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Transcript

The Common Path to Uncommon Success with John Lee Dumas · The Daily Writer

• 0:07
  SPEAKER_00: John, thanks so much for being on the Daily Writer Podcast.
• 0:10
  SPEAKER_00: I appreciate it.
• 0:11
  SPEAKER_01: Well, Kent, I'm excited to be here.
• 0:13
  SPEAKER_01: Just looking at those books behind you.
• 0:14
  SPEAKER_01: We are in good company, my friends.
• 0:16
  SPEAKER_00: Well, I love books and I'm so excited that and I didn't know this when I pre-ordered the Common Path to Uncommon Success book that I was going to be getting a boatload of additional really, really nice books in the mail.
• 0:29
  SPEAKER_00: That was really a cool surprise.
• 0:31
  SPEAKER_00: So thank you.
• 0:31
  SPEAKER_01: You know, try to go above and beyond Kent.
• 0:33
  SPEAKER_01: I don't always succeed.
• 0:34
  SPEAKER_01: You can ask Kate.
• 0:35
  SPEAKER_01: She'll she'll prove that's true.
• 0:37
  SPEAKER_01: But um, you know, I really do like to surprise and delight my audience whenever possible.
• 0:41
  SPEAKER_00: Well, you absolutely did.
• 0:42
  SPEAKER_00: So I am a massive fan of what you guys do and of this book launch.
• 0:46
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
• 0:47
  SPEAKER_00: So this this podcast, The Daily Writer, is for writers, but a big part of what we talk about on this show is about building a business and thinking more like an entrepreneur, which is something that honestly a lot of creatives and artists and writers can struggle with sometimes.
• 1:00
  SPEAKER_00: And one thing that I want to ask here at the top of this is why do so many entrepreneurs fail at such a high rate?
• 1:07
  SPEAKER_00: I know that's very common.
• 1:08
  SPEAKER_00: What's behind that whole deal?
• 1:10
  SPEAKER_01: There's one reason why entrepreneurs fail at an alarming rate.
• 1:14
  SPEAKER_01: And I mean alarming.
• 1:16
  SPEAKER_01: They've never sat down to identify their big idea.
• 1:21
  SPEAKER_01: I see it all the time, Kent.
• 1:22
  SPEAKER_01: I've been running Podcaster's Paradise now for close to a decade.
• 1:25
  SPEAKER_01: You know, it's the biggest podcast community in the world where people are looking to create, grow, and monetize their own podcasts.
• 1:30
  SPEAKER_01: And every day it's the same thing.
• 1:32
  SPEAKER_01: People give me their pitches about what their podcast is going to be about.
• 1:36
  SPEAKER_01: And I'm like, this is just a pale week imitation of the other hundreds of thousands of podcasts that are out there right now.
• 1:43
  SPEAKER_01: And we see the same thing in books and courses and products and services.
• 1:48
  SPEAKER_01: People see others having success in X, Y, or Z, and they just try to do a pale week imitation of X, Y, or Z.
• 1:54
  SPEAKER_01: Then they're shocked when they actually fail.
• 1:56
  SPEAKER_01: Listen, I hope you're hearing my voice right now when I say you have a big idea inside of you.
• 2:01
  SPEAKER_01: You have a really big, meaningful, exciting idea.
• 2:05
  SPEAKER_01: But most people are going to die, Kent, before they ever even sit down and identify what that specific big idea is.
• 2:12
  SPEAKER_01: And it's sad because it doesn't have to be that way.
• 2:15
  SPEAKER_01: So that's what I wanted to sit down and you know create, which was a 17-step roadmap to financial freedom and fulfillment.
• 2:22
  SPEAKER_01: And guess what?
• 2:23
  SPEAKER_01: It starts with step one, chapter one, identifying your big idea.
• 2:27
  SPEAKER_01: Not Kent's big idea so we can copy him, not JLD's big idea so we can copy him.
• 2:32
  SPEAKER_01: No, your big idea so that you can sit down and wake up every single day in your zone of fire.
• 2:38
  SPEAKER_01: And that's what we need more of Kent.
• 2:39
  SPEAKER_01: We need more people living every day in their zone of fire, what they want to do, what they're called to do, not like what they have to do or what they think other people are doing successfully.
• 2:48
  SPEAKER_01: Your zone of fire exists.
• 2:50
  SPEAKER_01: Let me get you there.
• 2:52
  SPEAKER_00: I know that of those 17 steps on the roadmap that you talk about in the book, you do have a favorite step.
• 2:57
  SPEAKER_00: So I would love for you to share that if you will.
• 3:00
  SPEAKER_01: Listen, this book is 71,000 words.
• 3:02
  SPEAKER_01: So, you know, the writers that are listening to this, you know that this is a meaty book.
• 3:05
  SPEAKER_01: This is 273 pages.
• 3:07
  SPEAKER_01: This is a book.
• 3:09
  SPEAKER_01: And you know, every chapter is like, say, three to five thousand words on average.
• 3:13
  SPEAKER_01: Chapter seven, step seven.
• 3:15
  SPEAKER_01: I sat down and I started writing.
• 3:18
  SPEAKER_01: And I wrote and I wrote.
• 3:19
  SPEAKER_01: And next week I'm still writing and I'm like, am I still on the same step here?
• 3:23
  SPEAKER_01: 13,500 words.
• 3:26
  SPEAKER_01: This chapter ended up being.
• 3:27
  SPEAKER_01: 13,500 words.
• 3:29
  SPEAKER_01: It's mental.
• 3:30
  SPEAKER_01: Creating a content production plan.
• 3:33
  SPEAKER_01: And after writing that chapter, Ken, I sat back and I said, a lot of people like ask, John, how in the world do you only have a team of, you know, three virtual assistants in you and Kate?
• 3:42
  SPEAKER_01: Yet 91 months in a row, you know, via your monthly income reports, you've shown over$100,000 of net profit every month for 91 months.
• 3:52
  SPEAKER_01: How's that even possible?
• 3:53
  SPEAKER_01: And honestly, like I sat back and I was like, this is the reason.
• 3:56
  SPEAKER_01: This step, this chapter is the reason why we've had such massive success, both financially and business-wise, for so long, for 91 months in a row now.
• 4:07
  SPEAKER_01: It's because of this step.
• 4:08
  SPEAKER_01: And frankly, our content production plan used to suck back in the day.
• 4:12
  SPEAKER_01: It really did.
• 4:13
  SPEAKER_01: And most people that are listening to my voice right now, your content production plan sucks.
• 4:17
  SPEAKER_01: Like, I'm not trying to be mean.
• 4:19
  SPEAKER_01: Like, you just need to hear it.
• 4:20
  SPEAKER_01: Like, Ken's too nice of a guy to tell you.
• 4:22
  SPEAKER_01: I'm not.
• 4:23
  SPEAKER_01: Like, I was an officer in the US Army for eight years.
• 4:25
  SPEAKER_01: Like I didn't, you know, let people go into battle, you know, because you know, I was too nice.
• 4:30
  SPEAKER_01: Like I made sure like they had the information they needed.
• 4:33
  SPEAKER_01: I'm giving you right now the information you need to survive in battle.
• 4:37
  SPEAKER_01: But you know, you're not gonna be getting shot at like my soldiers were.
• 4:40
  SPEAKER_01: You're you know, gonna have to battle the world of entrepreneurship, which you know has a much lower success rate.
• 4:47
  SPEAKER_01: So listen, your content production plan sucks, but that's okay.
• 4:50
  SPEAKER_01: Mine did too.
• 4:51
  SPEAKER_01: And now it's fantastic.
• 4:52
  SPEAKER_01: And then 13,500 words, your head will pop off with all this great content.
• 4:57
  SPEAKER_01: And then you'll be able to put your head back on and you'll be able to be like, finally, for the first time in my life, I have the step-by-step process, the guidance to create a master content production plan, and it will change your life.
• 5:09
  SPEAKER_00: What is the biggest problem that you see with writers beginning to think like entrepreneurs?
• 5:15
  SPEAKER_00: What is the obstacle that keeps so many writers from thinking more like a business owner or an entrepreneur?
• 5:20
  SPEAKER_01: They don't think about this one truth that all successful entrepreneurs and business owners have solved.
• 5:26
  SPEAKER_01: They don't ask themselves the question, what is the number one solution to a real problem that I can provide?
• 5:33
  SPEAKER_00: I love that.
• 5:34
  SPEAKER_01: That's it.
• 5:34
  SPEAKER_01: It's really that simple.
• 5:36
  SPEAKER_01: I can't tell you of the 3,000 entrepreneurs I've interviewed over the past decade, how big of a truth that is.
• 5:42
  SPEAKER_01: They've literally just identified one massive problem in this world and they've become the best solution to that.
• 5:48
  SPEAKER_01: Doesn't matter how small or tiny that niche may be, because they're the best, because they're number one, people beat a path to their doorstep, and that's how they win.
• 5:56
  SPEAKER_00: And that is a huge hurdle for a lot of artists, creative types, writers.
• 6:00
  SPEAKER_00: So I love the fact that you've laid out your knowledge in this book for all of us just to consume and go down a very specific, very detailed, and very clear pathway.
• 6:10
  SPEAKER_00: So thanks for doing this.
• 6:11
  SPEAKER_00: I cannot wait to get my hands on this book and dive into it.
• 6:14
  SPEAKER_00: I'm really, really excited.
• 6:15
  SPEAKER_01: Well, listen, I'm excited to get this book out to people.
• 6:17
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, it is my passion piece.
• 6:20
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, again, this is something that I spent a decade interviewing the world's most successful entrepreneurs, getting questions by the hundreds and hundreds every day, week, and month from my audience, essentially asking the same questions, like the same 10 questions I get over and over again.
• 6:32
  SPEAKER_01: I can't answer every one of them individually, but now I literally can gift them this book that has the answers to their questions.
• 6:40
  SPEAKER_01: So if you want your version of uncommon success, if you want financial freedom and fulfillment, this book is for you.
• 6:48
  SPEAKER_01: It's my promise, it's my guarantee, it's what this book will deliver.
• 6:52
  SPEAKER_01: And like Kent mentioned, I mean, I'm so passionate about this.
• 6:54
  SPEAKER_01: I've literally made it a no-brainer not to wait until publication day on March 23rd, but to pre-order this book because I'm going to be shipping to your doorstep all three of my journals that Kent's already received.
• 7:07
  SPEAKER_00: It's, I mean, that's this is the most insane book launch I've ever seen.
• 7:10
  SPEAKER_00: Look at that.
• 7:11
  SPEAKER_01: The Freedom, the Mastery, the Podcast Journal.
• 7:13
  SPEAKER_01: These are physical, faux leather, gorgeous wrapped journals that are being shipped to your door at my expense.
• 7:19
  SPEAKER_01: I'm losing money on every single pre-book.
• 7:22
  SPEAKER_01: I told my wife when I got those.
• 7:23
  SPEAKER_01: It's true.
• 7:23
  SPEAKER_01: Every single one.
• 7:24
  SPEAKER_01: And it's not, I'm not, I'm not hiding it.
• 7:26
  SPEAKER_01: You'll like you may see my first income report below$100,000 ever in my business since I started launching these things 91 months ago because of this expense.
• 7:33
  SPEAKER_01: But I don't care.
• 7:33
  SPEAKER_01: Like this message is so important to me.
• 7:36
  SPEAKER_01: I want you, I need you to have this book in your hands.
• 7:38
  SPEAKER_01: So I wanted to make it a no-brainer.
• 7:40
  SPEAKER_01: That's just one of the five bonuses you get.
• 7:42
  SPEAKER_01: You get four other bonuses as well.
• 7:44
  SPEAKER_01: To learn more about those bonuses, visit uncommonsuccessbook.com.
• 7:50
  SPEAKER_01: When you go there, you'll see endorsements from Gary Vanderchuk, Neil Patel, Erica Mandy, Seth Godin, Dory Clark.
• 7:56
  SPEAKER_01: You'll see a video of me jumping in my pool with all my clothes on and then breaking down all the details of the book.
• 8:01
  SPEAKER_01: You'll get the first chapter for free.
• 8:02
  SPEAKER_01: I just give it to you right there so you can see my writing style.
• 8:04
  SPEAKER_01: And of course, all five bonuses explains uncommonsuccessbook.com.
• 8:11
  SPEAKER_00: John, I'm going to close with this question.
• 8:13
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, since this is a writing podcast, and I asked Kate this question too when I talked to her last week.
• 8:19
  SPEAKER_00: But I'm curious about your response as well.
• 8:22
  SPEAKER_00: For this book, you went with HarperConn's leadership at Traditional Publisher.
• 8:25
  SPEAKER_00: You've self-published all your books up until now.
• 8:28
  SPEAKER_00: What is uh strategically, why go with the traditional publisher instead of self-publishing for this project?
• 8:33
  SPEAKER_01: You know, I wonder what Kate would have said.
• 8:34
  SPEAKER_01: I'm pretty curious.
• 8:34
  SPEAKER_01: I'll have to listen to that episode when it comes out.
• 8:36
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but I will tell you the truth from my perspective.
• 8:41
  SPEAKER_01: And that is uh a couple of reasons.
• 8:43
  SPEAKER_01: Number one, I'm not gonna lie, I liked the fact that I got a$350,000 advance.
• 8:47
  SPEAKER_01: Like, you know, getting that chip before writing a word was nice to kind of put in the old bank account and be like, okay, like this is kind of worth my time now to sit down and write this book because you know, I'm getting paid no matter what.
• 8:59
  SPEAKER_01: But listen, I've had unbelievably successful launches with self-publishing.
• 9:02
  SPEAKER_01: And in just 33 days with the Freedom Journal on Kickstarter, I I I uh generated$453,000.
• 9:09
  SPEAKER_01: So it's like, you know, does that advance?
• 9:12
  SPEAKER_01: Was that really the real reason I did it?
• 9:14
  SPEAKER_01: No, because I know that like I would have made that more, you know, doing it the self-published route.
• 9:18
  SPEAKER_01: But the true answer is this, and I and I and I know this is kind of closing us down here, which is listen, I practice what I preach.
• 9:26
  SPEAKER_01: And one thing that I preach is that all the magic happens outside of your comfort zone.
• 9:31
  SPEAKER_01: And it is so true in every walk of life.
• 9:33
  SPEAKER_01: Self-publishing, Kent, that's in my comfort zone now, brother.
• 9:36
  SPEAKER_01: I've done three incredibly successful self-publishing books, and they've all done very well.
• 9:40
  SPEAKER_01: It's in my comfort zone.
• 9:41
  SPEAKER_01: I know how to do it, I know how to crush it.
• 9:43
  SPEAKER_01: You know, taking a big check from HarperCollins, you know, having that pressure put on me, having like a real editor, a real publisher, having a real launch team, like I wanted the pressure of those things.
• 9:52
  SPEAKER_01: I wanted to get out of my comfort zone.
• 9:53
  SPEAKER_01: That was uncomfortable, that was a little scary for me.
• 9:55
  SPEAKER_01: And I wanted that to really produce the best book possible.
• 9:58
  SPEAKER_01: And I promise you, this book is better than it would have been if I'd gone the self-published route because this book was really outside of my comfort zone.
• 10:08
  SPEAKER_01: And it took me 480 hours of writing to create this beast of a book.
• 10:13
  SPEAKER_01: And I'm just really proud of it.
• 10:15
  SPEAKER_00: Well, I cannot wait to get my hands on it.
• 10:17
  SPEAKER_00: And thank you for that.
• 10:18
  SPEAKER_00: I that is totally different than what Kate shared, actually.
• 10:20
  SPEAKER_00: I believe it is.
• 10:21
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah.
• 10:22
  SPEAKER_00: Um, she just basically basically shared that it was just something different, a different way to go about the pro the process and a different experience, and also the distribution that comes with uh traditional publisher as well.
• 10:34
  SPEAKER_00: So yeah, I I love that.
• 10:36
  SPEAKER_00: Well, John, thank you so much.
• 10:37
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you for the way you've impacted so many people's lives and my life as well through all of your great content over the years.
• 10:43
  SPEAKER_00: So thanks so much, and I appreciate your time.
• 10:45
  SPEAKER_01: Thanks, Ken.
• 10:46
  SPEAKER_01: Take care.