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Transcript

Taking Initiative to Get What You Want · The Daily Writer

• 0:06
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome to the Daily Rider Podcast, where we bring you tips and inspiration each day to help you build habits for writing success.
• 0:14
  SPEAKER_00: For more resources, including your free Daily Rider Starter Kit, visit DailyWriterLife.com.
• 0:22
  SPEAKER_00: This week we're celebrating the release of the brand new book The Faith of Elvis, which I co-wrote with Billy Stanley, Elvis Presley's stepbrother.
• 0:29
  SPEAKER_00: Here on the podcast, I'm sharing a few lessons that I've learned from working on this project.
• 0:34
  SPEAKER_00: If you were to guess what the most requested image in the National Archives is, what would your guess be?
• 0:40
  SPEAKER_00: Would it be something related to the moon landings?
• 0:43
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe something historic related to World War II or the Civil War?
• 0:47
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe something from the turn of the century?
• 0:49
  SPEAKER_00: If so, you'd be wildly off base.
• 0:52
  SPEAKER_00: The most requested photo in the National Archives was taken on December 21, 1970, in the Oval Office of the White House.
• 1:00
  SPEAKER_00: It shows Richard Nixon shaking hands with Elvis Presley, who is wearing one of his famous jumpsuits along with a giant gold belt buckle.
• 1:09
  SPEAKER_00: Now you might wonder how in the world did these two famous figures end up in the same picture, and what does it have to do with writing?
• 1:16
  SPEAKER_00: Let's tackle the first question first.
• 1:19
  SPEAKER_00: On December 19th, 1970, Elvis Presley abruptly left Graceland and flew to California to meet his friend Jerry Schilling, who joined him on a flight to Washington, D.C.
• 1:30
  SPEAKER_00: And there they were met by another of Elvis' friends, Sonny West.
• 1:33
  SPEAKER_00: Elvis often did things on a whim, and this time he had decided that he wanted to get a DEA badge.
• 1:39
  SPEAKER_00: He'd always been a big supporter of law enforcement, and Elvis often collected badges from police and other officers when he went out on tour.
• 1:47
  SPEAKER_00: Despite his image as a rebellious rock and roll star, Elvis was actually quite conservative.
• 1:52
  SPEAKER_00: It bothered him that the problem of illegal drugs was getting out of hand and he wanted to do something about it.
• 1:58
  SPEAKER_00: His solution, as crazy as it sounds, was to become an official undercover drug enforcement officer.
• 2:04
  SPEAKER_00: He felt that his status as a public figure could help lend support to the fight against illegal drugs.
• 2:10
  SPEAKER_00: Well, having struck out with the powers that be in DC, who refused to give him a badge, Elvis decided to go straight to the White House and seek an impromptu meeting with the president himself, Richard Nixon.
• 2:22
  SPEAKER_00: He directed his limo to pull up to the White House gates at 6 a.m.
• 2:26
  SPEAKER_00: and gave a handwritten letter requesting the meeting to the guards, asking them to pass the note along to the president.
• 2:32
  SPEAKER_00: At first, the guards rebuffed his request, but later in the day, he received the call at his hotel that the meeting was actually going to happen.
• 2:40
  SPEAKER_00: So, yes, Elvis did get his drug enforcement agency badge that day.
• 2:44
  SPEAKER_00: He was immensely proud of it and was excited to show it off to family and friends when he got back to Memphis.
• 2:50
  SPEAKER_00: So, what does that crazy story have to do with writers?
• 2:54
  SPEAKER_00: Well, I think that it all comes down to taking initiative to get what you want.
• 2:58
  SPEAKER_00: Do you want a podcast?
• 3:00
  SPEAKER_00: A book deal?
• 3:01
  SPEAKER_00: Do you want to write a book series?
• 3:03
  SPEAKER_00: Do you want to write full time?
• 3:04
  SPEAKER_00: What specifically do you want to do in your life as a writer?
• 3:08
  SPEAKER_00: Whatever it is, I encourage you to go for it.
• 3:10
  SPEAKER_00: Take initiative.
• 3:12
  SPEAKER_00: Get assertive.
• 3:13
  SPEAKER_00: So many writers just sit passively by waiting for something to happen to them.
• 3:17
  SPEAKER_00: You've got to get off your duff and start making things happen.
• 3:20
  SPEAKER_00: On the wall here in my home office where I'm recording this, I actually have a printout of that famous photo showing Elvis and Richard Nixon shaking hands.
• 3:28
  SPEAKER_00: And I hung it up on my wall as a reminder to get a little crazy, to take action, and to do whatever it takes to make my writing dreams come true.
• 3:36
  SPEAKER_00: They're not going to happen by accident, and they're not going to happen by accident for you either.
• 3:41
  SPEAKER_00: So here's today's question.
• 3:42
  SPEAKER_00: What did you learn from this story about Elvis and about taking initiative as a writer?
• 3:47
  SPEAKER_00: More importantly, what are you going to do?
• 3:50
  SPEAKER_00: Well, the new book, The Faith of Elvis, releases today, October the 4th, and you can find it at all online retailers or in your local bookstore.
• 3:58
  SPEAKER_00: Hope that you pick it up, and I think you're really going to enjoy it.
• 4:01
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks so much for listening, and I'll see you tomorrow.