INTRODUCTION

Lesley Logan
Welcome to the Be It Till You See It podcast where we talk about taking messy action, knowing that perfect is boring. I’m Lesley Logan, Pilates instructor and fitness business coach. I’ve trained thousands of people around the world and the number one thing I see stopping people from achieving anything is self doubt. My friends, action brings clarity and it’s the antidote to fear. Each week, my guests will bring Bold, Executable, Intrinsic and Targeted steps that you can use to put yourself first and Be It Till You See It. It’s a practice, not a perfect. Let’s get started.

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Lesley Logan
Hey Be It babe, I love how fucking small the world is, I really just absolutely do. Today’s guest is not only referral from one of your favorite guests we’ve ever had. He’s also a friend of one of your favorite guests we’ve ever had. So, today’s guest is Jake Kelfer. And, you know, I have had so many of you reach out with amazing ideas and things that you want to do on this planet. And I wanted to bring on a guest who could actually help you get known for that. Because the reality is is like you, what you’re here to do is how is going to help people. And first of all, remember that because you are going to want to hear how Jake is going to take how you want to help people and what you are like being called to do, and really fire you up to do it in a big massive way. So first of all, Jake and I both talk at a speed of 2.0. So if you are, if you’re someone like me who listens podcasts on 1.5, you may you may want to drop it down to a regular one point 0 on this one. If that is too fast for you, y’all just hit replay and enjoy this episode multiple times because I am going to listen to this again just so I can write down all the amazing things Jake said whether you have an idea of what you’re supposed to do on this planet or not. There are so many things you’re gonna want to write all right down and put on your mirror. Yes, I said it on your mirror like with a little dry erase marker, not a Sharpie, dry erase marker. You can write it down because I, it took everything in me not to stop them 17 times and then go: Can you say that again? Just say that again. Listen, I want to be like Oprah. It’s a tweet tweet. That’s a tweet tweet. If you listened to Oprah from 10 years ago, that’s what she said. Anyways, my love’s here is Jake Kelfer.

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EPISODE

Lesley Logan
All right, Be It babe. I am thoroughly excited to have today’s guest with us today. He is actually a recommendation from a previous guest we’ve had and then we just found out that he actually is really great friends with someone we’ve already had. So we have Jake Kelfer here. Did I say your name correctly? I hope so. Great. That’s wonderful. And y’all, he is an incredible, well, first of all, bestselling author four times over, he has helped more than 70 people end up in the NBA and he’s actually going to talk to you a lot about books and writing books, but we’re gonna first getting to know Jake. Jake, can you tell us who you are? What you rock at? How you got here?

Jake Kelfer 4:05
You bet I can. Absolutely. And I’m excited to be here. Thanks. Thanks for interviewing me. Thanks for having me. And let’s get this party started. So I’ll take you back a little bit. I started my career working for the Los Angeles Lakers. I’m from Los Angeles. I love the Lakers. My parents have a room in their house called the Lakers room. It’s painted purple and gold. I mean, we’re diehard fan. So to start my career off with the Los Angeles Lakers was amazing. But was what was even more amazing, was it was Kobe Bryant’s final NBA season. So his final season my first season. And while I was with the team, I got to see the impact Kobe had on the world. I got to see people spend a lot of money to travel the world to come see him play for the final time and I thought to myself: How can I make this impact? And why in my mind, do I think I need to have reached a certain level of success or a certain amount of money in my bank account before I can grant myself the permission to make that impact. And I realized I had it all backwards. And so I thought to myself one day after a Laker game, I said: What do I know? And how can I help people? Six months later, Kobe retires, I retired, I launched my very first book called Elevate Beyond To The World. That book goes on to become a best seller. And someone then tells me, hey, you know, you can speak on your book and get paid money to talk. I said, You’re joking, right? Like, I didn’t know that this was a career, I thought speakers were just people who had quote, unquote, made it and they just gave their time for fun, and they just was cool, you know? And I was like, Okay, I’m a speaker. Let’s go. I fired up, I started speaking career, my book starts getting picked up in colleges as as required reading, and I’m like, I’m onto something here. This is special. But I also still wanted to work in basketball. And so over the next few years, I continued to build the speaking business. I continue to write a couple more books. And I started really helping NBA players signed their first contract. So I would help guys who wanted to make the NBA, I would help them get noticed, get exposure and get signed. I was like, you know what, if I can help NBA players do this, I sure as shit can help entrepreneurs, coaches, and great people do this with their book dream. And so fast forward to recent years, and I have four books written and now I primarily help entrepreneurs, coaches, experts, thought leaders write and launch nonfiction books to grow their business and make an impact.

Lesley Logan 6:22
This is… Okay. So first of all, this is amazing. If you are not someone who’s a basketball fan, just so you know, everything you said it’s very impressive. And also like, your parents probably thought like you made it because of they’re Laker fans. And you made, like your first years with the Lakers, like that’s such a big deal. Having to do on a little sidetrack, Brad and I were in, in China having having lunch. And for whatever, my husband, if you haven’t seen him recently, years ago, he walked out. He and Brad Pitt look very similar. And his name is Brad. So when we go to Asia, and he says his name is Brad. They’re like Brad Pitt. And I’m like, yes, we’ll take his room. We’ll take that room. So we, the guy thinks this, this waiter at this restaurant thinks that he’s Brad Pitt. And I say he’s like, Oh, he’s like, where are you from? I said LA, which of course, like convinces him even more. That’s Brad Pitt. That’s who we’re with. And he’s like Lakers. I said, Yes, we rent front row. And he’s like, like, Kobe Bryant like, so when you if you are not a basketball person, people all around the world know who Kobe Bryant is, he has made an impact. What I love that you ask yourself is like, what if I start now? Like, why am I waiting to be deemed this. And then I also want to go back to like, it’s not that that didn’t keep going, because you kind of like had to, someone had to tell you could also be a speaker, like, it’s so I say that not to like, discount what you did, but also to like, show people. It’s not like we’re looking down on people. And they just know what is next. Like, we’re you don’t have to wait to be deemed anything. And you also don’t have to wait to figure it out. You can kind of just keep going. So how did you first of all, like, get a pen to paper on the first book, because I think that’s where everyone gets stuck, they get writer’s block, and they don’t know what to even write about.

Jake Kelfer 8:02
Well, I’ll be honest, I had no clue what I was doing… (Lesley: I like that even more), I mean, I’m 22 years old, I’m an assistant for the Lakers have an idea to write a book, I was fortunate enough to have one mentor of mine, a friend who I grew up with his dad had written a book. And so he had kind of shared a few things. But I had to figure it out on my own. And I wish I would have had the resources that now we provide to people when I was doing this. But at the end of the day, I realized something because I didn’t like writing. I didn’t go to college to study writing. I didn’t consider myself a great writer. But what I realized something very early on was that if the desire to create an impact is greater than the dislike for writing, you can and you will create a very good book. Because a book being written is not about you, it’s about the person you aim to serve. And if you can understand that, no matter who you are, what you’ve been through, what skills you have, what knowledge you possess, you can turn what you have into a great book that will change people’s lives. And so for me, I just put my head down, I figured it out. It wasn’t the best thing I’ve ever written. It’s not going to be the best thing I’ve ever done. But it was something that could help somebody else get the result they wanted to at that moment in time.

Lesley Logan 9:15
Okay, so this is incredible. I think a lot of people get stuck on like, their purpose and their why and the way you phrased it was a little bit different. It’s all the same thing. It’s like trying to figure out like, how to make the desire to help people which would be like someone call that a wire or purpose to be greater than the actual pain of writing the book, which have been written one it is like birthing a child and I haven’t done that. So I don’t actually know but it felt like that and it felt like over every fucking Sunday. I’m like, okay, here I am trying, I tried everything, I was like I’m gonna go to a coffee shop and I’m only gonna, I have to write as long as my meter because I lived in LA at the time too long as my meter is going and I’m not allowed to leave until the meter has expired. I tried all the things, but you’re right if you can picture the purpose, the person who is supposed to help. And you can think about them. And it’s kind of like, well, then you have a moral obligation to get that book out there. Because if you don’t, then you can’t help this person.

Jake Kelfer 10:09
Yeah, and look, I’m not gonna sugarcoat it, writing a book is not the easiest thing you could do. Okay, it’s going to take time, and it’s going to take work. But but here’s the other truth, you could see it as this massive, massive undertaking that only the elite people can do. Or you can see it as something that you can have fun with. And you can do it in an hour a day. And you get to decide, okay, just like everything we’ve talked about so far, as you ultimately have the choice of how you’re going to see things, how you’re going to do things, and what is most important to get your time and your attention. And so for me, when I wrote Book Two, I was traveling the entire country speaking and running events for that, for the basketball combine. I didn’t have time. But I figured out a way to write my book, my fourth book, I didn’t have time, I’m running a big business over here. So I gave myself clear, clear timeframe, deadlines, I broke it down into actionable items. And I finished my rough draft in 17 days, and I launched it in 87 days, and we sold 1000s of copies and got the book in hundreds of people’s hands right away. The point of all this comes to one simple truth. Do you believe that you can help somebody? And is the way you can help them at this moment in time? A book? If the answer is yes, you can create a commitment that will help you get this thing done faster than you ever thought possible.

Lesley Logan 11:29
Okay, I love all this. And like my mind is going like crazy. If someone would just say, I don’t know, like, I don’t know, if it should be a book, what are some signs that like, why a book over like, you know, just standing on the street corner and giving a speech, or not that that’s effective, ever not saying do that. But like, why a book over other modalities.

Jake Kelfer 11:51
I don’t always speak in absolutes, especially when it comes to marketing, because I think there’s a lot of hoopla out there. But but but here, here’s an absolute that I’ve come to believe. And this is what’s worked for my own experience, a book is single handedly the most versatile marketing tool you could have in your business. And let me explain this. Okay, I’m going to rapid fire here real quick. So everybody, you might need to repeat this, I already talked fast, and we’re going faster. A book is a paid product. Literally, you do it once you can get returns on it forever. Number two, it is a lead magnet, you can put lead magnets in there, you can use it you can give your book away for free. Your book is a Client Onboarding Tool, it’s a way to create customer experience. The best customer is the one you already have. You start with a good experience, they get better results. They refer you and they upsell upsell into your programs. It is a client acquisition tool. Okay, if Jimmy and Johnny are, are you’re looking at them to higher and Jimmy’s got a book and Johnny doesn’t, who is more credible? The person with the book. Okay, it is a networking tool. Let’s say you want to get on podcasts. Well, how do you get past the gatekeeper, you asked to give somebody a copy of your book, they now give you the address of the person you wanted to get in touch with. And now you have a direct line. And guess what, everybody opens the package from Amazon. Everybody opens the physical gift. Not to mention, Okay, now let’s get tactical even more. So, not to mention your book is the outline to your keynote and workshop. Your book is the foundation for your coaching program. Your book is what becomes multiple online courses, your book will become months of months and months worth of social content. So now, bolder claim than what I just made is not only is your book the most versatile marketing asset you can have, your book will actually gain your time back over time, ultimately making you have a book in hand and more time on your hands down the road.

Lesley Logan 13:51
I’m nodding if you’re watching this on YouTube, I’m like nodding the whole time because yes to all these things. I did not know that when I wrote a book, I wrote a book thinking I was interviewing too many Pilates instructors who were not fully trained, and I couldn’t hire them. And I was like so frustrated because here they are in an interview needing a job, they want to make money. But I can’t hire them because they weren’t trained. And whoever sold them a training program did not tell them you could not work at a full studio because you weren’t trying these things. And so they needed to go get more training but they need a job to have the money to do that training and I’m sitting going someone lied to you, I need to solve this problem and try to solve my problem which will hopefully solve their problem. And what ends up happening I had no idea was that it would become this way to get past gatekeepers. I got picked to speak in workshops and big conferences and flown places because of this book and I’d only been teaching for two years. I was a brand new, like when you brand new like nobody instructor but I had this book. And now we this is a 10th year but last year we actually did an edit on it. Because now there’s all these fun things you can do. So we were able to put QR codes into each chapter. So if you actually get the physical copy you can scan for more, it’s like a Choose Your Own Adventure book now because now if you want more information on chapter two, there are seven blogs we can send you to, there’s this free thing, there’s a course you can buy. So now this now our book has become this thing that leads them into more products and more things. And so it’s you’re 100% Correct. And I had no idea back then that that’s what I was creating. But if it also, less selfishly has impacted so many people because of how it has helped so many people go, Oh, I should be doing, I need to do that. And so I really do, I really do love the option of a book. And I love that you brought all those things up. And if any of those words make sense to you guys, then you can just ask us, right? Brad and I will answer on a on a recap. But when someone is trying to decide, like, should I write a book? How do I know anyone’s going to read this? Like, I’m sure you’ve helped so many people. How do you get past that thought of like, well, who’s gonna read my book? You know, that impostor syndrome? Like, I’ve got this idea? I know, it’s gonna help these people. But what like, what if no one reads it?

Jake Kelfer 15:54
I had that feeling too. I mean, I’m no different than anybody who’s picked up a pen, or in this case, a keyboard, right? And here’s, here’s the truth of it, is that you may have a massive following, listen to this. And you may have minimal following or just beginnings. The truth of the matter is when you have a book, and you put yourself out there and you be vulnerable, and you share your authentic truth, great and unexpected things will happen. I got invited to do a 10 day speaking tour in China, because I wrote a book, I got invited to speak in at an indoor waterpark in Wisconsin, because I had a book, who’s going to read it, you don’t necessarily need to know that right off the bat. What you do need to know is that is this book going to help somebody and if it is, the right people will find you. And more importantly, as you’ll be able to find the right people because you have the book. Now, this is a little bit of of a deeper analysis here. And the truth is like, I don’t really care how many people buy my book. That’s the truth. You know why? Because I’m not worried about a $7 royalty, I’m focused on getting a $7,000 client a 70K deal, because of the trust, the credibility and the authority that comes from being perceived as the expert that has a book, I’m more concerned about, can I give my book away and get featured on somebody’s podcast? Can I give my book away and help change somebody’s life? And that’s it. So who’s going to read your book? Well, it depends. But there are people and this another important point, there are people out there that have read every other book by the every guru that you are comparing your future book to and guess what, it hasn’t resonated yet, they haven’t been ready to receive the information at the time they need to receive it. And so somebody out there is waiting for your book in your voice with your message, and it will finally click for them. And so by saying: Who am I to write this? That’s selfish, that’s selfish, right? It is our responsibility to share that message if you believe it can help somebody. And to sum it all up, right? To sum it all up. If you don’t write the book you are being called to write, you might be depriving somebody of the book that they will recommend as their favorite book of all time.

Lesley Logan 18:14
Oh, my gosh, y’all hit rewind, just you just go to your whatever you listen to, there’s always a button. And it just hit it back at least two times because that was really incredible. I agree. I think when any, whether you’re it’s a book, or a speech, or a course, or a class you want to create or just anything, you’re doing for other people, if you are holding it back, you are keeping, you’re being very selfish, because I always say, like, you are the only person who can do what you do the way that you do it. You’re it like, there, there are a million podcasts out there by women. But no one can be me, no one can do it the way I do it. And for a lot of people will be the best way that they’re going to hear it, right? And so it’s, it’s true. Like we when we get in our own our own way, we’re actually taking away a gift from other people. And so I love that you said that. I’m wondering. So we’ve got everybody listening, everyone listening, nodding, they’re onboard, they’re okay, they’re ready to write this. How do you and you obviously have a crew who does this, but how do you how do you help people who like maybe they’ve not written since like, college or high school? Like, how did, how did people like get in the habit of writing again? What did you do?

Jake Kelfer 19:22
Sure. So there’s multiple questions in here. Would you like me to explain how do you get into the habit of writing? Or would you like me to explain how do we if we haven’t written in five years or a decade, how do we actually start writing again?

Lesley Logan 19:35
I like the second one.

Jake Kelfer 19:37
Okay. So first things first. Alright, let’s get this out of the way here. The world of books today is not the same as the world of books 10, 20, 50 years ago, and here’s what I mean by that. No longer do you have to have this professional prose and everything perfect and it written in a certain way and people are like, Oh, no, that’s not professional, right? Society accepts people now for who they truly are, especially in the world of personal branding, especially in the world, where you are the product, you are the coach, you are the service, you are the business owner. And so understanding that is, a book is really supposed to be now a way of you communicating through the written word to the person on the other side. So instead of thinking: Oh, I have to be a good writer, I have to write it a certain way. It’s so, you have to communicate in your voice, the message you are trying to articulate using the written word. And if you can reframe that, you put yourself at a higher level of completion opportunity. But to take it one step further is we live in 2023. You can speak your book, you can transcribe it, you can write it. And then to go even another step deeper, is that why you get an editor, that’s why someone like us, like we’re not going to look, most people’s writing as their own is fine. But then you’re going to work with someone who’s a professional editor who does this for a living, and they are going to take your manuscript, take your book, and polish it up to help you become a professional writer. And that’s the biggest thing is like, I’m still not the best writer, but I have the right team around me, who makes my writing much better.

Lesley Logan 21:24
Yeah, well, and that’s the truth for everything. Like y’all, whether you want to be a speaker, or a teacher, or anything, like you have to have a team around you, you know, I get the question, like, how you do everything that you do. And I’m like, I don’t, that’s how I do all. You think I’m editing this podcast? No, thanks heaven. You know, like, no, it’s like, there, you get people around you. And they’re, that’s why there are writers, writers. And there’s other editors. And like, one of the most recent books I listened to, the author, on the audible version, thanked her editor for like, helping her dig deeper and write a better book, because you know, that the editor was like, I love this, I want more here, I want this here. You know, like, it’s so important to not get stuck on like, how am I going to be the person to write this? It’s like, No, you get someone around you to do it. And with my first book, when I first auditioned my book, I did not I had like some buddy who could like lightly edit it. And then, of course, I had somebody go on Amazon, this book has a lot of grammatical errors. And I said, What’s a good thing, I’m not teaching English in this book, and I’m teaching you how to be a Pilates instructor. Like I had, of course, it stung. Of course, that review was like, Oh, my God, the most hurtful. And then I was like, wait a minute, this is not an English book. This is I’m not teaching her that. So, so I had to get out of my own way. But when we, when we redid the new edition, we hired an actual editor to do the actual grammar. And now I can trust that all the commas are on the right fucking places. And that’s great.

Jake Kelfer 22:50
It’s so true. It’s so true.

Lesley Logan 22:52
So Okay, you are like basically like a book mama like you are papa, I realize what I just said. So what made you decide that you wanted, I mean, you talked a little bit at the beginning, when you’re saying how you got here, but like, what made you go you know what I’ve written four? I want to do this, like, did you, did you know you can help other people? Were there any reservations there? Did you like give yourself the same pep talk around helping other people spoke the same you gave yourself? How did you get to this next spot?

Jake Kelfer 23:18
It’s a really great question. So I was, the minute I released my first book, people started asking for help. And I kept saying, Sure, I’ll just help you. It was just like, a side thing. Because it was not a priority for me to help people or create a business around that. It was just, oh, you’re launching a book here, do this, this and this, it’ll work. And it worked. And they just kept getting results and results and results. And it wasn’t until I had a coach who was like, hey, you’ve now written three books. People are asking you about this over and over and over again. I want you to guess, coach on this not what you’re currently doing. Would you do that? No, I had some resistance at first, put together a presentation and did that. And I realized that’s the evolution of the business. We’re gonna go super niche, super concrete, get people very specific results, and rock and roll. And so in 2022, we made it the official at the very beginning of the year, I said, we’re not doing anything other than this in the business. We shut down on the other revenue streams. And we said, this is the only angle we’re going. We’re all in here. And since then, we’ve helped dozens of authors get to the finish line.

Lesley Logan 24:32
That’s insane. That’s crazy. That’s a big like, That’s bold. Yeah, no, it’s going all in on this.

Jake Kelfer 24:39
Well, here’s, here’s the thing that I’ve been doing is look, I’ve been very successful up to this point. But I had always had my attention in multiple areas. And I knew that if I wanted to break through the current ceiling that I was at, and turn that into my floor, I knew I had to do something a little bit different. And the biggest thing that that it was was let’s stop trying to put our attention in multiple things. And let’s just, let’s just go all in on one thing. If we’ve been this successful across the board already, imagine what would happen if we put three years of singular focus attention. Imagine how much further we could go. And that’s just what I said. I said, let’s give it a shot and see what happens. And then we had a record year. And now we’re, it’s like, okay, we clearly are good at what we’re doing. It’s working, why not get even better at it. And so our whole motto right now is get 1% better every single day. You don’t need to do more, you just need to do better. And that’s what we do.

Lesley Logan 25:34
That’s, that’s don’t need more. You deserve to do better. I love that so much. I also love that you brought up, you’re sort of after you write your first book, you start getting questions, started helping people. And I think where people get stuck. Like, if you’re listening this you’re like, oh, my gosh, I love this, Jake. I love this Lesley, like, but I don’t know what I’d write about. It’s like, what are you getting asked a question about all the time, like, as a people think you’re an expert in. That’s what people want to know, your perspective on is like, what what did it that’s why this podcast exists is because people kept asking me like, How are you so confident? How do you do all these things? I’m like, Am I confident? Like, I’m just like, flying by the seat of my pants, y’all. So, so here’s the, here’s how that looks. But you you you kept hearing that question, and you got curious about it. And then you heard you actually were able to hear when someone said: Hey, what’s this about? We always need someone who’s a little bit further ahead of us to look at go. Just so you know, like what you’re doing is really unique, and none other than you, there’s no one out there doing it.

Jake Kelfer 26:32
And it just goes to show you, like, no matter what industry you’re in, you can’t do it alone. Right? There’s always people that have done what you’re trying to do at a higher level than you’re currently doing it at. And this is the same for sports. When you look at Kobe Bryant, what does he do better than he does the fundamentals and are in a mutual friend of ours Allen Stein Jr. Talks about this a lot is the fundamentals. And it’s something that I picked up from Kobe working for him that that season, he would go out there and he would take warmup seriously, he would shoot his fadeaway jump shot from the same spot. And everyone else would be doing dunks, throwing it all up, throwing layups up, just shooting random shots. But life is about getting really good at the fundamentals and not getting, as Alan would say, bored with the basics. And and this is something that is that is so true. And so everybody at the highest levels, has their own coach for various different things. Okay. And so if you’re trying to get to the next level, well go find somebody who’s done what you’re trying to do. So that you can shorten the time that it’s going to take you to get there. And if you do that, not only is going to shorten the time, but more likely than not, you’re going to create a better product than you initially would have. Had you gone at it all by yourself. Yes. And that’s, that’s the biggest thing. And I’ve realized that and so now, instead of focusing on like, how am I supposed to do all of this, I say, Well, who can help me do it faster, who already has better results. And that’s kind of how I’ve started to evaluate decision making, when it comes to what book to write, who to help me with the book, what to grow the business with, how to make sure that my time is prioritized correctly. Because to me, it’s not just about working. It’s not just about writing books, it’s about living, and you got to win the game of life. And all of these come through the filter of knowing what makes the most sense.

Lesley Logan 28:23
Yeah, I mean, oh, my gosh, that is genius stuff. Because it’s true. You can’t like these days. Can I google how to write a book? Or how to book publish a book? Yes, you could do that also 10 years ago, and there’s, there’s a lot you could do. But also, wouldn’t it be better if you had someone in your corner who could go actually, you could do it that way. But here’s why I think you might want to do it this way. And here’s we could do instead, that would actually help you get these things that you’re also wanting and your goals done. So it’s just really nice to have someone in your corner. And I love that you brought up sports, you know, and Alan is don’t get like, like getting with the basics all the time. It’s a lot of people listening this are Pilates instructors and other kinds of teachers. And it’s the same thing. Like we don’t we don’t take our clients to the most advanced exercises right away. We’re not here to entertain them, we’re here to like, really make sure they have the fundamentals so that they can do all that stuff without pain without fear without without hurting themselves. And so it’s, I love how everything just correlates in life. And I also love that you are like, how do I get there fast? Like who do I need to hire to do this? And that’s such a great question. Because it might be a coach, it might be you. And this if it’s someone who’s wanting to write a book, it might be it might be anybody you just have to think like who actually has been where I’m going so I’m sure not making wrong turns everyone you can also use a Maps app to get somewhere but you can also like maybe someone at local is like actually you don’t want to go that way because like that’s like there’s construction there tomorrow you want to go this way. You know it’s nice to have someone on your side. So if, can you tell us a little bit more what you do because let’s just say someone is like, oh my gosh, I want to write this book Jake has really helped me with like, what do you do with people and how how, what does that look like?

Jake Kelfer 30:01
Cool, and I want to answer that, but I feel compelled to share this on the next layer of that. Okay… (Lesley: Okay). Do we have time for that? Is that okay?… (Lesley: We have so much, go ahead). Okay, so it’s part of making decisions in your life. And what we’re talking about is, is very, very important. But one of the biggest things you have to think about beyond what we’re talking about is what type of life do you actually want to live, right? Because if we’re only focused on thinking about decisions for business, and spending time doing the research, and we’re trading time or money, that that’s all great. And you could do whatever you want, but it comes down to your life enjoyment. Because at the end of the day, you’re not going to remember that I work this many hours a day, pay someone to do this, you’re gonna remember that I enjoy the life I lived. And I want everyone to listen to what we call the life enjoyment matrix. Okay, I made this up because I was having severe stomach pain, okay. And I said, I need to start figuring this, figuring this out. And so I started to think about how am I making decisions that lead to a greater sense of fulfillment in my life. And I started to create this thing, and here’s what it is, if I ate dairy, okay, like a good pizza, that was delicious. That was like a 9 out of 10. Like that, that shit is good, okay? But what would happen as a result of that is I would get an incredible stomachache, I would miss two hours, I would feel nauseous, that’s a a one, my average is a five on that decision, a nine, and then a one averages out to be a five. Okay, that’s an average life. Now, here’s the flip side of that. Let’s say I eat a dairy free pizza, gluten free pizza, maybe that’s a seven. It’s not great. But it’s, it’s decent. But then, on the flip side is now I can go out with my friends. After that I can go for a drink, I can have a wonderful night, I’m not in pain. And I can have a memory that was created. That’s a 10. My average is in 8.5… (Lesley: Yeah). So whenever you are thinking about a decision, whether it be time or money, whether it be work or pleasure, I want you guys think about the life enjoyment matrix, and rate the two decisions, come up with your average and let the numbers take the emotion out of it and go for what is going to bring you the most joy. Okay, now that I got that out of the way,

Lesley Logan 32:18
I just love that so much. Thank you for doing that. Because I think it’s so easy to especially for my overachievers. Hello, I see you! To go Okay, check the box, write the thing, do the thing, call this person do this stuff. Since I’d love to enjoy the life a lot more. It can’t just be about the next thing that we’re trying to achieve here. So thank you. Okay, now back to you.

Jake Kelfer 32:37
Okay, and so you asked, What do I do? How do we operate? Right? So essentially, we run a program now called Big Idea To Best Seller, and at the core of it is that we help entrepreneurs, coaches, thought leaders, experts, people with skills, people with the story to turn that into a nonfiction book so they can grow a business and make an impact. And the way that we do that is from taking you from big idea, helping you create your idea, validate your idea, feel confident, all the way through a best selling launch. And we can coach you through the process. Or we can literally do it for you where we write the book, we edit it for you, we design it, all you got to do is show up for a couple interviews, and boom, you have a book on your hand. So that’s kind of how we operate coaching, consulting, and done for you services.

Lesley Logan 33:21
Wow, wow. That’s great. I’m in. I don’t even know what I’m writing. But I already love it. Okay, this is so that’s so cool. So you had to get a whole team for this. Like, did you already have a team in place? Or do you have to like go out and find all the people?

Jake Kelfer 33:36
No. So beginning of it, we had me and just my experience, which let me tell you, that’s more than enough, you are more than enough to start the thing. Okay? I started, we did it. Then what happened? Right. And I had a couple, I didn’t have assistant and so we kind of did that. But then we built out a team. And now we have over 30 plus contractors and referral partners around the globe that assist us throughout these different parts of the process. And it’s friggin amazing, because not only are we getting to help people write their book and bring their book to life, but we’re now providing opportunities for people to have employment for people to get deals. And you know, like we sent someone 25 grand last year for multiple projects. That’s a great amount of money for someone who I’d never met 12 months ago.

Lesley Logan 34:22
Isn’t that so fun? That is, I know, we’re going off topic everyone, but not really. Like when you hire people, you are literally giving them an opportunity to do something with their strength and get paid for it. So I mean, even if like for their life matrix equation, like their life is getting better. I really love like It was so scary when we hired our first person and then our second person now we have 25 people and one of our team members shout out to Jai. She has been with us for several years and she took a picture and this two story house that she built with her husband because from working with us and I was like oh my gosh, well first of all, we should move there because that’s a nice house. Holy fucking Molly like, it is so cool that the work that she has to do that she’s so good at for us and the people that we serve got to give her that gift. And so it’s it’s scary to do those things. But it’s also like really badass to like to give that as a gift around to people.

Jake Kelfer 35:15
Yeah, and so everybody wins. But yeah, we didn’t start with all those people I had to find them, you know, so, so I did what everyone else did I use the people that worked on my books. And I said, Alright, let’s build it out. And now that’s turned into we host a monthly meetup that where it has like 40-50 people in the book space, who can come and collaborate and they have referral partners. And so it’s it’s really amazing, but but at the core of the core of it all is is this simple truth. Right? This is simple truth. What do you know? And how can you help? And that can be the foundation of your book, that can be the foundation of your business, it can be the foundation of your choices, and ultimately, it can be the foundation of your life fulfillment.

Lesley Logan 35:52
There’s so many little, like little mic drop moments. I just I’m so excited for for us to like re listen to this and get them all out to people to hear him but y’all, Jake, you’re fucking amazing. This is great. We’re gonna take a brief break. Find out how people can find you, follow you, work with you, write a book with you. Okay, Jake, where do you like to hang out? Where can people stalk you, send you like love for all the things you’ve given them?

Jake Kelfer 36:16
Absolutely. The best place right now is on Instagram @Jakekelfer. That’s where I’m hanging out. And to spice things up a little bit because I’m having a great time here. If you’re enjoying this, okay, I’ll give everybody who’s listening this a free copy of my book, big idea to best seller. So all you have to do go to Instagram, send me a message saying hey, heard you have a pod? I’d love a free copy of a book and I will literally send you a copy of my book Big Idea To Best Seller.

Lesley Logan 36:42
That is so fucking great. Oh my gosh, that’s so fun. Thank you so much, Jake, before I let you go, you’ve given us pretty much all the best bold moments. But just to sum it up for the TLDR for the people skip to the end of the book to like get the Cliff Notes. What both executable, targeted, intrinsic action items can people take to Be It Till They See It?

Jake Kelfer 37:04
Alright, here we go. You ready? (Lelsey: I’m ready.) If you want to achieve greatness, you must enjoy the pursuit in the process. Okay, and here’s how you’re gonna do that. It’s called the ACE method. Alright, we’d like to make these things up. So people remember it our ACE method A is action. Take positive and intentional action in the direction of your dreams. C connection. Build meaningful and intimate connection so that you can have the right people and the right support system to get you to where you want to go. And E enjoyment. You have to find a way to enjoy yourself if you want to achieve the life you are destined for and if you combine all of those you will create a winning life to fully Be It.

Lesley Logan 37:46
Okay, this is great. This is an episode we’re saving. Thank you so much Jake. This is awesome. Y’all, how are you going to use this in your life? You want to tell us, you’ve to tag us the Be It pod, Jake Kelfer you’ve got to DM him, so you can get his book. And send this to a friend, send this to a friend who you know should be writing a book so that they can hear why they need to do it. So we can all Be Till You See It. Thank you so much and I’ll see you next time.

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Lesley Logan
That’s all I’ve got for this episode of the Be It Till You See It podcast. One thing that would help both myself and future listeners is for you to rate this show and leave a review. And, follow or subscribe for free wherever you listen to podcasts. Also, make sure to introduce yourself over on IG at the @be_it_pod on Instagram. I would love to know more about you. Share this episode with whoever you think needs to hear it. Help us help others to BE IT TILL YOU SEE IT. Have an awesome day!

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Lesley Logan
‘Be It Till You See It’ is a production of the ‘Bloom Podcast Network’.

Brad Crowell
It’s written, filmed and recorded by your host, Lesley Logan and me, Brad Crowell.

Lesley Logan
It is produced and edited by the epic team at Disenyo.

Brad Crowell
Our theme music is by Ali at APEX Production Music. And our branding by designer and artist, Gianfranco Cioffi.

Lesley Logan
Special thanks to Melissa Solomon for creating our visuals and Ximena Velasquez for our transcriptions.

Brad Crowell
Also to Angelina Herico for adding all the content to our website. And finally to Meridith Crowell for keeping us all on point and on time.