7 Lessons Learned From 40+ Million-Copy Bestselling Authors.

This week, I spent two days in a room with 40+ bestselling authors who have each sold over 1M+ copies of their book (or books.)

And it felt like what I can only imagine it feels like being a player at the NBA All-Star Game:

It was the equivalent of being in a room with the 1992 Olympic Dream Team (Jordan, Bird, Magic) and the 2012 Olympic Team (Kobe, LeBron, Durant) - except the players were the authors in the room.

Here's just a sampling of who was there:

• James Clear (Atomic Habits)
• Jamie Kern Lima (Worthy)
• Donald Miller (Building a StoryBrand)
• Jeff Walker (Launch)
• Mike Michalowicz (Profit First)
• JJ Virgin (The Virgin Diet)
• Rory Vaden (Take the Stairs)
• Amy Porterfield (Two Weeks Notice)
• Jim Kwik (Limitless)
• Michael Hyatt (Your Best Year Ever)
• Sally Hoggshead (Fascinate)
• Chris Guillebeau ($100 Startup)
• Joseph Nguyen (Don't Believe Everything You Think)
• Danielle LaPorte (The Desire Map)
• Michael Bungay Stanier (The Coaching Habit)
• Tiffany Aliche (Get Good with Money)
• Hal Elrod (Miracle Morning)
• Dorie Clark (The Long Game)
• Todd Herman (The Alter Ego Effect)
• Chris Ducker (Virtual Freedom)
• Ramit Sethi (I Will Teach You To Be Rich)

And the list goes on...

How did I get invited to be part of this group?

Well, that's a story for another day...

But first...

I'll say that one of the biggest honors was not only being invited to be part of this group...

But being asked to deliver a keynote to the group - around the central thesis of my forthcoming book - Return to Real...

(Which, you've been instrumental in helping me continue to refine - with all your amazing feedback, email replies, and offers of support. Thank you.)

BTW - With this keynote, in typical fashion, I was up at 3:30am on the morning of my presentation finishing my slides. Incredibly, the talk received a standing ovation... The shirt got mixed reviews :-)

But that's all just backdrop for what I'd really like to share with you today, which is this:

While it would be impossible for me to distill all the wisdom, insights, inspiration, and ideas from the 21 pages of hand-written notes I took...

(Some of which I've been sworn to secrecy.)

I wanted to share with you...

7 Quotes (& Lessons Learned) I Can’t Stop Thinking About...

#1 - James Clear (On Writing)

"There are many things in life where good enough is good enough. Writing a book is not one of those things."

-James Clear, NYT Bestselling Author of Atomic Habits

(25 Million Copies Sold)

#2 - Pat Flynn (On YouTube)

"The secret to long-form video is using stories. The secret to short-form video is using series."

- Pat Flynn, NYT Bestselling Author of Lean Learning

(10M Daily YouTube Views)

#3 - Dr. Mike Bechtle (On Living Life)

"You're Robbing the World of Yourself if You Pretend to be Someone Else."

- Dr. Mike Bechtle, Author of 7 books including

People Can't Drive You Crazy If You Don't Give Them The Keys

#4 - Don Yaeger (On Storytelling)

"Every person has 5-7 defining pivot points in their life. Pick one of these to start your story."

- Don Yaeger, Author of 12 NYT Bestselling Books including

George Washington's Secret Six

#5 - Hal Elrod (On What Matters Most)

"I made a decision: Nothing goes into my body unless it first comes straight from the earth."

- Hal Elrod, Cancer Survivor, Front Row Dad

& Bestselling Author Miracle Morning

#6 - Alex Wieckowski (On Reading Books)

"The harder it was to write the book for the author, the easier it is to read it for the reader."

- Alex and Books, Creator of Over 500+ 5-Minute Book Summaries

& Bestselling Author Learn to Love Reading

#7 - Joseph Nguyen (On Transformation)

"Above all else, optimize for transformation. If the reader feels transformed by your book, they will tell the world about their experience.

- Joseph Nguyen, International Bestselling Author

Don't Believe Everything You Think

But my biggest takeaway of the event was this:

In a room with 40+ authors who have sold over 1 million+ copies of their books, there were no two authors who followed the same approach...

One author focused on getting into Costco...

Another author posted pages of his book on TikTok and went viral...

Another focused on reaching out to influencers on Instagram with cold DMs, and offered to send a them a copy of his book...

Another focused on a big full-day virtual launch event and sold a metric ton of copies of her book on launch day...

Every author's approach was unique.

Just like there are a million ways to make a million dollars...

There are a million ways to sell a million copies of your book...

And the "right way" is the one that plays to your strengths, values, and audience.

And that's a the core of Return to Real - success comes from aligning with what’s real for you, not chasing a so-called “proven” formula that’s someone else’s truth...

* * *

One last thing before closing for today:

After wrapping up two amazing days in Nashville for this event...

I stayed an extra day to host a Strategic 1:1 Private VIP Day which I just wrapped up a few hours ago.

It was a lot of fun to spend a day with Jon Berghoff, Co-Founder & CEO of xChange (who has some very exciting things on the horizon. Stay tuned.)

Now, the reason why I bring this up is because...

If you have interest in working with me for a day like this together, 1:1 in-person, focused 100% on your business...

I'm making space to do another two (2) days like this in Sep / Oct.

If you have interest in grabbing one of these two days - fill out this form - and send me an email at contact@askmethod.com with a little bit about yourself to let me know.

(Note: A private day like this is a five-figure investment. And while I know it's not in the budget for everyone, it can be the most powerful way to get concentrated, strategic feedback on your business from a 7-Time Inc. 5000 Founder & CEO, 2x #1 bestselling author, with 2x business exits. And FWIW - these will probably be the last 2 private 1:1 days I make available this year.)

* * *

Okay, I'll leave you with that for now...

Remember to hug the ones you love.

Have a great rest of your weekend...

And until next week...

Ryan :-)

P.S. Lastly, I'm curious: Which of the 7 quotes hit you hardest? Email me at contact@askmethod.com and let me know. I'm finally caught up on email and I'd love to hear from you :-)