in my case, I thought I was
writing a book about me rebuilding my life.
Speaker 4 (30:57):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (30:58):
Yeah, And so I'm out there and you have me
researching all this stuff, and I'm I'm focusing on how
people find all kinds of ways to lose money because
I that was something I did. I just it was
pretty spectacular, but in a negative way. And so I
(31:22):
what I was what I found. And I remember the
conversation we had because I was like, I'm really getting
sucked into all these pro athlete stories, Robin, and I'm just, oh,
my goodness, and all I want to do is research
more and hear what these guys are talking about. And
(31:44):
then I also got I was getting sucked into the
female And there was right about the time we were
writing the book, there was all this stuff coming out
about ladies' sports, and look at how much it's changed. Yes,
Ed and how underpaid them long and so I'm going going, Robin,
(32:08):
should I focus this book on the pro athletes?
Speaker 4 (32:12):
And it was like duh, you know, and I remember
something else about this conversation because I think, wasn't your idea?
Is it okay if I share who? I recall your
idea leader was Yeah, because you were living in Seattle
at the time, and you decided your ideal reader was
Russell Wilson, I believe. Yeah, right, and that's.
Speaker 3 (32:34):
You up the Seahawks for those who maybe you've been
underneath the rock and you don't know Russell Wilson used
to be the quarterback for the Seattle Seahawks.
Speaker 4 (32:47):
Yes, exactly. So that was a that was a great
focus for you though.
Speaker 3 (32:54):
Because I loved Russell and I was you know, we
watched you know, I'm a big football fans, so but yeah.
Speaker 4 (33:02):
Yeah, but you have I mean, you know what I did.
Speaker 3 (33:05):
You told me to get into Russell's head. I actually
there's a lake up in northern Idaho called Priest Lake.
I remember going and sitting by the shore of the lake.
It's a beautiful lake and just pondering and just starting
to I was asking him questions. Yeah, it was the
(33:26):
weirdest thing, Robin. But I was asking Russell questions about
his challenges with with you know, receiving millions of dollars
and what people wanted out of them, and I was like, wow,
I never expected to.
Speaker 4 (33:42):
Be but let me ask you this, right, how accurate
do you think those answers were?
Speaker 3 (33:48):
I think it was pretty dog one accurate.
Speaker 4 (33:51):
Really, Yeah, that's kind of the that's a little bit
of the woo woo of my work. But really I
believe that there's there's a un actual explanation for why
it works because the feedback I get from my clients,
because because sometimes it's somebody that they know that it's
not always someone they know, but when it's someone they know,
(34:14):
sometimes they'll come back and say that the client had,
you know, they had like shared something that that their
person that they had identified, identified to virtually interview had
actually later said something that that actually confirmed what they
(34:35):
had without knowing it that I confirmed what they had channeled, right.
And I really believe that whenever we encounter somebody and
we don't even have to know them or talk to them,
even just watching them play football, we're actually being given
possibly all the information there is to know about them,
(35:00):
but we're only paying attention to the obvious. So you
might be watching Russell throw the ball and have it
be intercepted and get mad, or throw a touchdown and
be excited. But we are constantly bombarded with so much
information our minds can't possibly filter it all at once.
(35:22):
But it doesn't mean we didn't get the information. So
when you slow down and you focus on the person
and you think about a specific question, I believe what
you're accessing. And just because I've done this so many
times over twenty years, and I've had it so many
times confirmed that people are getting accurate information. But I
(35:42):
think what's happening is you're slowing your mind down enough
to access the information you were already given by encountering
that person, even if you never encountered them in person.
Speaker 3 (35:52):
Right, Yeah, it was basically, I mean basically what we decided.
And so like if, as someone said, there thinking about
a book, it's okay to change your concept. If you
feel like something is coming along, that's better because what
we decided was, okay, this is going to have a
really strong focus on the issues with that particular segment
(36:16):
of you know, people that are pro athletes and get
all the money and now look at everything that's gone
on with college sports. Oh my gosh. But what I
what I did was then I wove me and my
story into the concepts. I mean, I felt so much
clearer and so much better about the whole thing. When
we made that shift. It was like, yes, so now
(36:39):
I know what I'm doing. Yeah, And that's see.
Speaker 4 (36:43):
That's also part of what's important in building your credibility.
I think a lot of people make the mistake of
thinking that if they share about something stupid they did
in their book, that it makes them less credible. But
what it really does is it makes you more trustable
and makes you more credible. Because I don't know if
you know, but sometimes i've read a book by somebody,
(37:06):
or or I've skimmed a book. I can never stand
to read the whole book by somebody who's like, oh,
and here's another wonderful thing about me, and here's another
fantastic thing I did, and here's another one I had,
and there's nothing at all about any misjudgment or mistake
or loss. Then I'm thinking you're a liar, and I
(37:29):
don't trust anything you have.
Speaker 3 (37:30):
And you can see through it.
Speaker 4 (37:32):
You can see through that exactly. So it's really about
you know, one thing I think it's important for anybody
writing a book to understand is what is actually meant
by conversational tone? Is that? Okay if I go into
that a little bit, because that's kind of what.
Speaker 3 (37:49):
We're talking just about. Yeah, we're well, let's okay, we're
just about out of time. Oh well, it's going to
go fast. But yeah, maybe comment on that. But really
I just want My last question for you was, well,
what difference do you want to make in the world.
Speaker 4 (38:04):
Oh? Great, I want to I want to help as
many people as I can write books that bring new
solutions to old problems and make the world better for everyone.
And that's my mission.
Speaker 3 (38:20):
And you nailed that, girl.
Speaker 4 (38:23):
I've given that one a lot of thought. Yeah. Absolutely.
Speaker 3 (38:28):
Well, just to let everyone know we I always have
on on the Ask Good Questions podcast website, which is
Ask Good Questions podcast dot com. There's a bonus downloads
and they're in the bonus downloads will be information about Robin,
how to get in touch with her if you want
to explore, you know, things with her that that piqued
(38:51):
your interest. And so, oh my gosh, Robin we're out
of time. I could we could just keep on.
Speaker 4 (38:59):
I thank us for hours that.
Speaker 3 (39:01):
I always love talking with you, and I'm go I
love talking to you too, So I want to thank
you for being here with us today. I want to
thank everyone for joining us for the Ask Good Questions
Podcast and we will see you later. Thank you.
Speaker 2 (39:19):
Today's episode is over, but we did Ask Good Questions again,
didn't We don't miss out as we broadcast live every Wednesday,
six pm Eastern Time on W four CY Radio at
w fourcy dot com. Joined Banina Bell Anderson next week
for more conversations with experts on finances, retirement, behavioral finance issues,
(39:41):
health and wellness, and more. Until then, remember to ask
good questions.
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