If you read the book, you’ll quickly see that Elvis embraced his role as a big brother. He was in his mid-twenties when Billy and his two younger brothers moved in Graceland with their mom, who was getting married to Vernon, Elvis’s father.

At this time in his career, 1960, Elvis was already a superstar. As we talk about in the book, he took time to mentor and guide Billy and his brothers. He didn’t let his role as a big-time celebrity get in the way of spending lots of time with his brothers and taking it upon himself to teach them about life, relationships, faith, cars, and lots of other areas.

What a powerful lesson for all of us!

It probably feels like you’re busy all the time. You’re writing, posting on social media, networking with people, and doing all kinds of tasks related to your writing… not to mention your family life, hobbies, and trying to squeeze some sleep and exercise in there.

But what about mentoring and helping others? No matter how big or small your platform is, you must make time to speak into the lives of others. You can’t help everyone, but you can help a few on a personal basis.

I encourage you to go out of your way to give personal attention to at least one or two people who would really benefit from your help and encouragement. You have probably benefited from others mentoring you, and you can do the same for others.

Question: Who are 1-2 people in your life whom you can mentor, encourage, and help in their writing?

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One of the difficulties of working on this book was that we had far more material than we could fit into it. Billy had so many stories and insights about Elvis and his faith that it could have been twice as long.

One of those items we couldn’t into the book was what Elvis called “the universal law of insanity.” When Billy was a teenager, Elvis once explained this principle to him. He was trying to help Billy see that life gets much easier when you understand that everyone is a little bit crazy, including YOU.

Elvis had the wonderful gift of being able to relate to anyone, whether it was the person digging ditches or the President of the United States. We could use some of this insight today, when people seem so divided and we need to find common ground with people who don’t see the world the way we do.

In your dealings with your family, business partners, editors, designers, publishers, agents, readers, and lots of others who are part of your life as a writer, it’s wise to remember that everybody sees the world a little differently.

We’re all just a little bit crazy. Understanding this can help you relate to people who don’t see things quite the way you do.

Question: Think of a few people in your everyday life. How could the “universal law of insanity” help you get along with them better?

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What if you could sit down with someone who was very close to one of the biggest entertainers in American history? What questions would you ask them, and what insights might you come away with?

That’s the opportunity I had not only with today’s interview, but also with the whole process of writing The Faith of Elvis with Billy Stanley, Elvis Presley’s stepbrother. Billy and his two younger brothers moved into Graceland to live with Elvis and his family when Billy’s mother married Elvis’s father, Vernon.

The book recounts Elvis’s journey of faith, not only as a spiritual person himself, but also through the lens of his relationship to Billy and his brothers. Billy spent 17 years with Elvis, getting a firsthand glimpse into his life and faith.

Billy was a successful salesman and airplane mechanic. Now, he and his wife, Liz, live in Memphis, just a few miles from Graceland.

In our conversation, I talk to Billy about some of the themes in the book, how the book impacted me as a writer, and our process of creating it together.

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If you pick up the book this week or anytime in the future, you’ll notice that one of the recurring themes is that Elvis kept his superstar status in perspective. He didn’t see himself as any better than a regular blue-collar worker. He saw what he did as a performer and a musician as just a job.

That’s hard for us to imagine in a day and age when we worship celebrities and see famous people as larger than life. It’s a great lesson for all of us writers, especially when we start to have a little bit of success.

At the end of the day, no matter we achieve, we’re not any better or more important than anyone else. You might have books in bookstores or have your books on a bestseller list, but it’s all just part of the job.

After all, the purpose of what we do is to serve people. The more success we have, the more opportunities it gives us to serve others.

The problem is that it’s easy to get tied up in the emotions of what we do. As creative people, it’s hard to separate our personal value from our rankings and sales numbers. That’s why this perspective is so important. We have to separate the job part—showing up every day—from the exterior success part, because so much of that is out of our control. When we treat what we do as a job, we focus on being disciplined and putting in the work.

None of us will ever come close to the level of superstardom that Elvis Presley had. If it was good enough for him to view what he did as just a job, we can do the same thing also.

Question: How does it help you to know that what you do is a job, no more important than what other people do for their jobs?

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If you were to guess what the most requested image in the National Archives is, what would your guess be? Would it be something related to the moon landings? Maybe something historic related to WWII or the Civil War? Maybe something from the turn of the century?

If so, you’d be wildly off base. The most requested photo in the National Archives was taken on December 21, 1970, in the Oval Office. It shows Richard Nixon shaking hands with Elvis Presley, who was wearing one of his famous jumpsuits along with a giant gold belt buckle.

You might wonder, how in the world did these two famous figures end up in the same picture, and what does it have to do with writing?

Let’s tackle the first question first. On December 19, 1970, Elvis Presley abruptly left Graceland and flew to California to meet his friend Jerry Schilling, who joined him on a flight to Washington, D.C. They were met there by another of Elvis’s friends, Sonny West. Elvis often did things on a whim, and this time he had decided he wanted to get a DEA badge. He had always been a big supporter of law enforcement, and he often collected badges from the police and other officers when he was on tour.

Despite his image as a rebellious rock ’n roll star, Elvis was actually quite conservative. It bothered him that the problem of illegal drugs was getting out of hand, and he wanted to do something about it. His solution, as crazy as it sounds, was to become an official undercover drug enforcement officer. He felt that his status as a public figure could help lend support to the fight against illegal drugs.

Having struck out with the powers that be in D.C., who refused to give him a badge, Elvis decided to go straight to the White House to seek an impromptu meeting with the President himself, Richard Nixon. He directed his limo to pull up to the White House gates at 6:00am and gave a handwritten letter requesting the meeting to the guards, asking them to pass it along to the President. At first, he was rebuffed, but later in the day, he received the call at his hotel that the meeting was on.

And yes, Elvis did get his DEA badge that day. He was immensely proud of it and was excited to show it to his family and friends when he got back to Memphis.

So… what does that crazy story have to do with writers?

It all comes down to taking initiative to get what you want. Do you want a podcast? A book deal? Do you want to write a book series? Do you want to write full-time? What specifically do you want to do in your life as a writer?

Whatever it is, go for it. Take initiative. Get assertive. So many writers just sit passively by, waiting for something to happen to them. You’ve got to get off your duff and start making things happen.

On the wall in my home office, I have a printout of that famous photo showing Elvis and Nixon shaking hands. I hung it as a reminder to get a little crazy, to take action, and to do whatever it takes to make my writing dreams come true. They’re not going to happen for me by accident, and they’re not going to happen by accident for you, either.

Question: What did you learn from this story about Elvis, and about taking initiative as a writer?

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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?

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