TEN Episode 112 â Duo Episode: Revising Shine
00:00:00 Gino Wickman
Driven entrepreneurs, that's like, that's my thing. That's been my life for 35 years. But I want to impact as many people as we can, and I don't want it to be limiting. And so I want to invite all wild and crazy, traumatized, driven people.
00:00:30 Rob Dube
Hello everyone. My name is Rob Dube, and I am here with Gino Wickman. Gino, good to see you today.
00:00:36 Gino Wickman
You as well, my friend.
00:00:38 Rob Dube
So we're going to talk today about Shine, our book, and the fact that we did a revision to it.
00:00:45 Gino Wickman
Yes, that's right. We did.
00:00:46 Rob Dube
So big news, we've revised Shine. It's been out three months now, and we're going to talk about why we did it, not from a self-serving standpoint, but we just want to share some lessons learned. So I'm going to share a few things, Gino, kind of cue you up.
00:01:03 Gino Wickman
Yeah, that's great.
00:01:04 Rob Dube
So first of all, I just want to talk about the old subtitle, which was how looking inward is the key to unlocking true entrepreneurial freedom. And the new one is how driven people can live a life of exceptional success and profound purpose. Now, one thing that hasn't changed is both focus on the 10 Disciplines for maximizing your energy, impact, and inner peace, in addition to the three discoveries to free your True Self.
00:01:36 Rob Dube
So obviously, initially we focused solely on entrepreneurs, but we shifted, and now the book is written for driven people, high performers. Of course, entrepreneurs are in that category. Why did we do that, Gino? Why the shift?
00:01:52 Gino Wickman
Why in the hell did we do that? So I'll zoom out for a second and then zoom back in because I always like to share, you know, there's three major changes in this revision, okay? And you're hitting on number one. So number one is we changed the target market. I'm going to come right back to your question.
00:02:09 Gino Wickman
Number two is we flipped parts one and part two. I'm sure that's going to come up in our conversation. And then number three is I like to describe it as we smoothed out the content. It just flows better, and we updated some content. This subject is ever evolving and growing and changing. And then I always lovingly like to say there is a fourth thing. We put a little God in it, and we could talk about that certainly as well.
00:02:33 Gino Wickman
But you're talking about, you know, revision number one. And so why do we do it? So I look forward to going back and forth because for me, the first thing that comes up is the number of people that said, "Hey, I'm not a driven entrepreneur, and I'm listening to your podcast. I read the book, and this is for me too. Please." And so we just listen to people.
00:02:55 Gino Wickman
And so my biggest concern maybe was that it would turn off, you know, we want to make an impact on the world. And certainly, and maybe this isn't fair for you to say, but I'll say it for me. It's like driven entrepreneurs, that's like, that's my thing. That's been my life for 35 years. But I want to impact as many people as we can, and I don't want it to be limiting. And so I want to invite all wild and crazy, traumatized, driven people. So that's what comes up for me.
00:03:28 Rob Dube
Yeah, no, it's great. I mean, I had a note here, so you always hit on my notes, which I love. But I was thinking back to something you probably wrote in Traction or you teach all the time, and maybe it's an e-leap, actually. And that is to listen to your customers.
00:03:46 Gino Wickman
Yes, that's it.
00:03:47 Rob Dube
And we were listening, and you mentioned that. And so we just kept hearing it over and over and over again. And then we'd have these conversations, and it was almost like, well, what are we going to do? Oh, well, wish we knew beforehand.
00:04:02 Rob Dube
But then we had the courage, I guess you could say, to go back and a supportive publisher and knowing that this would be a lot of work to do a revision. But we felt like it was worth it because, as you mentioned, we want to impact a great deal of people, a million, to be specific in terms of the 10 Disciplines goes.
00:04:23 Gino Wickman
Yeah, zero.
00:04:24 Rob Dube
So, and truly, it just applies. This content applies to driven people, all kinds, all kinds.
00:04:30 Gino Wickman
All kinds.
00:04:31 Rob Dube
All right. So I want to jump to the fourth thing, which was God. We put God into it. Is that how you say it?
00:04:41 Gino Wickman
Oh, yeah. Put a little God in it.
00:04:42 Rob Dube
We put a little God into it.
00:04:43 Gino Wickman
We put a little God in it.
00:04:44 Rob Dube
What's that all about?
00:04:46 Gino Wickman
Well, that is a couple of things, okay? So I felt bad leaving him out of the original version. And he was in, he was out, he was in, he was out, he was in, he was out in my mental process when we published the first time, okay? And so again, I felt bad leaving him out. And so again, for me, feel bad is kind of a weird set of words, but it's like I was just called that. It just feels like God should be mentioned in this book. And so the process is going to be quite crazy when I share this with you.
00:05:22 Gino Wickman
And the in-out thing is if you go to, you know, just kind of the standard publishing world, the leaning is leave it out so you're not going there and you're not offending some people and you're not, and it's such a complex topic. It's like you can never describe it one way that applies to all because this book is for atheists and spiritual people and devout religious people. And so anyway, so that's the first point where it's just, it's a tricky, tricky subject, okay? And I just don't feel good leaving it out.
00:05:58 Gino Wickman
You know, I believe in God. I'm a more spiritual guy than I am a religious guy. But the good news is nothing's being pushed about that in this book. But this kind of content, he has to come up. It's like he can't not. And so I just didn't feel good about that. So what I did is, so God shows up seven times in this book, okay? There's no science to that. It's just that's how many times after the process I went through.
00:06:25 Gino Wickman
And so the process I went through is whenever it came up for me, as I went back through this revision, I put it in. And it might have been, you know, 12 times, nine times. And then I just went through a thought process. But what I did in my office, I think there were seven of us. So I sat in my office with some Christians, some spiritual people, certainly myself. And I went through each of those editions, exactly how it's written. And we actually had a conversation. And I wanted to make sure, do you find this offensive? Does this concern you? Just I wanted to hear everybody's perspective on it. And I really enjoyed the process.
00:07:07 Gino Wickman
And so I did my best to just find a happy medium so that God is in this book in the appropriate context. And I repeat, not to push anything. So if you're an atheist, it'll make sense. If you're devoutly religious, it'll make sense. If you're spiritual, it'll make sense. You know, I just believe there's this common thread that runs through all ancient teachings, and that's the line I tried to hit. So long answer to your question, but hopefully that made sense.
00:07:42 Rob Dube
Yeah, and I hope that makes sense to the listeners. I think it was clear to me for sure. And I had one last thing about the flow of the book. So what we did is we moved the 10 Disciplines to the beginning. We moved the three discoveries to the end. Now, originally we had the three discoveries at the beginning because we wanted to start at the end. But what happened?
00:08:06 Gino Wickman
Yeah, yeah. Well, and that's number two change because the number three change is flow. Number two is I just call it flipping part one and part two. Yeah. And so where that came from, a couple different things. First, we were getting feedback that the way it was originally written was a little bit of a punch in the face. Like it just came on too strong. You know, page two, hey, I've been sexually abused, and so was Rob. You know, it's like that, you know, it's like, okay, where the fuck are we going with this book? So that was heavy. It's just a heavy start to the book.
00:08:43 Gino Wickman
And in the writing process, and I'm confident you remember this, when we wrote the first version, I mean, that one I went back and forth in my head 15 times. It was going to be part one, part two, part two, part one, back and forth, back and forth. So again, it was just another one of those things that sat with me. And then when we had so many readers read it and the feedback we got, it was just validation that, ah, you know what? We need to flip it. So that was the first reason.
00:09:10 Gino Wickman
And then the second reason, when I couldn't make up my mind the first time around, I just rationalized that let's begin at the end. You know, let's begin at the end. And that wasn't the right approach. Let's begin at the beginning. So I think I was making shit up in my head. And so now we're beginning at the beginning. And so now, so beautifully, you have this foundation that the first half of the book sets in place for you to have this amazing conversation with yourself about these three discoveries that are now magical because they sit upon a foundation. So it's like in hindsight, I'm like, what the fuck was I thinking? I think we made the right decision, and I think it's a better book.
00:09:55 Rob Dube
I noticed that when I held both books, I'm holding the new version, the revised version, the energy of the revised version feels more clear to me. Yeah, I did it. I was just curious. Wow! When I held both of them, I'd be curious if you try it, if you notice that at all. So all right, let's try it.
00:10:15 Gino Wickman
Let me try now.
00:10:16 Rob Dube
Go ahead.
00:10:16 Gino Wickman
You know, and so as I write, though, you know, I did everything in my power with this revision because, you know, you wrote the first version, you know? So again, the co-author process is we would do these calls. I would convey the vision and the content, and then you would write it, send it back to me. I would edit it, and we'd go back and forth.
00:10:34 Gino Wickman
You know, with this one, what we agreed is I'm just going to take this thing because it's written, and I'm just going to have at it. And so I just wrote from my soul in all of that revision and then certainly sent it to you for all of your input. So we like flipped it, which was kind of cool.
00:10:50 Gino Wickman
So when you talk about the energy thing, my energyometer might be turned off right now because I'm not feeling anything. But I don't think that's any reflection on the book. But the energy in that rewrite and revision was off the charts, you know? So I just trusted that. And that was a six-month process. I mean, it was.
00:11:10 Rob Dube
Yeah, for sure it was.
00:11:11 Gino Wickman
It was a deep dive.
00:11:13 Rob Dube
It was. What else? Am I missing anything?
00:11:16 Gino Wickman
No, but I just think flow, you know? So the third thing, again, is we smoothed out the content and updated some things and pulled some stories out that it was like, so when I would read through it again, when I say flow, this comes back to this energy thing. I was not going to give up until I read from page one to page 200 and whatever, where it just flowed without a single bump. I read through so many times. And so whenever there was a story that was just like a little too much of a bump, so we pulled some stories out where I had to make a phone call and say, "Hey, buddy, I'm sorry to say this, but your story's gone." And it was like heartbreaking for some people. And then some content and then some new content.
00:12:03 Gino Wickman
And so there was, it's like with discovery number two, all decisions are made out of love or fear. It was a bit of a bumpy chapter, you know? And it's because it's so heavy and it's such a deep dive. It's a very complex chapter. So it's really hard to simplify it. But I think it's much more simplified. I lopped off, I want to say, 20% of that chapter so that it flowed and then updated some stuff there. So that's what I would add.
00:12:33 Rob Dube
All right. Good stuff. Well, it's out now. As I mentioned, a few months ago it came out. And as always, thank you, Gino. And thank you all for joining us. And we will see you next time. And in the meantime, stay focused and much love.
00:12:49 Gino Wickman
Thank you for listening in today. We truly appreciate you taking the time to spend with us. And please tune in for the next episode. Until then, we wish you all the best in freeing your True Self. Stay focused and much love.
