SPS 140: Everything Is Figureoutable & How To Be A Time Genius While Writing Your Book with Marie Forleo

Posted on Jan 19, 2022

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Written by Leo Oliveira

Home > Blog > Podcast > SPS 140: Everything Is Figureoutable & How To Be A Time Genius While Writing Your Book with Marie Forleo
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Most of you know Marie Forleo, but if not, she’s an entrepreneur, writer, philanthropist, and unshakeable optimist. Marie is the lady behind MarieTV, a fun and often hilarious weekly show full of wit and wisdom to help viewers create the business and life they want. She has also created hugely popular online training programs like B-School and the new Time Genius, which we get to talk about a bit today. 

Marie is the author of Everything Is Figureoutable, a book about training our brains for growth by asking and answering the right questions. Marie shares a bit of her first self-publishing experience, which led to a deal with McGraw Hill and made her hesitant to write again. Then she had the idea for Everything Is Figureoutable and tested it on stage with Oprah. We get to learn about her writing process, time struggles, and her marketing plan. She had a vast list and focused on preorders. She also gave away a course created from an extra chapter in the book, made strategic podcast guest appearances, and had a huge launch party/concert. 

She is also excited about her new course, Time Genius. She says that this course is especially relevant for writers struggling to find the time to write. The course is about working on what is most important and letting the unimportant things go. She says it’s about simplicity, not scarcity or stacking up your to-do list. Marie also shares three tips for anyone who wants to write a book of their own. You’ll love this fun podcast with Marie. 

Show Highlights

  • [02:02] Marie self published her first book after making an ebook to promote her coaching business. She was then approached by McGraw Hill to publish her book. This was her first time working with a big publisher. It was great, but she lost control and became reluctant to publish again. 
  • [04:57] Around 2015, she started to want to write a book again. She gave her idea a test drive during Oprah Super Soul Sunday. 
  • [05:48] She went wide and found a publisher for this book Everything Is Figureoutable. This is the one thing that Marie wanted to share. 
  • [07:19] This book is part of Marie’s larger brand. It’s not a strategic marketing tool. It’s part of her core message. People have the power to transcend any challenge they have. 
  • [13:13] Everything Is Figureoutable didn’t have to be about business to increase Marie’s audience. Even though there are stories about business there.
  • [14:11] It was a struggle to write the book and to keep the business and the show going. Marie would wake up around 5 a.m. and devote 2 to 4 hours to working on the book.
  • [17:20] Sitting down to write a book is hard. It’s different from other writing tasks for business. 
  • [18:53] Marie loves marketing. She leveraged her audience to get pre orders. She created a free course from a bonus chapter that wasn’t included in the book. People who bought copies of the book received this course. 
  • [20:38] She also had a book launch party/concert. She was also strategic, mindful, and persistent about the types of podcasts she wanted to be on. 
  • [22:29] Marie’s been building an email list for decades. She couldn’t have gotten all the pre-orders without having already built an audience.
  • [25:53] Marie also did a book tour across seven or eight cities. She had different hosts at each stop. She also went to Australia and the UK. A book purchase came with each ticket.
  • [29:29] After the free course, Marie asked for reviews. She also asked on social media. Ask for reviews wherever you can.
  • [32:49] Time Genius is for Marie and her audience. It’s for folks who are feeling overwhelmed and feel like they don’t have time to breathe. Some of the things taught are shifting your mind out of the world of time stress. It’s about putting what matters most to you first every day.
  • [35:07] It’s around simplicity and not scarcity. It’s not about stacking up your to-do list. Working eighteen hours a day is incredibly ineffective. This course is especially effective for writers.
  • [36:49] Spend more time on what matters and blissfully ignore what doesn’t.
  • [37:48] Be really passionate about the idea that you’re going to write about and the audience that you’re writing to. Be clear on who the book is for and who it’s not for and be okay with that. Get into the practice of writing consistently.

Links and Resources

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