It’s always a pleasure to catch up with the Duct-Tape Marketer, John Jantsch.  John is a phenomenal marketer, focusing on small business, and I’ve followed his work for a decade.  His new book is The Self-Reliant Entrepreneur, a selection of 365 thought-starters, inspirational messages, and ideas to crank up your business on a daily basis.

Nick:  John, you’ve written 5 books, I believe.  Why TSRE now?  What motivated you to write it?

John:  This is my sixth book, and yes, my previous five were related to some aspect of marketing. The short answer is that I wrote this book because I needed some inspiration. I’ve had an amazing journey as an entrepreneur and writing this book allowed me to explore that journey in ways that I hope can ultimately inform others. Selfishly this is also a body of literature that I thoroughly enjoyed in high school and college and the structure of this book gave me the excuse to go revisit it in a new light.

Nick:  What’s top on the entrepreneur list of worries these days?

John:  Impact, I think – am I doing what I am supposed to do, am I making a difference, has it been worth it?

Nick:  What’s top on the list of enthusiasms?

John :  Flipside of the same coin – that one or one hundred or one million people have had a better life because of this thing I’m doing.

Nick:  John, I love the format of a daily guide — it’s like mindfulness for entrepreneurs.  The challenge, of course, is to keep going throughout the year.  What’s the cumulative experience I can expect if I hang in there all 365 days?

John:  I don’t know. See, that’s the ironic thing about writing a book that proposes to teach someone how to be self-reliant, the “self” part of the equation is 100% on the reader. This is a collection of ideas that readers must make their own through daily practice and honest examination. Think of this as a practice instead of a book. Answer the daily questions and you’ll be a different person this time next year is all I can guarantee.

Nick: Tell us about John, about Duct Tape Marketing, and what you fill your days with these days?

John :  I fill my days running my company I suppose but no two days ever feel the same. I teach, coach, train, consult, and sometimes preach a bit, all in the name of helping small business owners thrive. As a practical matter, I write books, host a podcast, speak on stages large and small, and coach a network of marketing consultants who work with small businesses around the world.

Nick:  Thanks, John!  John’s latest book is The Self-Reliant Entrepreneur: 366 Daily Meditations to Feed Your Soul and Grow Your Business.  

Here’s a little bit more about the book.  The Self-Reliant Entrepreneur is a collection of 366 meditations designed to both inspire and challenge the reader through a practice of daily soulful reflection. The book is anchored with readings and quotes from some of the original and most impactful entrepreneurial writing ever created. Authors and essayists such as Ralph Waldo Emerson, Margaret Fuller, Henry David Thoreau, Louisa May Alcott, and Walt Whitman encouraged individuals to trust and develop the gifts that only they could bring to the world.