My Intellectual Crush

If you Google Intellectual Crush Definition, a whole bunch of stuff comes up. The only actual definition I found is in the Urban Dictionary:

A crush on someone that developed because of admiration for the person's skill/talent/intellectual abilities etc... Often used to clarify that crushes of the same gender are more or less platonic and not sexual in nature.

I have a few of these crushes, and I have mentioned them in previous blogs. 

These people inspire me, and make me sigh with the brilliance of their minds!

JJ Abrahms

Seth McFarlane

Joss Wheadon

George Clooney (although this one could go either way)

I am adding someone to the list. This is not done without serious consideration as it is very few who reach this status in my world but Oh Nelly I am in love…

His name is Bob Mayer, and if you have an eye on my activities you know I have been gobbling up his media like Christmas candy! Those who do not know who Bob Mayer is, let me introduce you. His bio on Goodreads: A West Point graduate, former Green Beret and NY Times best-selling author and motivational speaker/consultant. He is the Co-Creator of Who Dares Wins Publishing. He has written over 45 titles under his name and his several pen names, including Robert Doherty He has co-authored several books with Jennifer Crusie.

He is also the owner of a wonderful blog titled after a remarkable novel, Write it Forward, Who Dares Wins!

So what is the attraction? He is a teacher, and a real author. Not one of those people who says they are an author and puts out a bunch of books to help other authors just to make money. 

His books, his theory, his thought process makes sense to me. It isn’t bunch of hooey to fill pages, it is black and white.  I have been meaning to read several of his books for almost a year now. I recently discovered the text to speech feature on my Kindle and holy hell I am an idiot! I am kicking myself for waiting as long as I have to read the man’s books! I could go into a long explanation as to what his books say and suggest but honestly, just go read them. I am being sincere about this, if you hate them I will refund your money!! LOL!

I am going to branch off for a second to try and explain why this is such an impactful moment for me. I was published in 2010 and since then I have released eleven novels.  I have learned so much about myself, the business, the web and the world. I have been gathering all of this information (and there is a lot to process) to try and plan for the future, what it is I want, what I need, and what is possible. 

I discovered I am a writer (go figure) and I want to be the BEST writer I can be. I want to learn, expand, grow, hone, define, and perfect my abilities.  Knowing this and doing something about it are two different things. I am 42, not a spring chicken, but I have the hunger of a 23 year old eyeing the world to conquer.

Mr. Mayer has written 45 novels (more now I think), he has been writing for 20 years, he has been on the best seller list, and he literally (not exaggeration here) sells about 1500 books a day.  So now my interest is peaked, right? Wow, who doesn’t want to be like him? Thus the reasons I initially bought his books. Let me make a clarification, I bought his non-fiction books – 102 Solutions to Common Writing Mistakes, and the Novel Writer’s Toolkit—both looked promising. 

I just finished them and I went a step further and put Mr. Mayer to the ultimate test. I bought and read one of his fiction books, ‘Don’t Look Down’ co-authored by Jennifer Cruise. 

Hell he may look good on paper but can he deliver the pros?

Uh, yeah, he can.

Seriously, he can. 

Wow, so not only does the man speak my language, as in he was able to penetrate my concrete noggin to enable me to ‘get it’ as far as my writing, he is also really good at the craft. This sounds like an oxymoron, but it is all too often people who write how to books cannot actually write fiction to save their lives.

So now I have joined the cult, I am an avid reader, follower, and supporter of Bob Mayer and all he does. The man is a freakin’ genius, and I can only hope to be half the writer and or business person he is. 

If you are a writer, READ his books, if you are a READER, read his books, I love romantic suspense and I started with ‘Don’t Look Down’ and I loved it. As a writer I started with 102 Solutions. I have posted reviews on all, and I highly recommend them to anyone who wants to learn and grow in their craft.

So THAT my friends is an intellectual crush!

Ba-Zinga!! --Oh did I tell you Sheldon Cooper is on the list as well—hahaha!

Live, Love, Learn--Everyday

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It's Not Personal - Just Business?

This phrase is written on a sticky note and taped to an area of my desk where it is always visible. I had a hard time getting used to this idea. I am so passionate about my work it is difficult to not make it personal. As a corporate sales analyst my job is to ensure operations run smoothly. When this doesn’t happen I am responsible no matter what, so I get it done right the first time. This is my standard, first to satisfy the customer and second because I have a good reputation to uphold. 

Recently, my company has gone through some transformations and this has created chaos within the ranks. Promises and reassurances I could make in the past are no longer there as I have little control of what happens. Thus I am unwilling to commit to anything. This situation has made client relations very strained, as we are missing previously standard deliverables. When deliverables are not met, the account need a head to knock, and that is me. I may have had nothing to with the passage of events, but it is still my head hitting the back wall with a thud.

I always took this very personally, as I had failed the account. This had never happened to me before. I had never had a client unhappy with my performance—wait right there—this is not my performance. This is the company’s performance. This is not a criticism of my work or efforts. It is a calling for support from the vendor (us) for additional assistance. This where I would always start to panic about how good or lousy a job I am doing and start taking it personally, get emotionally upset etc. This is not what is supposed to happen. The people who are concerned and or demanding are not disgruntled with me personally they are fighting for their needs. Sometime the customer needs to scream to have anyone listen.

As a writer, I have become a business woman and this same adage is true even more so with my own business. Have you ever watched the show “Shark Tank”? If you are unfamiliar, it is a reality show with five very successful entrepreneurs who are looking for the next big thing to invest in. People with newly invented products come in to the shark tank and ask for money and or support for their individual venture. 

It is the most accurate portrayal of big business I’ve ever seen. The five business leaders are polite, well groomed, and sarcastic. The contestants come and go one by one. The moment something or someone gets these five business experts attentions it gets really interesting. Pleasantries are put aside, the teeth come out, eyes are black and their only goal is to control that product for as little money as possible. The attack begins and the numbers start rolling. Just to describe how intense it gets, here is a quote “I swear to God if you screw this up for me, I will club you like a baby seal!” 

None of us wants to be the shark, but that is the way you need to be when selling your product, your book. You need to take all of the emotion out of it and tap into your inner shark. It is business. You are not personally attacking anyone. You are simply obtaining the best opportunities for growth. This is the only way you are going to sell and sell big. It doesn’t matter if you know Steve Martin or Simon & Schuster if you are not selling your product with the conviction that it is the best you are not going to get anyone’s attention.

This does not mean you need to become a heartless, horrible, non-feeling person. What it does mean is that you need to learn to put your personal feelings aside and make your business decisions based on facts not emotion. Sharks look at the facts, cold and hard, leaving any sentiment at the door. Will it sell or won’t it?

Again, this does not mean you lose your love affair with words, it can all fit together, you just need some practice. Search for your inner shark and then keep him hidden away until you need him.

“Sharks have been swimming the oceans unchallenged for thousands of years; chances are, the species that roams corporate waters will prove just as hardy.”

 ~Eric Gelman

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