While I’m off at the world’s largest Turkey Trot this morning – for real, it’s a record breaking 23,000+ runners this year – I’ve been reflecting a lot the past many weeks on how fortunate we are to live in a world where we can make our own way. This past year has been full of book writing, learning, prelaunching, publishing, and all things book related for me. It’s been a literal new chapter in my life. Looking back, I had the naive idea that I’d write up my book, print to PDF, upload to Amazon, and in a very Silicon Valley way, ship a book in one Sprint. Hah! Fortunately, in that short 3 week sprint, I discovered some excellent books on non-fiction writing, which lead me to communities of warm and welcoming non-fiction authors, which led to wonderful new friends, and in turn more books and courses on publishing. Each time I thought I was a step closer to publishing… I discovered a new chasm of knowledge I didn’t know that I didn’t know about. And each time I dove in, I came out better for it. I’m immensely grateful for not just having the opportunity to write and publish a book, but for having an incredible team of experts (editor, keyword researcher, cover designer, photographer, coach, etc), advisors, authors, advanced readers (my ARC team!), launch partners, early reviewers, community leaders, and more at my side each step of the way. I so enjoyed writing up the acknowledgements section of the book knowing that the names of those who helped me get to where I am would be forever in print in the Library of Congress, the US Copyright Office, bookstores, libraries, classrooms, and the bookshelves of business owners around the globe. How lucky we are that we can each stretch our fingers out to the keyboard, write our thoughts, and share what we’ve learned with the world. Thank you for being part of that journey with me. I absolutely could not have gotten to where I am without your love, support, encouragement, early feedback, reviews, book purchases, referrals, media invitations, ratings, subscriptions, and more.

1. The Expert’s Bootcamp with Corey Poirier – October 17–19 If you’ve dreamed of being featured on a TEDx stage or in Forbes, this virtual bootcamp is your roadmap. You’ll learn how to expand your influence through writing, speaking, and media exposure.I’ll be joining for a short feature on Saturday morning (October 18th). → Register here 2. #SelfPubCon25 – The Self-Publishing Advice Conference – October 18–19 Hosted by the Alliance of Independent Authors, this free two-day event covers the new trends shaping self-publishing in 2026 and beyond. (I’ll be speaking on October 18th). → Get your free pass See you this weekend P.S. While we're talking events - have you heard about our Self-Publish and Succeed Summit November 13-15?