This article is based on one part of Episode 4 of the Books, Business, Abundance Podcast with Eric Lofholm.
When Eric Lofholm wrote his first book, he went to Kinko’s and printed 100 copies and sold that inventory, but he didn’t have the self-image as a writer, so he was uncomfortable putting it out into the world, even though he felt that it was a phenomenal book, it was called Ask and You Shall Receive, The 100 Most Powerful Questions You Can Ask Yourself. He only produced 100 copies of it, but two people modeled his idea and created their own question books, which thrilled Eric, so, he’s republished that book on Amazon under The Power of Questions, but he still didn’t have the self-image as a writer.
Then, he launched his signature book, The System, in November of 2013, and it became his first #1 bestseller. That book took him ten years to write. He was 90% done after five years, but he could not get the final 10% done BECAUSE he didn’t see himself as a successful author.
What changed it for him was that “something just clicked in his brain.” He didn’t have an epiphany moment exactly, but something shifted in his self-image where he accepted that he was a successful author, and he knew the book was going to sell well. It went to #1 in Kindle and print, and it had sold almost 10,000 copies when we did this interview. But, knowing it was going to do well was part of the problem for Eric before he published it, again, because he didn’t see himself as a successful author, so if he launched it, he would have to own it. So, once it clicked that he was TRULY that, then he was able to get the last 10% done.
Eric relayed that what happened to him was what happens to a lot of people. They ask themselves, “Who am I to write a book and be a successful author?” In Eric’s case, he wasn’t even a college graduate.
But, Eric believes that we all have greatness inside of us, unique gifts and talents, something we’re just better at than other people, whether we’re great working with kids, teaching or we’re good with numbers, money, or math or we’re a good communicator. The key is realizing that we have it and owning it. And then you can put THAT into a book!
To listen to the podcast go to www.BooksBusinessAbundance.com/podcast or iTunes. Love the podcast? Please leave a review on iTunes. (If you don’t know how, I’ve created a video to show you how at http://ellenlikes.com/podcast-review.)
Ellen Violette is a award winning book and business coach, multiple International #1 bestselling author, 3-time eLit award winner, regular contributor to Published! Magazine, and CEO of Create a Splash. She helps entrepreneurs get their message out and create credibility and expert status to make a big impact in the world and change lives by becoming a bestselling author and leveraging their knowledge to grow high-income businesses.
Her company is a full-service company for book services for authors and entrepreneurs, coaches, consultants, trainers, and speakers who want to become #1 bestselling authors. It also delivers done-for-you services. To learn more, go to www.booksbusinessabundance.com
