During my time with Berkshire Hathaway, I was fortunate enough to be exposed to the “80/20” concept. I really respect Perry Marshall for his work and ideas in this area.

One day Perry Marshall recommended a video series with Steve Harrison and Jack Canfield on how to write a bestseller. I watched the entire series and came away with two conclusions.

First, my level of competence was even more lacking than I had estimated.

Second, these two guys seemed to know what I need and had put it into a format I could follow.

That became my mantra over the next couple of weeks as I checked out many book writing and self-publishing programs: Did they have a format to follow and had that format produced success for others?

The Quantum Leap program was by far the most comprehensive and probably the most expensive I found.

I signed up on the last day possible to attend the Quantum Leap meeting in Philadelphia. I was still questioning the decision to join but the salesperson said I could attend the first day and half the meetings and then decide if the program was right for me and worth the cost. A very fair offer.

Many people associated with Quantum Leap will tell you trying to take in everything they offer is like trying to drink from a fire hose. This is a very accurate description.

One of the most valuable services Quantum Leap provides is taking this huge and complex process and breaking it down into understandable and doable steps. Then they provide experts in areas to guide and direct you in the specific actions you need to take.

Let me share with you how this has impacted me.

Geoffrey Berwind kept pushing me to tell a story. He even had a formula for the story: Life is going along good, then BAM, it falls off the cliff. Just before you hit bottom you have an “aha!” moment and turn uphill to new and possibly even higher levels of life.

I did not want to tell a story, I wanted to tell people how to budget. Seriously? I’m supposed to make people laugh, cry, feel empathy or a connection through a story in order for them to budget. But I have paid a lot of money to be directed by these geniuses, so I’ll give it a try.

I had written the introduction of the book with plenty of well thought out reasoning for why everyone needs to budget. I rewrote the introduction, focusing on two stories about the situation my wife and I faced when we decided we needed to do something about our finances. Then I asked a dozen people to read both versions and let me know which they preferred.

The results were unanimous. The story introduction won over the factual one with all 12 readers.

I felt so smart for hiring these geniuses!

After a couple of consults with various book coaches, I decided Martha was the best match for me. Her friendly but firm style was exactly what I needed.

She was always insightful, but more importantly in my case, she believed in establishing and had me commit to a firm timetable. Her experience provided an expert knowledge base where all steps were laid out very clearly.

When the book was in the stages of review and editing, I began considering whether to take part in the National Publicity Summit.

I spoke with several coaches and other Quantum Leap members and saw the opportunity as one I should take advantage of. I applied and was accepted. Taking this step was a real game changer for me.

I was tagged teamed in the coaching by Geoffrey, Martha, and Ginny. I started out in the proverbial “deer in the headlights” position. I did not have merely limited knowledge—I could not even see where I was trying to go.

I had never dealt with any media, did not understand what I was hearing about them, and was a bit scared I was going to look like some hick from the woods to them.

Nonetheless, my coaches kept me focused on each task at hand: a one page media sheet, a 30-45 second opening pitch, and the ability to listen to and respond to the media’s needs.

Slowly but surely, we made progress.

When the Summit started, I felt OK but still unsure. I was sitting in my seat the first morning and Steve asked for volunteers to share their pitch. I decided it would be smart to get feedback from the other 100 attendees before I faced the media.

I got in line to try out my pitch on Steve. I was about 15 seconds into the pitch when Steve stopped me, turned to the audience, and asked if anyone understood what I was talking about. Only three hands went up. I was crushed and really worried I had made a costly and horrible mistake in coming to the Summit.

Steve had me try again, and one member of the media gave some excellent suggestions, but my mind was reeling. I went back to my seat and asked a couple of friends sitting near me why they could not raise their hands. I did not get any useful feedback, except maybe to slow down a bit, but they said I would be fine that afternoon with the media.

My coaches had stressed the importance of making my pitch simple and interesting, so I went back to work to make the most interesting parts more straightforward. I ran it by all my coaches and everyone else I could get to listen.

Now it was time for the real deal. I gave my first pitch— and WOW! I got an invite on the spot to do a radio show.

The second one bombed, but the next 15 in a row said YES! They wanted to continue the conversation and invited me to follow up after the Summit!

By the end of the Publicity Summit, I had spoken to 82 media people, and 76 were interested in possibly booking me in the future.

Just as important, I was loving interacting with the media.

Radio shows, print publicity, a TEDx talk, and more