I’m talking about getting rid of books that no longer serve you.

In the course of my ministry, teaching, and writing career, I’ve moved offices several times. Every time I do, I realize that print books are a huge pain to move!

As a voracious reader, and now as a full-time writer, I love books. Hardly a week goes by that I don’t get a book or two in the mail. Over time, these have added up and I’ve run out of shelf space more than once.

Every year or two, I do a “book purge.” It works like this: I take a couple of hours to go through all my books and set aside the ones I no longer need. I try to use the “moving next month” principle, in which I ask myself, “If I were moving next month, would I want to pack this book and take it with me?”

It’s OK to have overflowing shelves of books right now. However, the fact is that those books will need to be moved at some point in the future. Whether it’s you or perhaps your spouse or kids after you die, somebody will need to figure out what to do with the books.

The older I get, the less sentimental I feel toward books. If you have moved anytime recently, you know the lack of sentimentality you have when actually lugging all that stuff around.

That’s why I believe in an aggressive approach to book purging. Unless you have a particular sentimental attachment to a book, or you’re going to need it in the next few years, you should question whether to keep it.

Using this principle, I have downsized my library by a couple of thousand books over the last few years. I’ve either sold the books on Amazon, or more recently, donated them to Goodwill.

Every time I go through this process, I come across books that were once important to me, but no longer need to be part of my journey going forward. A book should earn its place on your bookshelf.

But if it’s not relevant to you right now, it might be helpful to someone else. That’s why I advocate for liberal generosity when giving books away. Plus, you can always buy another copy or get the ebook or audiobook version, if you need it again.

Please note: A book is just a collection of ideas and stories that represent a particular author’s viewpoint or experience at that point in their life. It might have been important to you at one point, but it isn’t anymore.

But if it is, then keep that book and re-read it! Give it a prized place on your shelf. A great book that helps you is a wonderful lifelong companion.

Today’s Challenge: To get started, take one minute and look at a single shelf of books in your home or office. Select at least one book you no longer need. Gift it to a friend or donate it to Goodwill.

The post Clear the Clutter: Books That Need a New Home appeared first on Daily Writer | Essential Habits for Impact & Influence.

If you pick up the book this week or anytime in the future, you’ll see a lot of stories about Elvis’s generosity. He was always giving money to people—sometimes to complete strangers—buying cars for others, or helping people out in some way.

Elvis’s famous generosity was actually a point of contention between him and his father, Vernon, who managed Elvis’s business affairs. Vernon would sometimes say, “Elvis, you’re going to put us in the poorhouse.” Elvis would respond, “At least we’ll be driving there in style.”

One of my biggest takeaways from working on this project was the importance of being generous. This is an aspect of Elvis’s life that doesn’t get much attention among all his music, movies, and other facets of his career.

Elvis didn’t see his wealth and power as something to just be consumed. He also used it to help others. How can you and I do the same? How can we show generosity toward other people in our circle?

Let me suggest three simple ways:

1. Leave podcast and book reviews for people. Every podcaster and author wants to have more ratings and reviews. This is an easy way to make a difference.
2. Send handwritten cards to people in the mail. Remember that people’s #1 emotional need is to feel validated and affirmed.
3. Buy and share books that your friends have published. People will always remember who talked about their book on social media or elsewhere. They won’t forget how you made them feel by your support.

Generosity doesn’t have to be complicated or expensive. We could all be more like Elvis and show our support for people in our circle.

Question: Which one of the three suggestions I gave above could you practice today?

The post The Power of Generosity appeared first on Daily Writer | Essential Habits for Impact & Influence.

The post Grow Your Network with the Power of Generosity with Vincent Pugliese appeared first on Daily Writer | Essential Habits for Impact & Influence.

On this podcast, we talk a lot about giving. I want you to be a generous writer. But what does that mean, exactly?

I look at it this way. Being a generous writer means that you give more in value than you receive from others. It means that you are always looking for ways to serve your audience through good content and great stories. It means you are connecting with others and connecting them with each other. It means you are filling your own creative well so that it overflows, and you can give to others.

There is a twist to generosity, though. It’s not just about receiving. It’s also about giving. In their fantastic book The Go-Giver, Bob Burg and John David Mann share the 5 Laws of Stratospheric Success. The laws concern giving, but the last one is “The Law of Receptivity,” which says, “The key to effective giving is to stay open to receiving.”

This can be hard to practice if you are a generous person because you’re so used to giving. But you must also be open to receiving from others who want to support you, encourage you, buy from you, hire you, and give back to you in many other ways.

When you refuse to let others help you, you are refusing a gift they want to give. So make sure to stay open to receiving if you want to keep the flow of giving and generosity active in your life as a writer… and also as a human being.

Daily Question: What is a way you can receive from someone today?

The post Are You Open to Receiving? appeared first on Daily Writer | Essential Habits for Impact & Influence.

As it turns out, the best way to help yourself is to be more generous with others. The key is that jealousy is rooted in taking. Generosity is rooted in giving.

You can be generous in a million different ways. The point is to find another person who you can help in some way. It doesn’t need to involve a big plan, or even cost you anything. Just keep your eyes and ears open, and you’ll be surprised at the simple ways you can help others.

Since you’re a writer, I would recommend that the very best place to start is by buying someone’s book and sharing it on social media. That’s a simple, yet very effective way to support a writer. And in the process of thinking more about how to help others rather than fixating on what other people are doing and feeling bad about yourself, you will begin to transform your emotions.

Daily Question: Who is one writer in your circle whose book you can purchase and share?

The post How Can You Help? appeared first on Daily Writer | Essential Habits for Impact & Influence.

This is the second entry in our mini-series on dealing with rejection.

It’s happened to all of us. You had your heart set on an opportunity and it falls through. Maybe it’s a writing job, a podcast guest appearance, a collaboration, or another type of opportunity. You thought it was going to happen but now it isn’t.

As the 1960s group, The Monkees, famously sang, “Tomorrow’s Gonna Be Another Day.” Yes, rejection can be disappointing, but you have the chance today to connect with almost anyone on the planet directly. So don’t wait around for an opportunity to come knocking on YOUR door. Take the initiative and make opportunities happen. They are all around you, every single day.

The place to start is not by asking, but by giving. Start today with someone you can help, someone you can give to. When you take the focus off yourself and what you need, pretty soon the opportunities will start showing up in weird and unexpected ways. This is the very best way to take the focus off your disappointments today and start investing in tomorrow.

Daily Question: What is a way you can give or invest in someone today?

The post Tomorrow’s Gonna Be Another Day appeared first on Daily Writer | Essential Habits for Impact & Influence.

There are many keys to your success as a writer and author. Writing a great book is an important part of it, but there are other important things as well. One of those components is book marketing, which can seem like an intimidating and mysterious part of your business as a writer.

While there can definitely be a lot of moving parts to marketing, it’s important not to lose sight of the bigger picture, which is serving and connecting with readers. On today’s episode, I want to share a recent call from our Daily Writer Community.

One of our members is Vincent Pugliese, who is the author of the fantastic book, Freelance to Freedom. He also is the creator and leader of the amazing Total Life Freedom Community, a membership group that has had a radical impact on my mindset and success over the last couple of years. I can tell you unequivocally that I would not have been able to build a business and leave my day job without the encouragement of this community, particularly Vincent’s.

One of the reasons Vincent is so successful as an entrepreneur and coach is that he looks at things differently. He approaches life and business with a generous mindset. On this call, he shares how he approaches book marketing through the lens of generosity. Not only does this take the pressure off of marketing your book in a sleazy way… it’s also a lot more fun!

This is a community call, so you’ll hear others speaking on the call, in addition to myself and Vincent. In the show notes for this episode, you’ll find Vincent’s links, in addition to a link for an episode he did on his Total Life Freedom podcast. That episode is “Becoming a Non-Bestselling Author,” and I highly encourage you to give it a listen. It’s a critical perspective for every writer.

Click on the links below to connect with Vincent, purchase his book, or listen to his podcast:

TotalLifeFreedom.com

Freelance to Freedom by Vincent Pugliese

The Total Life Freedom Podcast

Podcast Episode: Becoming a Non-Bestselling Author

Connect with Vincent on LinkedIn

Connect with Vincent on Facebook

Follow Vincent on Instagram

The post Vincent Pugliese: Generosity is the Key to Book Marketing Success appeared first on Daily Writer | Essential Habits for Impact & Influence.

I’m excited to be joined on this episode by my friend Mary Valloni, who is here to help us improve our mindset and develop a greater sense of abundance. That’s such a critical element of our writing, because, without the proper mindset, we will always be limited by our own perception of what is possible.

Mary is a fundraising coach and consultant who helps leaders with great causes raise more money with less pain. She has raised millions of dollars through her work as the development director of the American Cancer Society, the ALS Association, and the Special Olympics. Now, she teaches and trains individuals and organizations, big and small, how to fundraise with more freedom and less burnout.

In this conversation, we dive into the reasons behind a scarcity mindset and how we can begin developing a more abundant mindset. I have to tell you, this is an absolutely critical topic because if we are going to have more and accomplish more, we must first have to be more.

Before we dive into the conversation, I want to remind you to check out two excellent resources from Mary. The first is her book, Fundraising Freedom. Now, I don’t want you to dismiss this book just because you may not work for a ministry organization or a non-profit. This is a stellar book on business and mindset. It’s really an essential resource for any business person, in my opinion.

The second resource is the Fully Funded Podcast, which Mary hosts with the amazing Mike Kim. Mike is a marketer and author, and these two work together on this podcast to help missionaries, ministry leaders, campus ministers, and church planters grow their donor base and raise more financial support.

This interview is special to me because Mary is from St. Louis, where I live as well. It’s not often that I get to interview someone who’s actually from my area!

Click on the links below to connect with Mary, subscribe to her podcast, or purchase her book:

MaryValloni.com

Fundraising Freedom by Mary Valloni

Fully Funded Podcast

Connect with Mary on Facebook

Connect with Mary on LinkedIn

Follow Mary on Instagram

The post Mary Valloni: Defeating a Scarcity Mindset & Living in Abundance appeared first on Daily Writer | Essential Habits for Impact & Influence.

The main topic of this podcast focuses on the mindset and habits related to writing. However, a crucial element of our success is generosity. You can have the greatest writing skills in the world, but without good relationships and a giving spirit, it doesn’t mean much. 

That’s why I’m excited to have April Shprintz as my guest today. She has spent over two decades driving growth for companies in a way that creates immense value for their employees, their customers, and their communities. 

A former Air Force non-commissioned officer serving as a broadcast journalist for the American Forces Network, she went on to specialize in sales, operations, and marketing, as she supported Fortune 500 clients and generated over $1 billion dollars in combined additional revenue for the companies she served. 

3½ years ago — after her highest earning, 7-figure year in the corporate world — April left to start her firm, Driven Outcomes, which helps companies around the globe accelerate their businesses. April helps them make their “impossible” possible by using the principles of what she calls, “The Generosity CultureTM” as she shows company leadership how to “pour into their people.” 

April is also the author of the recent book, Magic Blue Rocks, which is a very fun read about principles for personal success. She’s also the host of the Pouring Into Your Business Podcast. 

In this conversation, April shares some fantastic ideas about how writers can be more generous, what generosity looks like in the world of client work, how to be generous while also being profitable, and also how introverted writers can be more generous and relationship-oriented. 

You can connect with April at her website, Pouring Into Your Business Podcast, Facebook, Linkedin, and Instagram. Make sure to grab her amazing book, Magic Blue Rocks. 

The post April Shprintz: The Life-Changing Power of Generosity appeared first on Daily Writer | Essential Habits for Impact & Influence.