This week I met with my new coach. This coach is all about helping me write and publish a great book. Yes I’ve written 6 and currently have 5 for sale, but the sales have always been much smaller than my dreams.

So I stopped going it alone and hired someone to help. If you’ve been thinking about writing a book and want some help, let me know and I can connect you.

What I Shipped

Monday I talked about the number of people that just aren’t getting enough leads anymore to run a good business. Almost all of them don’t stand out in any way. Here are 10 ways to stand out in a sea of sameness.

On The Smart Business Show, I went over an answer I originally wrote for Quora. The question was, do I need to take a class to start freelancing? I talked about the 4 steps you need to take if you want to run a viable freelance business.

Thursday I looked at Linchpin by Seth Godin. Do you want to be someone that stands out? Someone that matters in your field? That’s what Godin is talking about in his book. You can listen to it or read the review. Make sure you subscribe to Should I Read It so you don’t miss a book that matters.

On the Liquid Web blog I added the next instalment in my series looking at the gatekeepers and the buyers for your proposals. This time I talked about tactics to use to get past the gatekeeper and talk to the buyer.

Freelance Friday Five

1. The Gently Mad

I used to listen to this, but then Adam took a break which turned in to stopping the show for a while. Well The Gently Mad is back and what I love about it is that it’s not “all puppies and rainbows”. They talk a bunch about the hard parts of running your own business.

2. The 8 Seasons of Parenthood

Just started this book, and I was lucky my local library had a copy because it’s a hard one to get. I’ve been wanting to read more about better parenting and this was recommended to me by one of my mentors who spent 20 years helping families be better.

Like I said, just started, but so far it’s great.

3. What Happens When You Leave Cell Service Behind – semi-rad.com

I don’t know why you’re doing that, checking your phone in a mild panic about losing access to data that is probably 1 percent important (what if your mom falls and breaks her hip) and 99 percent bullshit you can live without (photos of Instagram golden retrievers you’ve never met, photos of Instagram people you’ve never met, 140-character hot takes on incremental news that you don’t really care about but it’s more fun than doing work). I don’t know why I do it either.
>
I get it, and I do it despite not having most of those things on my phone at all. I’m working hard not to do it while I’m away in late June with my wife. An idea I’ve floated by her is to switch phones. We can both open each other’s phones so we could text if we get separated on a run, but neither of us have the “must check” apps setup on the other’s phone. Our parents could still get in touch with us if something was up with the kids and we had to head home.

4. Eliminating Distractions & Practicing Deep Work to Finish Your Book with Cal Newport — Self Publishing School : Learn How To Write A Book And Grow Your Business — Overcast

As I’m sure you can guess if you’ve followed me for a while, I love Cal Newport’s work. This podcast is stellar. Yes he’s talking about writing but the focus applies to any creative pursuit. Listen and ask yourself, how will you change your day so you can focus.

If you only can listen for a few minutes, make it these few minutes.

5. Making time for kids play is great for everyone – DaddiLife

How much are you playing with your kids? I’ve been not doing much lately, and I’m working to change this because they need me. Hanging out with my kids without feeling like business concerns are weighing me down is my goal, and I’m not there yet.