It's time to write book #4—but first, I need your help!
No, you're not going to write it for me; I'll do that. What I do need is for you to volunteer to be part of some research that will provide data to support my area of focus. Let me explain...
First of all, com’ on, really, another book—are you kidding me? I know, what the hell, right? Believe me, I’ve already had a few moments of regret, cursing myself for speaking the idea out loud to some friends and family.
“Jase, man, you said you didn’t have any more stories to tell—I heard you say that!”
Yup, that’s true. It’s been my answer since my last book, IKE: the dog who saved a human, came out two years ago. And for the most part, it is true; I don’t have another story that would begin to match the scope and interest of IKE. However, I do have something that I believe is worth sharing—an idea for a book that struck me last week and has been gaining steam ever since. So, here we are!
The surprisingly funny thing for me is that this book will fall into the category of self-help. Whoa, from a guy who said he’d never, EVER write a self-help book! In fact, when Pulling Together came out, it was a response to my first book, Chariots & Horses. Readers said, “Neat story, but can you tell us how you did it? You know, can you write a coach’s manual—a how-to version or something like that?”
I was bound and determined not to: I didn’t want to write a how-to book. "I’m a storyteller,” I kept saying. “Not some flaky self-help guy!”
Eventually, I settled on a compromise: I would tell a story about a remarkable group of athletes and explain how we built the healthy high-performance culture we did on the back of the story—dilemma solved! Pulling Together was the result—a book that I’m super happy I chose to write.
And I think that’s kinda where this next book will land. A how-to book as it pertains to discovering one’s purpose in life while stirring up more effective motivation to live it. It’s a tool I’ve written about here before, which we utilize with all our coaching clients and workshop participants.
That tool is the Love Score™. For us, it’s been one of the most transformative tools we’ve used with our clients. It has the capacity to shine a light on what’s working and, conversely, what’s getting in the way of our best selves. Assessing one’s love for self, love for one’s endeavour(s), love for one’s team (co-workers/family), and, finally, love for those we compete with or may be in conflict with. Combined, this assessment is remarkably informative when trying to either improve performance, discover one’s calling, and/or find more joy and happiness in our days.
When we check out at the end of our workshops, we’ll ask, “What are you taking with you and what are you leaving behind?” Invariably, the Love Score™ gets mentioned a lot. For many, it’s a wake-up call—a reminder that life could be different if we are willing to look honestly at how we value important aspects of our lives.
So, here’s where you come in. I’m looking for volunteers to first engage in an anonymous survey to establish a starting point. Then, go through the process of recording your Love Score™ daily and journaling about your experience. The journaling will take as much time as you want to commit. It will involve answering some reflective questions and capturing your internal response to the exercise—nothing too onery. This part is between you and yourself—I won’t see this process.
The final bit is to interview a few participants willing to share their 4-week experience in more detail, so I can share anonymous stories of how some individuals came through the exercise. What did you notice? If anything, what’s different or better? What have you learned about yourself? Stuff like that.
If this sounds like something you’d be up for, I would certainly appreciate your help. The stories clients frequently share are profound and inspiring—I’m looking for more of those. If you’re keen or just curious, please reply to this email and let me know. Thank you in advance—I look forward to hearing from you!
Well, as I say to everyone who has congratulated me for previous books. We’re all capable of writing one—we’ve all got worthwhile stories to share. However, the physical sharing part, the writing, can often be the deterrent. That’s where a little bit of discipline kicks in. As I’ve learned with the previous books, you simply have to commit to writing every morning. For me, that means putting my ass in a chair until I’ve written at least 1,000 plus words—minimum—before I can consider getting on with the rest of my day. You stack enough of those on top of one another, and you’ll have a book. It’s really that simple.
"Writing a book is like driving a car at night. You can only see as far as your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way.”
— E.L. Doctorow
