By now you know the drill: your inbox will reveal that you’ve got an email from me that contains my latest newsletter, or you’ll see a post on social media alerting you that the next issue is posted. You’ll open up the newsletter, usually quite long and full of whatever thoughts were on my mind over the past week (or, lately, the past 2 weeks), and you’ll get some idea on how to pray for my family.
This week’s edition is going to be different.
It’ll still be delivered the same way, but the content isn’t what you’ve come to expect. This issue is going to be shorter than normal because my mind has been completely consumed with another project, one that doesn’t really lend itself to the purpose of this newsletter.
I’ve been editing and formatting my biggest book project ever, and getting it pushed to Amazon for publication. The files have been uploaded, and pending the approval of the Mighty Mini-Bezos folks, you’ll be able to purchase my most ambitious, and probably best, book ever. I’ve worked very hard, usually very late into the evening, to get it done and out the door.
Ladies and gentlemen, I’d like to present what I believe will be my legacy book:
Learning to Write: A Memoir, Manifesto, and Guidebook for Aspiring Writers.1
The book is written to help anyone who aspires to write well, write for publication, and/or write for a career, and it’s full of my personal formula for learning how to do all three. In simple, easy-to-understand language, this book lays out a pathway for overcoming the mental blocks that prohibit people from developing themselves into the writer they’ve always wanted to be.
It’s perfect for anyone in 9th grade or above, which includes us old folks living with regret that the window closed on our writing that book we’d always dreamed of writing.
It will be available for Kindle and in paperback. I encourage you to buy the paperback because you might want to scribble notes or underline concepts along the way.
Getting the book done and out into the world for consumption weighed heavily on me the past few weeks, and I finally decided to just get it done. There were late nights, lost sleep, and more revisions/versions than you can shake a stick at. I learned about a FANTASTIC website for formatting the interior of books, the power of polling people for their cover opinion, and the paradoxical nature of the KDP cover formatting program.
In fact, I will probably start a subscription newsletter for writers where I share not only some of the stuff from the book, but many of the lessons I learned along the way to publication of the book.
I will email the link to both versions of the book when it is available, and I am asking each of you to please consider purchasing a copy and then leaving a review of the book on Amazon.
The more reviews I receive from paying customers, the more the book will move up in Amazon’s book recommendation algorithm, which increases the chances of new people discovering the book through the search feature.
That’s a bold ask, but if I can’t ask my friends and family to help me achieve my dreams, who can I ask?
This book is a labor of love, birthed out of people at work asking for help on becoming better writers. Then there was the brief moment I thought I could turn this into a product the company could sell and I could make a royalty on, so I drafted an outline for material that became the book’s 3rd section.
Add in the number of John Maxwell Team coaches who’ve been begging for some kind of material on writing—and writing like Papa John Maxwell himself—along with the non-JMT writers I’ve coached and helped over the last four years and a terminal cancer diagnosis that encouraged reflection and action on some long delayed dreams, and you get a 240-page paperback that shares my journey and process as a writer.
I want as many people as possible around the world to buy it and read it, whether they write another word or not.
That’s because the book is full of insights about more than writing. It’s about growth. It’s about attitude. It’s about overcoming limiting beliefs and reaching for something greater in life. You can read this book and actually learn as much about growing as a person as you learn about growing as a writer.
Like this newsletter, the book ain’t no one-trick pony.
So there’s no great spiritual insights this week, no thoughts about life or death or the other great topics of reflection and growth. There’s just a shameless ask for you to buy a copy of my book and then leave a review on Amazon telling people that it’s good, that you trust me as a writer, and that people who read it seeking to grow are in capable hands.
Because I’ve heard the last two things a lot from many of you in emails, texts, or social media, and I figure the first will take care of itself. So in the end, all I’m asking you to share your kind words with other people instead of me.2
And buy my book, too.3
It’ll be a huge blessing to see this book succeed, and I thank each one of you in advance for purchasing your copy and turning my dream into reality.
Prayer Requests:
Jason—I have chemo tomorrow (we pushed last week’s treatment back) and then a small surgical procedure on Wednesday to install a drain that will allow me to evacuate the fluid from my abdomen myself instead of having the hospital poke me with a needle every month or so. The goal is to get the fluid under control so I can eat better and gain strength, which will allow me to tolerate chemo better and improve my quality of life. The doctor expressed concern that we might be reaching a place where the chemo is doing more harm than good, but I believe that this drain will help provide the cascading effect needed.
Rachel—Just pray that she’ll be strengthened and sustained by God. We’re learning a LOT about keeping God at the center of not only our lives, but the grander story of Creation. It’s amazing how often we allow other things to steal His throne and glory, and Rachel has been leading the charge in our home to ensure that we don’t fall into that trap. Also, the kids start school next week, which means compressed schedules return and she’ll be back to burning up the road for ballet and school and whatever other activities/social engagements the kids come up with.
Ella—Ballet and school start back in earnest, so pray Ella can continue managing her time and schedule well. Also, pray for her as she continues to choose the path of maturity and personal growth amongst a peer group that respects her choices but doesn’t necessarily imitate them.
Jon—School will require an adjustment of time expenditure and sleep schedule, so pray that Jon can quickly re-establish healthy distance between gaming and studying. As many of you can easily recall, 7th grade was a big year, full of confusion and growth as hormones kick in and things get hairy, so please pray for Jon to adjust and adapt well.
Family—this is the first time I’ve asked for a collective prayer request, but I’d ask you to pray that all of us can learn to choose and keep a positive outlook on life, rather than allowing negative thoughts to rush in and disturb our peace.
Know someone who’d benefit from this post? Maybe a writer or reader looking for something new to consume? Well, click this button to send it their way!
If I had a last word, it would be this: don’t wait to pursue your dream. Don’t let old age or a life-threatening episode be the only reason you choose to invest time into that idea you feel you were born to bring to life.
We are given just this life, this short and fragile strand of time, to do the things our imaginations and souls tell us can and should be done. You are worthy to chase that dream, or else you wouldn’t have it.
If you still need some encouragement to chase your dream, may I suggest you invest in John Maxwell’s Put Your Dream to the Test? Yeah it’s a plug for work stuff, but it’s also a very helpful book that accomplishes something many books of its kind don’t:
It actually motivates you to get up and achieve your dream by providing simple exercises to get you moving.
The central thesis of the book is simple: the more reasons you have for achieving your dream, the more likely you are to actually achieve it. So John provides 10 thought-provoking questions for you to work through, and each one you can answer well becomes a reason for you to get up and chase your dream.
We need more dreamers in this culture; but even more than that, we need more dreamers who get off of their butts and actually DO something to fulfill those dreams.
Be one of those folks. There’s no better feeling, I promise you. I can’t tell you how much completing my book and getting out for purchase has created a sense of satisfaction within me, and lit a fire to chase some other dreams as well.
Join me, regardless of whether you buy something from John.
Don’t let your dreams die with you. God provides them, and does so for a reason; and if you’ll ask Him, He’ll reveal what your dream is.
Because here’s the best part: because God’s given you your dream, He’s also provided everything you need to see it come true because your success will bring Him glory. You’ll need to provide a little bit of elbow grease, but what God ordains He fulfills, because He is without limit, without equal, and without sin. There is no other being like Him, yet we no longer believe that in our society.
If God’s people would simply obey Him, and chase after the dreams He’s already destined to fulfill, then He will be revealed to an unbelieving world. His power will be on display in ways that capture hearts and minds.
So your dream will succeed if you’ll trust Him and chase it obediently. It doesn’t mean you’ll be a billionaire or have everything you want; but it does mean that God will have what He wants:
His glory.
That’s all sealed by Christ’s death on the cross, which means the enemy cannot stop you as you follow God’s will. He will protect and provide for your every need.
That’s a nice promise. It’d be a shame not to live it.
As always, thanks for reading!
Best,
Jason
If you click on this, it will take you to the book’s Amazon page, where you can check to see when/if the Kindle or paperback versions are available. Based on the current set up, it looks like the Kindle edition is available for purchase, so there you go…a good example of why checking things for yourself beats trusting automated emails.
Though I do enjoy hearing it, too.
$17.99 for the paperback, $5.99 for the Kindle. I’m hoping to sell at least 100 copies combined.
Jason, you & your precious family are always in our prayers.