The 60-Minute Book Breakthrough Session Most people don’t need a year of coaching to get started—they need one hour of clarity. In this session, I help you: 📘 Clarify the strongest version of your book 🧭 Identify your core audience 🪜 Build a structure that works 🚫 Avoid the mistakes that derail first-time authors 📨 Receive a written Book Direction Summary afterward 🎯 One hour. One idea. A clear path forward. 💰 PRICING $249 – Popular Premium (includes a 7-day follow-up voice memo review) 🔥 WHAT YOU GET In 60 minutes, you will: Identify the strongest version of your book idea Shape your core message + audience Get a clear structure or chapter outline Avoid the biggest mistakes first-time authors make Receive expert feedback rooted in storytelling, expertise, and leadership Walk away with a Book Direction Summary sent to your inbox TAKEAWAY 📌 Relief of clarity. Removal of confusion. Unlocking of what you've been trying to write for years. If you want to move your book from idea to direction, this will get you there. Message me “BOOK” and I’ll send details + openings. (Limited spots.) Subscribe to my LI newsletter: https://lnkd.in/gdCiiarg

Thought Leadership Is the New Competitive Advantage — And Most Entrepreneurs Still Undervalue It. If you’ve ever wondered how to position your expertise, build authority, attract higher-quality clients, or turn your insights into a book…this is the path. I’m highlighting the course: 👉 Thought Leadership to Grow Your Business (Use code ThoughtLeadershipNOW for 10% off.) Here’s the bonus: If you take the course through my link, I will coach you exclusively as you work through it — helping you turn your insights into a: 📘 book idea 📗 full book 📚 or even a series And you’ll earn a Thought Leadership Certificate you can use as a credibility asset alongside your book. If this is the year you want to speak more clearly, write more powerfully, and grow your business through real authority, this is a smart first move. 🔗 https://www.braintrustprofessionalinstitute.com/courses/thought-leadership?affiliate=3OYlFm 💡 10% off code: ThoughtLeadershipNOW Let’s build something worthy of your expertise. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/thought-leadership-grow-your-business-why-authority-still-smith-phd-lbrzc

Billie Jean: A Fictional Woman Who Felt Real Enough to Haunt the World Michael Jackson insisted Billie Jean wasn’t real — yet millions spent decades convinced she was. Why? Because the song does what great character songs do: It traps you inside a very specific fear — reputation, obsession, accusation — and makes it universal. The bassline stalks you. The tension never releases. And the character name? Quincy wanted to change it. Jackson refused. He knew the name was the spell. If you want to see how musicians turn paranoia into pop perfection, come read the full breakdown. https://micksmith.substack.com/p/immortalized-the-characters-who-live?r=e00v8 Subscribe to my LI newsletter: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/the-literary-cpr-playbook-7343709688632381440 Read the full post — and if you're crafting narrative tension in your book, my coaching helps you name and shape characters that stick.

The Brain Doesn’t Just Hear Music — It Rewires Because of It We often treat music as entertainment, but neuroscience tells a deeper story: music activates multiple brain systems at once — language, memory, motor functions, emotion, and meaning-making. That’s why musical memory survives dementia and why a single hymn can calm your body, reshape your thoughts, and anchor your identity. Christian music goes a step further. Its content performs cognitive reframing: when you sing “God is our refuge and strength,” you’re literally altering your brain’s interpretation of reality. This isn’t inspiration — it’s neuroplasticity. Strategically choosing the music you feed your mind may be one of the most overlooked mental-health practices of our generation. https://open.substack.com/pub/micksmith/p/mental-health-through-song?r=e00v8&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false Subscribe to my LI newsletter: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/the-literary-cpr-playbook-7343709688632381440 Want help turning ideas like this into a book that actually changes lives? Let’s build it together — join my exclusive book coaching program.

The day after Thanksgiving is known for the deluge of holiday shoppers that descends on stores for serious savings. Some will tell you that the term “Black Friday” originally referred to the bottom lines of these stores, as the day of skyrocketing sales sent them out of the “red” (losing money) and into the “black” (making money) — hence, “Black Friday.” However, the origins of the phrase are a bit murkier. The first known use of “Black Friday” to describe the day after Thanksgiving comes from the November 1951 issue of the page-turning magazine Factory Management and Maintenance. In it, a writer hyperbolically describes the day as “a disease second only to the bubonic plague in its effects. At least that’s the feeling of those who have to get production out when the Black Friday comes along. The shop may be half empty, but every absentee was sick.” In other words, “Black Friday” wasn’t about hordes of shoppers pulsing through stores, but weary (and possibly hungover) factory workers calling in sick.