A brilliant way to respond to insults.

Misc May 6, 2013Comments

A few years ago, I read an interview with a musician whose name escapes me.

During the interview, the journalist said something surprising. He said:

“I have to confess. I’m not at all familiar with your music.”

This is a subtle insult.

Why?

Because when journalists interview musicians, they research them. They listen to their music. They listen to a lot of their music. They prepare.

This journalist didn’t, though, and instead deliberately brought up that point.

How did the musician respond? Was he insulted or angry?

Nope.

He simply said, “Well, that’s quite all right. I probably haven’t read many of your articles, but this is the beauty of our business.”

That insult didn’t even have a second to land on his shoulder. He brushed it aside before it could touch down.

Let the little insults go. They tend to cause big damage if we hold on to them too tightly.

#StartBook Tour Update

Start May 3, 2013Comments

This is Jon’s friend, Grant, checking in once again from the road on the #StartBook Tour.  Since I last updated you about a week ago, the tour has made stops in Atlanta, Phoenix, Tampa, San Antonio, Austin and Dallas. Today we’re in Houston doing some media hits, the live #StartBook Tour Q&A and a book signing later today at Mardel.

One of my favorite things about this tour has been the broad range of events where Jon has spoken. In Nashville he spoke at Kairos, a young adult worship service. In Atlanta he spoke to several thousand Kids and Youth ministry pastors, leaders and volunteers at the Orange Conference. The next day in Tampa he spoke at an event sponsored by the Center for Non-Profit Leadership that brought together leaders and influencers from the city’s non-profit and for-profit sectors. Last Saturday and Sunday he spoke at 4 services across 2 campuses at Central Christian Church in Phoenix. Monday it was a private event for the sales team, executives and clients of a radio organization in San Antonio. Tuesday was a sold-out Start Night event in Austin. Wednesday was a leadership break-out with Rachel Cruze at Catalyst and Thursday was a main stage talk at Catalyst. It’s been incredible to see him connect with such a wide array of audiences in so many different settings.

Undoubtedly one of the many highlights of the tour happened while we were at dinner Wednesday night before the Dallas book signing and got the news that START had debuted at #5 on the New York Times Best Sellers list! Minutes later, Jon was walking into Barnes & Noble and doing his first book signing as a New York Times Best-Selling author. Pretty awesome!

To celebrate the success of the launch of START and the New York Times debut, Dave Ramsey made arrangements to fly in to Dallas a day early, bringing Jon’s family from Nashville, to surprise and congratulate him following his main stage talk at Catalyst. And that’s exactly what happened.

image

It was such a great moment and was a shining example of how much Dave believes in and supports Jon and his message.  Dave also announced that everyone at Catalyst Dallas was receiving a free copy of START immediately following the session.

After today’s stop in Houston, the tour has 2 more stops; Albany, Georgia this Sunday the 5th and the Los Angeles area on Monday the 6th. You can get more details on those dates here.

Jon will be sharing more about the whole book release and tour experience in the coming days, but I’ve really enjoyed having the opportunity to share a bit with you from my perspective on the road with him. It’s been an amazing experience! I’ve had a blast being part of this adventure with Jon, supporting, encouraging and working alongside him as his dream became a reality and I can’t wait to start hearing stories from people whose life trajectory has been impacted by START!

 

Does design matter?

Misc May 3, 2013Comments

On the left is Scrabble for the Blackberry.

On the right is Scrabble for the iPhone.

Which would you play?

Design

Start Book Tour Live Q&A

Start May 1, 2013Comments

I’ll be doing a live online video chat right here this Friday, May 3! We’ve been out on the #StartBook Tour for nearly 2 weeks now, having all kinds of adventures and meeting some incredible people all over the country. I’m excited to do this live chat to talk about my new book START, the tour and answer as many of your questions as I can in an hour!

The chat will take place Friday from 11am-12pm CDT right on this page.

*UPDATE: The live #StartBook Q&A was awesome! Thanks to everybody who watched and submitted questions! We’ll have to do that again soon. If you missed it, you can watch the full video below!

Start Video Review

Start April 29, 2013Comments

Since my new book START was released a week ago today, it’s been a lot of fun seeing it resonate with so many people in so many different ways. From all the tweets with quotes from the book, the hundreds of Instagram photos tagged #StartBook, the stories I’m hearing at book signings all over the country and more, seeing START really connect with people has been incredible.

A few days ago I came across a video review someone had done for START.  The woman who made it is named Tracie and I actually got to meet her after speaking Saturday night in Phoenix. It’s pretty awesome and I wanted to share it with you!

 

START Images for iPhone + Facebook + Twitter

Start April 29, 2013Comments

The Dave Ramsey graphic design team has put together tons of cool START wallpapers you can use all over the place on your social networks or desktop. There’s even a lock screen image for your iPhone! Want to make your iPhone into an “awesome switch”? Okay, done!
START

See below for links to all of the various sizes and designs.

iPhone/iPad Lock Screen

Desktop Wallpaper 

Facebook Cover Images

Twitter/Facebook Profile Images

 

Free Start 1st Chapter Download

Start April 26, 2013Comments

What an amazing week it has been! We’ve been on the road on the Start Book Tour for going on a week now and having a blast!

For those of you who haven’t had a chance to pick up a copy of my new book START yet, today I wanted to give you the first full chapter for FREE.

If you’re ready to escape average, do work that matters and punch fear in the face, I believe this book is for you!

START Free First Chapter Download

If you like what you read and want to purchase the full book, here’s where you can do that:

Buy it on Amazon

Buy it on DaveRamsey.com

Buy it on Barnes & Noble

Buy it on Books A Million

 

Interview with Dave Ramsey about START

Leadership/ Start April 24, 2013Comments

I recently sat down to talk about my new book START with my mentor, Dave Ramsey. It was fun getting to talk with him and dig a little deeper into the heart of what I want START to accomplish. I hope you enjoy it and hear something that encourages and challenges you to START!

This interview clip is courtesy of the EntreLeadership Podcast. Check it out for great teaching on business, team building, and leadership.

It’s Time To Start… TODAY!

Misc April 22, 2013Comments

It’s finally here! No more waiting, no more pre-ordering, no more countdowns… START officially releases today!

I’m so excited to see this day come and to be able to share with all of you what I’ve poured into START!  I want to thank everyone for your support leading up to this day. It’s been an awesome journey, but it’s just the beginning!

Here are some places where you purchase START beginning today:

Buy it on Amazon

Buy it on DaveRamsey.com

Buy it on Barnes & Noble

Buy it on Books A Million.

Last night Dave Ramsey and I threw a huge party right in the middle of Times Square to celebrate and kick off the START Book Tour with a couple hundred friends.  It was amazing! Here’s a quick recap:

In case you missed it, here is the killer book trailer the Ramsey video team put together.

So there you go!

It’s time to START!