Why?
It all kicked off on March 21st 2017. That was the date the ink was drying on my book contract for “Where the Magic Happens” when Bloomsbury (who publish Harry Potter) decided they wanted to have a little bit of our magic.
It’s been a roller coaster of a year of a thousand edits back and forth and I couldn’t be more excited that after our US launch, we now launch in the UK on May 17th.
Its often said we all have a book inside us.
That I believe is true.
We all have our unique stores to share.
The question then is “Why?” share the story. Whats the purpose of it?
Having a strong reason “Why” is the foundation for any venture, business, a book, a family adventure, a mission, anything.
It’s not always obvious and some times takes a little uncovering.
It was a key thing I needed to put in place in my businesses. A purpose that everyone could buy into.
It was a key thing that I needed to put in place for my family? Why were we working so hard to make our plans come together.
And it was a key thing I needed to put in place for writing “Where the Magic Happens”.
In my case, it was inspired by my friend Kate who said “Write the book that inspires people no matter how big or small their dream, no matter where they are in the world. Write the book that both inspires them and gives them real solid practical advice on how to make it happen”.
That’s been my pole star; my Why.
It’s a book about living with purpose, about putting family first and then making things happen in your world.
I’m very grateful that from the first 6 reviews on Amazon , it seems to be hitting the mark.
Here’s the key takeaway:
Are you living purposefully?
What’s your Why?
For you as an individual.
For you as a family team.
For you in the business or team you work with.
Answering the Why question is fundamental to how we all live our lives and make the most of our time in this world.
Rhubarb, Rhubarb, Rhubarb
Whilst I’ve been away in the States, my son Columbus has been busy getting his next venture underway . The rhubarb crop has gone nuts.
It’s amazing what a little sunshine, water and some care and attention delivers.
Much like people really; we develop in those areas we give the most attention.
In the spotlight
CNN.com ran this feature on our story this week.
We shared the front page along with the incendiary story about Michelle Wolf and Donald Trumps administration.
Thankfully ours was less contentious.
Its also helped to maintain our Amazon rankings where in America we’ve been consistently the #1 Hot New Release in at least 3 separate categories for the past month.
7 things I learnt about publishing a book
Publishing a book has been an entire adventure on its own. I wrote a blog post about what I learnt for the Business of Adventure run by the brilliant Cathy O’Dowd.
It wasn’t my first book. But it was what I call my first “thorough" book. I now fully appreciate what it takes to publish a book.
I’ve done both routes. The first time self-publishing. The second time with Bloomsbury.
When I self-published I wrote the book over several weeks (it was a business book about Crowd Funding). It got onto Amazon and I had great reviews and sold some copies. It gave me the “business card” effect of being an “author”.
The second time round, I went through the whole agent and publisher route. Based on what I learnt this time round, I've taken that first book down.
It’s now gearing up for the UK Launch on May 17th when the Kindle Edition and the Audiobook also get released. You can pre-order yours here:
Be a Better Leader: Don't wait for Perfect
Do you wait for things to be perfect before you can forward? If so, you need to watch this 1 minute video:
Thought for the Day
"Find your strengths. Build on them."
Upcoming Adventures
May 3rd - Keynote and Workshop in Kent, UK
May 12th - Keynote in Southampton, UK
May 17th - UK Book Launch
May 24th - Keynote, London
June 6th - Keynote - Guildford, UK
June 13-14th - Keynote - Boston, MA
June 21st - Leadership Masterclass in London, UK
June 30th - Guest Speaker, Plymouth
July 12-13th - Keynote Speaker, Malta
August - The next sailing adventure…
“I’ve listened to more speakers than is probably healthy on the subject of “Building a Winning Team” - so when I saw this as subject for a session by Caspar my blood didn’t boil in anticipation.
As a speaker myself I know that most of us have content we want to deliver and we look for stories to humanise them.
Nothing wrong with that - standard practice. What lifts Caspar module is that he tells an ongoing story - an amazing real life story - from which leadership principles emerge naturally.
You’re not being ‘presented to’ or ‘talked at,’ you’re being told a story and learning from it as you go along. Caspar thinks of himself as a Speaker, he’s more that that, he’s an extraordinary story teller.”