Here’s a deal (and a selfish plug): Buy my new book + post an Amazon review, and I’ll share this story about my dog
Trust me, it’s worth it
Hi friends!
Here’s the deal with me: I love books.
I love them so much that I can’t stop reading them, and I have a podcast dedicated to discussing the ones I read each month. I’ll probably read about 40 this year. Maybe 45 if I hit a hot streak.
I love books so much that I started a book publishing company :)
I love books so much that I’ve just published my 5th book, The Purpose Playbook.
And now, here’s where you come into the picture :)
I would be so appreciative if you would consider buying a copy of the book on Amazon and then leaving a review. Those two things—purchased copies and reviews—are the most important things to help a book build momentum on Amazon.
In exchange, here’s a story about my dog, Parker, in which I learned a very valuable life (and business) lesson.
My sweet but anxious dog, Parker
Once upon a time, my wife and I had a dog named Parker. We were in the first year of our marriage, living in a tiny apartment in Decatur.
Parker, we learned quickly, was a very anxious dog (as seen in the photo above during a thunderstorm). We could not put her in a crate, or she would; how should I put this…FREAK ALL THE WAY OUT.
And then she started doing this delightful thing where she'd start chewing on things if she was left for too long in the house while we were at work. We tried our best to take turns visiting her during the workday, but more often than not, she would chew on things. She chewed on furniture, shoes, corners of walls…and then my wife had a brilliant idea.
The solution
My wife found this spray on Amazon that was created to solve our exact problem. It was an odorless (to humans) spray that was so repulsive (to dogs) that it stopped them from chewing on things. Spray it on a chewable item and, voilà (I had to use voice text to spell that), you had yourself a non-chewing dog.
We ordered two cans just to be safe. Once they arrived, my wife took Parker on a long walk while I proceeded to spray that stuff on everything—and I mean everything. It only took about one can to hit all the places Clover commonly chewed, so I used the second can to coat nearly everything Clover could reach. If it was Clover-head-level, I sprayed it.
When my wife got back and opened the door, Clover immediately froze. She sniffed the air through the door and looked at me as if to say, “Bro, what in the world have you been doing in here while we were on our walk?!” Eventually, my wife coaxed her into the house, but she was clearly agitated by this new smell.
She eventually gained the confidence to move further into the apartment and walked up to the couch, sniffed it, and jumped back, shaking her snout. Again, she looked at me like, “Seriously, what was going on in here while we were gone?”
Clover gave the couch a lick and jumped back. She ran over to her water bowl and started drinking. After a few minutes, she returned to the couch, giving my wife a we-aren’t-leaving-him-alone-anymore look.
My wife and I were psyched. This was going perfectly. Nothing could go wrong.
Then everything went wrong.
Clover gave the couch another lick. Thought about it for a minute. Then give it another lick. Then another. And she licked and licked and licked.
I don’t know if dogs can smile; they kind of look like they’re always smiling, but this was one happy dog. Everything in our house now tasted delicious. Things she had never even considered chewing on were suddenly viable options in the candy store she now lived in.
The point
Obviously, we should have tested the spray before coating EVERYTHING IN OUR HOUSE with it. I honestly can’t remember how we, our marriage, or that dog lived through that experience. I don’t think we burned everything — we were too poor for that at the time — but somehow we made it.
Since then, when I have an idea I want to try, I make sure to test it properly before going all in on it. Most of my businesses have started this way, and even writing my books began this way (first with internal memos to my team, then blogging to the outside world.)
I hope you’re happy.
Recent podcasts
I used to produce a podcast called Begin the Begin and I co-host a podcast called Who has time to read?!, and I’ve started a new YouTube series called, Planting Seeds. I hope you'll consider subscribing. Here are some of the latest episodes: