Thinking About Writing a Book with Ken Rusk: An EOFire Classic from 2022

0:01Boom! Shake the room, Fire Nation. JLD here and welcome to Entrepreneurs on Fire, the only daily show interviewing the world's top entrepreneurs seven days a week. Today, we're pulling a classic episode from the archives and we'll be breaking down what to do if you're thinking about writing a book. To drop these value bombs, I brought to Ken Rusk in the EO Fire Studios. Ken specializes in mentoring and has coached hundreds of young people in areas such as short, mid and long-term goal setting, life visualization, career paths, and sound financial planning. He is passionate about helping people achieve their dreams regardless of their educational background or past.

0:35And for the value bombs, Fire Nation, see what you want and go get it. Common sense is not always common practice and all of us can do whatever we set our minds to and oh so much more. And a big thank you for sponsoring today's episode goes to Ken and our sponsors. These days, your business needs total visibility from global shipments to tariff impacts to real time cashflow. That's NetSuite by Oracle, your AI powered business management suite trusted by over 41 ,000 businesses, download the free ebook, Navigating Global Trade, Three Insights for Leaders at netsuite.com slash fire. Franocity has helped hundreds of people leave unfulfilling jobs, invest in recession resilient businesses and create legacy income for their families through franchising.

1:18Visit franocity.com. That's F-R-A-N-O-C-I-T-Y.com to book a free consultation and start your franchising journey with expert guidance. Ken, say what's up to Fire Nation and share something that you believe about becoming successful that most people disagree with. Thanks so much for having me and what up Fire Nation out there. I think it's pretty simple. I think people think that entrepreneur, the spirit of being an entrepreneur or entrepreneurship is something that is a special gift that's given to certain people. And I don't believe that at all. I think what entrepreneurs share more than anything is a real crystal clear vision for what they want for the future.

2:04And I can tell you that once you figure out a way to put that out in front of you, all the characteristics that make an entrepreneur, they come out of all of us. I mean, they come out of everybody. So see what you want and then go get it. See what you want, Fire Nation, go get it. Because at the end of the day, what's the alternative? What's the alternative? See what you want and not going after it? That sounds like a pretty sad, lame, pathetic life. Now, Ken, we're going to be asking the question, so you're thinking about writing a book. I want to first talk about your journey to becoming an author.

2:40Tell us that story. I've been hiring people for a very long time. I've been in the ditch digging business for more than I care to remember. I think it's almost 35 or 36 years now. And in that time, I started really young. I started when I was like 15 or 16. And in that time, growing my company from six to 200, I had to hire a lot of people. And it was amazing to me to see the different forms of how prepared these people were to come into not only the job field, but the world, their personal world and launching their career. so I started becoming an almost involuntary life coach and I absolutely loved it I mean we talked about you know their first job their first credit card their first car they're you know getting their driver's license straightened away their first apartment the first checking account all those things that were first for them and I became almost like you know that uncle that knows everything to these to these folks and and it was wonderful so the more I did it the more we came up with these systems and this course that we put our folks through, the more people said, you know, Ken, this really works.

3:54You need to get this message beyond the four walls of your building. So I started jotting down some notes and here we are. Now, that was a pretty good summation of how you got to where you are today. But what was the motivation behind it? I mean, I know you like helping people. I know you like seeing people succeed in life. but what really motivates you to the core to keep doing what you're doing? I just think that there's a lot of simple things that aren't taught out there that can make a huge difference in how your life turns out and it begins with you and what you think it's going to be. So, you know, I used a lot of simple processes in my life that I thought were kind of common sense and then I found out that they're not being taught out there.

4:35So, you know, I started writing a letter to my daughter about what I thought was really important in life. You know, the the what what are we chasing? What's the nirvana we're after? And I kept coming back with these three words, comfort, peace and freedom. And I talk about those a lot in the book. And and, you know, my daughter was suffering from a pretty serious illness at the time. And I wrote this letter to her and it just kept on going and going. And when I matched that up with what I was doing with coaching, it just seemed like a real natural thing for me to, you know, write these things down, you know, come from, you know, to whom much is given, much is expected, and see if I couldn't give back and help some other people out.

5:16So one thing, Fire Nation, I really hope you take away from a lot of what Ken just shared is common sense isn't always common practice. I mean, just because it's obvious to you or to me doesn't mean it's obvious to somebody else. And that's why you can always take your expertise, your life experience and share it with others. So writing, editing, publishing, I mean, Ken, it all seems so overwhelming. What was the writing, editing and publishing process like for you? Tell us that story. Give us the ups, the high points, give us the downs, give us the dark moments. In my case, I never really set out to become an author.

5:54Like, okay, I'm going to become a plumber or a carpenter. I'm going to be an author. So it kind of evolved into, I think I have a manuscript here, and then we'll see if somebody else might be interested in it. And John, I never thought this thing would go 10 feet, much less the 10 miles that it's gone. But it turns out that writing the book was probably the easiest part because there's so much involved in, you know, getting an editor and having what they call kind of a ghostwriter help you clean up your manuscript and then reorganize it and then do some research to shore up some of the things you talk about.

6:31And then you have to go through, you know, you find an agent who will represent you. And, you know, that's a very humbling experience. And then that agent takes your book and cleans it up even more and hopefully doesn't change it too much, which in my case they didn't. I'm grateful for that. But then you have to go through the publishing process where these companies, you know, they really put you through the ringer. Like, why should I buy this book? Who's going to read this book? Who are you to talk about these things? Why would anyone want to listen to what you have to say? And it just kept going to the point where the tables kind of turned and I had a bunch of publishers actually bidding on this book.

7:10So it was a it was a pretty crazy experience having to write and then rewrite and then edit and then add and change. And again, thankfully, most of the book is intact and still in there. But it's a grind. And like I said, writing it was the easiest part. I think getting it across the finish line with all these other agencies is probably the tougher part. What was the lowest point? Like, what was the darkest moment? Like, tell us when you were just diswrought over something. The most anxious time for me was as we started approaching the launch date, which I had all this media set up. I had all these great interviews.

7:50I had all these podcasts set up. and then COVID hit and it pretty much wrecked a lot of that opportunity for me. So we launched our book in the middle of a pandemic, which was really, really challenging, so much so that we relaunched it recently and it's been much more successful. So yeah, leave it to me to write and launch a book in the middle of a pandemic that hasn't hit us in a hundred years, right? So yeah, that was a pretty tough time. Tough time for sure. And one thing that I will say, Fire Nation, is you are going to have the twists, the turns. You're going to have things that come up that are not expected.

8:28And you're either going to make lemonade or you're going to let lemons ruin that parade. So it's always going to come down to your choice, your attitude, your decision. We have a lot of great things coming up when we get back from thanking our sponsors. Starting your own business can feel intimidating. Where do you start? How do you grow? When will you start generating revenue? All valid questions. If you love the idea of creating wealth and freedom, but you're not sure if starting from scratch is the way to go, then I'm excited to tell you about Franocity. Franocity has helped hundreds of people leave unfulfilling jobs, invest in recession, resilient businesses, and create legacy income for their families through franchising.

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9:35Visit Franocity.com. That's F-R-A-N-O-C-I-T-Y.com. To put a free consultation and start your journey with expert guidance. I think we can all agree that it's an interesting time for business. Tariff and trade policies are shifting, which affects supply chains, cashflow, and more. And if your business can't adapt in real time, that's a big concern. You need total visibility from global shipments to tariff impacts to real-time cashflow. And for that, there's NetSuite by Oracle, your AI-powered business management suite trusted by over 41 ,000 businesses. NetSuite is the number one cloud ERP, bringing accounting, financial management, inventory, and HR into one suite, giving you one source of truth and the visibility and control to make quick decisions.

10:16With real-time forecasting, you're peering into the future, allowing you to know what's stuck, what is costing you, and how to pivot fast. And with AI tools, you can automate everyday tasks, allowing your teams to stay strategic. If our business needed this type of software, I'd use NetSuite in a heartbeat. It's one system, full control, tame the chaos with NetSuite. If your revenues are at least in the seven figures, download the free ebook, Navigating Global Trade, Three Insights for Leaders at netsuite.com slash fire. That's netsuite.com slash fire. Now, Ken, when I talk to my audience when it comes to creating podcasts, I talk about the avatar, the one single perfect listener, the person that I speak to when I'm interviewing people like yourself.

10:57Like I'm speaking to Jimmy right now. Jimmy is my avatar, my single one perfect listener. Do you have target readers? The target reader is someone who thinks I'm not really fully in control of my life. And that could be someone who's 15 or 50. And that could be the son or daughter of somebody or a grandson or daughter. That could be a mentor, a mentee. That could also be maybe someone who manages a company who is looking to create some really awesome self-managing, self-directed employees. But anyone who thinks that maybe I don't have the control of my life that I think I should, that's definitely someone that I want to read this book.

11:36That is so important to you, Fire Nation, to have that clear individual, that clear target, that clear reader in mind. Now, what is the message that you hope to get across through your writing? Like when you're writing this book, when you're writing words on the page, what is this message you're trying to get across? All of us can do it, JLD. It's that simple. All of us can do what we set our minds to. You know, they talk about us only using 25 percent of our brain. And I can tell you that if you look at any entrepreneur, the first thing they start with is what exactly do I want my life to look like?

12:16Like what what what are my hobbies? What are my health moments? What are my charity moments? What are what kind of house do I want to live in? What kind of transportation am I driving? You know, what kind of pet do I see myself owning? You know, what are my hobbies going to be like? All those things are really crystal clear in quote unquote entrepreneurs' minds. And they start with that. And then they find one of several different paths to get there, knowing that there isn't just one, be it like a college education or going to acquire a skill or a trade or starting your own company. We all can do this.

12:56None of us are uniquely special that we have this gift or power that somebody else doesn't have. Let's spend the rest of the episode talking about advice that you have for other would-be authors. I mean, there's a lot of people listening right now, my audience, Fire Nation. They have a voice. They have a message. They have a mission that they really want to share with the world. You've been there. You've done that. What advice would you have for our listeners who want to go down that path of becoming an author? I think the most important thing is to just talk about what you know and what you know very well.

13:31You know, if you're into specifically in my category, because I was in nonfiction business, I wanted to really channel the message to a unique individual, an individual like the one we just talked about. And so I kind of pointed everything that I talked about to that one person, you know, that one, you know, Johnny or that one Susie that was out there going, God, I need some help. I need to get past, you know, where I'm at right now, living for Friday and not knowing what my future looks like. I think the first thing you have to start with is who exactly is the reader and then talk about something that you know very well directly to that one person, not trying to be an end all for everybody.

14:16What other advice would you have for somebody that doesn't even actually know where to start? I mean, maybe they do have a topic they want to talk about, but they really don't know what that next step would be. You know, it's funny because I remember being on an airplane and I'm writing really feverishly with a pen on a legal pad and I was shaking my hand because, you know, my hand was getting tired and the gentleman sitting next to me said, what are you doing? And I said, well, I think I'm writing a book. And he goes, well, I realized that, but like you're writing it like with a pen, you know, we have these things called keyboards now.

14:49And I said, I know, but every time I type a word, I have to erase it. So for me, it was more spiritual and more holistic to just take a piece of paper and a pen and start writing. So the advice I would give people is get some legal pads, put them somewhere where it's very quiet. And every time you have a thought, write it down. You don't have to do this in order. You don't have to do, you know, chapter one, chapter two, chapter 10. Just write down all the thoughts that you have morning, noon, night, whenever it hits you. and just keep doing that until you have 60 ,000, 70 ,000 words of something that can be organized by people that know that business inside and out.

15:30Ken, take us home, brother. What is the one message you really want Fire Nation to get from our entire conversation here today? My ability to gain the life that I want for myself is based on a couple things. It's based, number one, on what my input is, which is under my control and nobody else's. It's also what my output becomes, and that is under my control and nobody else's. Those two things normally build a financial gain for yourself, which is, again, under your control. And once those things start to happen and you see your life start to come into fruition for the picture that you have for your life and your world, you will become a really crazy good, effective, self-managed, self-directed, self-motivated, goal-crushing machine.

16:20And every one of us has those abilities inside of us for sure. Ken, how can Fire Nation connect with you? What call to action do you have for our listeners? Well, first off, thank you for having me. We have the book on kenrusk.com. In fact, we have a special section with an offer for your listeners. It's KenRusk.com forward slash fire, where you can see the project that we're working on and you can see the course that we've built and see if it's for you. You know, it's also for sale on Amazon and Barnes and Nobles. And don't forget your local bookstores. But I think the most important thing that I want everybody to know is I've been very blessed and I'm extremely grateful.

17:03So all the money that I get from these books and these courses, I just donate back to charities like Make-A-Wish and those types of things. So if you're helping yourself, you're helping somebody else at the same time. Fire Nation, you're the average of the five people you spend the most time with. And you've been hanging out with KR and JLD today. So keep up that heat. Head over to eofire.com, type Ken in the search bar. The show notes page will pop up with everything that we've talked about. Of course, your direct call to action. Ken Rusk. That's R-U-S-K dot com slash fire. Ken, thank you, brother, for sharing your truth, knowledge, value with Fire Nation today.

17:45For that, we salute you and we'll catch you on the flip side. Thank you, Johnny. Hey, Fire Nation. Today's value bomb content was brought to you by Ken and Fire Nation. What can 3 ,000 of the world's most successful entrepreneurs teach you? How about how to achieve financial freedom and fulfillment? My first traditionally published book, The Common Path to Uncommon Success is a revolutionary 17-step roadmap that will lead you to the lifestyle that you've been dreaming about. This book took me 10 years of accumulating the genius of the world's top entrepreneurs, and you can get it all in one place when you visit uncommonsuccessbook.com, and I'll catch you there or on the flip side.

18:26These days, your business needs total visibility from global shipments to tariff impacts to real time cash flow. That's NetSuite by Oracle, your AI powered business management suite trusted by over 41 ,000 businesses. Download the free ebook, Navigating Global Trade, three insights for leaders at netsuite.com slash fire. Franocity has helped hundreds of people leave unfulfilling jobs, invest in recession resilient businesses and create legacy income for their families through franchising. Visit franocity.com. That's F-R-A-N-O-C-I-T-Y.com to book a free consultation and start your franchising journey with expert guidance.