“What’s the ROI of your mother??”
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It’s the question that Chris Guillebeau, NYT bestselling author of The $100 Startup, posed to everyone in our group in our opening session.
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Quoting Gary V, it was a question meant to provoke thought.
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There are certain things (and people) in our business (and life) that while we can’t necessarily pinpoint their ROI, the value they’ve provided is immeasurable.
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This question set the tone for the entire week.
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I wrote about this peer group that gets together once a year, way back in [Issue #060] Inside a Room With 40+ Million-Copy Bestselling Authors (a year ago this week), when I was first invited to be part of it.
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(I remain humbled).
And because I’m literally just getting back to Vermont from Nashville (in part, to record seven in-person interviews with members of this group and others as part of my Return to Real Pre-Launch Book Tour…)
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AND because in less than 48 hours, I’m hosting our OWN mastermind event here on the farm (with lots to do to get the farm ready…)
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Today’s issue is going to be a “Contrarian Quickie.”
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So I thought I’d share some of the lines I bolded and highlighted in my 20+ pages of notes from the event that are making ME think…
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(Because I think they just might make YOU think as well…)
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So here they are in no particular order:
#1 “What questions do you need to know the answer to from me in order to give me a better response?” (Always use this prompt with AI… and people.)
– Tim Grahl, Bestselling author of Your First 1000 Copies
#2 “When we compare, we often compare the worst of us with the best of them.”
– Lori Gottlieb, NYT Bestselling author of Maybe You Should Talk to Someone
#3 “Many big companies are looking for brand deals right now. They are looking for “real humans” to promote their products. (What brands do you already use that can be useful to your audience?)
– JJ Virgin, NYT Bestselling author of The Metabolism Fix (Coming Dec 2026)
#4 “Writers want to write, editors want to edit, publishers want to publish, but nobody wants to sell the book.” (Opportunity…)
– Rory Vaden, NYT bestselling author of Wealthy and Well Known
#5 “The Story is Everything. We should spend more time in the middle of the story, and the middle of the story should be messy.”
– Charles Duhigg, NYT bestselling author of Supercommunicators
#6 “Is this something you’re sharing to make you sound good or is this something that people would share with someone else?” (Be ruthlessly honest with yourself…)
– Jefferson Fisher, 7M IG Followers, NYT bestselling author of The Next Conversation
#7 “It can feel like you need to clear the decks. But creativity comes from the demands in your life.”
– Gretchen Rubin, NYT bestselling author of Life in Five Senses
#8 “Every book is either going to be perceived as a simple book or a complicated book, and our goal (as authors) is to confound the reader’s expectations.”
– Charles Duhigg (again)
#9 “A competent cover that clearly signals category will outperform a creative cover that confuses category.” (Cover swaps can produce 4x more sales on Amazon…)
– Laura Russom, co-author of Before the Bestseller
#10 “Every morning I awake torn between a desire to save the world and an inclination to savor it. This makes it hard to plan the day.” (Quoting E.B. White)
– Sam Horn, Bestselling author of The Force for Good Project (Coming Nov 2026)
My question to you is this:
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Which one is leaving YOU thinking right now??
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(If you had to pick just one, which would it be?)
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SHOOT ME AN EMAIL to let me know.
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I’m very very curious.
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Ryan :-)
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P.S. Next week, I’ll be opening the doors to the FIRST opportunity to pre-order my upcoming book, Return to Real…
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Heads Up, I’ll be starting by opening a VERY limited “Founders Circle” opportunity to get your NAME included in the first edition printing of the book for those who are significant supporters of the work.
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I’ll explain ALL the details next week.
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Stay tuned….
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And if you haven’t already, to get on the priority notification list, make sure you’ve added your email address to ReturnToRealBook.com
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P.P.S. Lastly, life is precious. Remember to hug the ones you love…
