RecomMONDAYtions ~ 2026.08.10
Recommended Read
How to Land More Speaking Gigs
In a recent email newsletter, Ann Handley had some great advice for experts who want more speaking gigs.
Her core point: skip the hunt for agents and bureaus and focus on becoming referable. Start with the audience you want to reach and the one problem you uniquely solve, then pitch the people who program your dream events (often 12 to 18 months out) with a talk built for that room, not a plug for your book. Lock in one strong signature talk, answer “why you, why now” by tying it to the current moment, and get video of yourself speaking (even a self-recorded clip counts). Then treat every gig as the audition for the next.
Read Ann’s full breakdown here.
Recommended Watch
Neuromodulation: Could My Stress Be Less? (with Dr. Dan Fazio)
Here’s a feeling you probably know too well: it’s 11 p.m., your to-do list is longer than when you started, and your body is still running at full throttle. Sound familiar?
That’s the catch with running a business. The stress doesn’t clock out when you do. It settles into your neck, your jaw, your sleep.
So I want to share a talk that stuck with me. Dr. Dan Fazio spoke to our Experts 4 Entrepreneurs community about neuromodulation. It’s a fancy word for a simple idea: you can train your nervous system to turn the stress down. He walks through how it works in plain, practical language you can put to work.
Give it a watch. Your shoulders (and the people you come home to) will thank you.
Recommended Event
Disnify your Biz at Disney World with the Master
Disney doesn’t have customers. It has fans — people who plan their whole year around going back, and gladly pay a premium to do it.
That’s no accident. It’s engineered: every detail designed so guests feel taken care of and can’t wait to return. Vance Morris learned it from the inside. He spent years at Walt Disney World, then left to teach business owners how to build that same experience into their own companies.
I went to his “Making the Magic” event a few years back, and it changed how I run mine. Better retention. More referrals. Clients who happily pay premium prices without blinking.
Here’s why I’m telling you now: a scheduling shift just freed up 20 seats at his next event, October 25-28 in Orlando. Vance wants them filled fast, so he’s pricing them to make Mickey blush — $1,997 a seat instead of his usual $7,999. (Note: This is $1,000 less than I noted last week; I had it wrong.) He can even get you discounted park tickets, and you may be able to write the trip off (ask your accountant).
If that sounds like your kind of magic, come see how Vance does it.
Click here for details and sign-up. (Use coupon code TOM26 at checkout)
Recommended Book
Stop Leaving Money on the Table
Think about the last time you named your price.
Did you say the number and hold steady? Or did you feel that little flinch and tack on a discount before the client even blinked?
If it’s the second one, you’re not bad at sales. You just never learned a system for pricing. Most of us didn’t. Accountants, lawyers, consultants, coaches, fractional execs — we’re brilliant at the work and shaky on what to charge for it.
That’s the gap Susan Trivers closes in STOP Leaving Money on the Table: Why Firms Badly Undercharge and How to Use IMPACT Based Pricing to Increase Fees.
Here’s what you’ll walk away with:
- Where the undercharging habit starts (it’s not what you think).
- How to spot the client who wants the impact you create — and will gladly pay for it.
- The one question that changes a discovery call.
- How to build three-option proposals that make it easy for the client to say yes.
No vague “charge your worth” pep talk. A method you can run on your very next proposal.
And here’s the best part: Susan is joining us live to walk through it and answer your questions.
STOP Leaving Money on the Table is the August pick for The Mastermind Book Club. Every month, Ted Prodromou and I pick a great business book, then meet on Zoom to dig in, usually the fourth Thursday, often with the author in the room. Meetings are free to attend. Join the Club and you also get our online community and the meeting replays.
See you there.
Thursday, August 27, 2:30 p.m. ET
Zoom Link
Latest Episode: The Story Power Marketing Show
Bootstrapped on Purpose: That Quiet Advantage of Saying No to Investors (with Adnan Malik)
Most founders think raising money is the goal. My guest this week, Adnan Malik, grew Software Finder 110% year over year without a dime of outside funding — and he did it on purpose.
Adnan and I get into why bootstrapping gave him an edge instead of holding him back. When you’re not spending someone else’s money, you focus on customers early, keep your costs lean, and find out fast whether the market actually wants what you’re building. Adnan’s a believer in consistency over cleverness: make good decisions, then give them time to work.
If you’re in the early days of building something and trying to figure out where to put your attention, this episode is for you.
Discussed in this episode
~01:47 — Bootstrapped Origins
~04:23 — Why Skip Investors
~08:11 — Constraints Advantage
~12:41 — Consistency Beats Clever
~14:46 — What Software Finder Does
~18:55 — Buyer Mistakes
~21:20 — How To Get Started
~22:55 — Vendors Win Too
~24:47 — Closing and Resources
~26:39 — Outro Reminder
Full episode video: vimeo.com/1215449828
Listen on… Apple | Spotify | Amazon
Words to Ponder
“Your number one goal is to be useful to your readers or listeners. You are their advocate: Get them what they need.”
— Ann Handley, Everybody Writes
Don't go away yet..
p.s. Coaches, authors, and consultants hire me to power-up their creative content and storytelling to captivate prospects, stand-out and book more business.
Whenever you're ready, here are several ways I can help you become a storytelling stand-out so you'll land more clients without pitching and prodding:
1) Get the Story Power Profit Pack -- 52 Strategies, Tips, and Tactics to Transform Your Content from Ignored to Adored.
2) Watch the free, 7-minute Micro-Training: “The 3 Most Important Storytelling Keys to Captivate Prospects and Inspire Them to Act -- Without Pitching and Prodding.”
3) Become a Story Power VIP: Master how to discover, assemble, and deliver business-building stories. Twice-monthly live masterclasses. Members-only content. One-on-one feedback and consulting sessions. And more… If you'd like to learn more about our VIP program, just reply to this email and put "Story Power VIP" in the subject line. I’ll contact you with more details.
4) Work with me one-on-one: If you’re interested in working directly with me -- to discover, assemble, and deliver powerful, business-building stories -- simply reply to this email and change the subject line to "Private Client." Tell me a little about yourself, your business, and what you'd like to accomplish, and I'll reply to discuss options.
5) Invite me to speak at an event: I can tailor a presentation that meets the specific needs of your organization. Informative. Entertaining. Virtual or live. Potential for continuing education credits when applicable for your group. If interested, reply to this email and change the subject line to “Speaking Engagement.” I’ll circle back to discuss the possibilities.
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