IAM796- Author Connects Clients With Their Inner Guidance System

Keith Leon S. is a multiple international bestselling author and co-owner of a successful book publishing company, and he’s an international speaker who’s spoken at events that included Jack Canfield, Bob Proctor, Neale Donald Walsch, Barbara De Angelis, John Gray, Brian Tracy, and Marianne Williamson. He’s appeared on many TV & Radio shows, including The Jenny McCarthy Show, and his work has been covered by INC Magazine and Huffington Post just to name a few. Keith recently completed a book, media, and LIVE event tour in the U.S. with his book called, Walking With My Angels: A True Story. Keith has two passions in life, one is to connect you to your inner guidance system, which he calls angels, and the second is to help you get your mission and your message out to the world, with YOUR VERY OWN BOOK, which Keith calls, The World’s Greatest Business Card! Welcome to the show…Keith Leon S.

• CEO Hack: I learned how to ask people and relate to them
• CEO Nugget: Realize that everything you do can make a difference
• CEO Defined: Get the connection and make a difference to the people you interact with

Website: http://www.BeyondBeliefPublishing.com

http://www.LeonSmithPublishing.com
www.BeyondBeliefBooks.com

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Intro 0:02

Do you want to learn effective ways to build relationships, generate sales, and grow your business from successful entrepreneurs, startups, and CEOs without listening to a long, long, long interview? If so, you've come to the right place. Gresham Harkless values your time and is ready to share with you precisely the information you're in search of. This is the I AM CEO Podcast.

Gresham Harkless 0:30

Hello. Hello. Hello. This is Gresh from the I AM CEO podcast and I have a very special guest on the show today. As Keith Leon S of Leon Smith publishing Keith, it's awesome to have you on show.

Keith Leon S 0:40

Ah, thank you so much.

Gresham Harkless 0:42

No problem. Super excited to have you on and before we jump into the bio guys, I want to read a little bit more about Keith, so you can hear about all the awesome things that he's doing. And Keith Leon S. is a multiple international bestselling author, co-owner of a successful book publishing company, and he’s an international speaker who’s spoken at events that included Jack Canfield, Bob Proctor, Neale Donald Walsch, Barbara De Angelis, John Gray, Brian Tracy, and Marianne Williamson.

He’s appeared on many TV & Radio shows, including The Jenny McCarthy Show, and his work has been covered by INC Magazine and Huffington Post just to name a few. Keith recently completed a book, media, and LIVE event tour in the U.S. with his book called, Walking With My Angels: A True Story. Keith has two passions in life, one is to connect you to your inner guidance system, which he calls angels, and the second is to help you get your mission and your message out to the world, with YOUR VERY OWN BOOK, which Keith calls, The World’s Greatest Business Card! Keith, are you ready to speak to the I AM CEO community?

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Keith Leon S 1:40

I am. Hello, everyone.

Gresham Harkless 1:43

Thanks for having me. No problem. Super excited to have you on and you're doing so many phenomenal things. And I guess I wanted to rewind the clock a little bit here a little bit more about what I call your CEO story. And we'll let you get started with the business and the awesome things we're gonna do.

Keith Leon S 1:55

Wow. Well, my CEO story is my wife and I wrote a book that seems like 100 years ago, but now it's actually 2000 3000. To run a relationship book got John Gray, the number one guy of all time in relationships, to endorse our book cover, and the front cover. And unfortunately, even though I had that, I didn't know how to market the book yet. I didn't know. It was my business card, which you talked about, that I teach people about. I didn't know any of that. I just had John Graves's endorsement on a really great book and probably sold 12 copies. And then my second book, however, is called Who Do You Think You Are? Discover the purpose of your life.

And that book, I interviewed all the top authors, speakers marketers in the world about their life purpose, and 10 of those people were from the movie, The Secret, and some of the people that you read that I've spoken with, since that's why because all those people took me under their wing and taught me everything they know about the business of books. So the second book, an international bestseller speaking in front of 1000 people instead of 20, and learn how to get media press to do all of that, from the masters. And so that's my C story is I went from Keith, who to be well-known as the book guy, in nine months.

Because every time I get up to speak, even though it's talking about life purpose, that's what the book was about. I get up and tell that story about how I basically got all these people to mentor me and had an international bestseller because of what they taught me. And so after I'd speak, everybody come up and go, Hey, aren't you that book guy? Are you the book guy? And I was like, I get it, I get it. I stepped full time, at that time, to help others get their mission, their message, and their business out to the world, by using a business card that people actually wouldn't throw in the trash, which is a book, you know, that little teeny, tiny piece of paper that people use as a business card. I never really had any success with that. But when I started using the book, the way that I teach people, as a business card, giving the book to them.

So already, they're like, wow, and then giving it to them with an offer for free and telling them how much the value of the offer that I gave them is, then people were just like, Whoa, and they started calling me and doing business with me. So that's really the quickest I could tell a story. I went from Keith to the book guy in nine months and developed a process to use my book as a business card, which ultimately grew my business. And then we actually created a way to write a book where you don't have to write a single word, you just show up to seven phone calls. And in those seven phone calls, we pick your brain get you to speak your book, and we record that and turn it into a book. So that was the complete game changer that put us on the map and why if you go now in search baby typo scene, which is the company's original name on Amazon. You'll just see book after book after book after that we published because people were able to just speak it.

Gresham Harkless 4:57

Yeah, that's definitely awesome. And I love it. So many people kind of know that you know, in order to be successful, you make sure you surround yourselves with successful people. So being able to be the book guy, because you've been able to kind of learn so much and execute from those names that I mentioned. And you mentioned as well, too, is, you know, phenomenal.

Keith Leon S 5:15

Yeah, I mean, being mentored by all the Masters was just unbelievable. And it just speeded up the process, like it accelerated it. Like he threw gasoline on it. And then everything shifted so fast. And I found myself standing at the top of the mountain going, Wow, like, That was fast. But I knew if I hadn't been mentored by all those people who would have taken 10 years, a million dollars to get what they gave me, you know, in three months, it was crazy. And that's why I've really been enjoying mentoring others ever since. Because I know that I wouldn't be where I am without mentors. And so it's my, my duty, my job my responsibility to mentor others and pull them up with me.

Gresham Harkless 5:58

Yeah, well, I definitely appreciate you doing that. Obviously, given us a mentor session, such as being here now to learn a little bit more from you. So I know you touched on it a little bit, but I wanted to hear a little bit more on the different things and the different ways you can do you know, mentoring, or help support some of the clients or people that are trying to figure out how to get their message out and use the book as a business card?

Keith Leon S 6:17

Yeah, well, first to, to do the book without having to write a single word, just contact me and ask me to tell you about the you speak at the program. We're a full-service book publishing company. So those who are writers who are just looking for editing, layout, you know, any of that support? Fantastic. Let me know, we can do that for you. But what do we give all of the authors that we work with, what did they just hire us to do? Be their team, or do the speaker book process is mentoring, you know how to use that book as a business card. So if you already have one, you know, open it up and get a stamp made that has your contact information and put that right on the front page, you know, underneath your title, name, your contact information. And then what I do is I learned that when people say, what do you do, I used to talk their ear off, like forever.

And they would ask me for a card, basically, because they wanted to get the hell away from me. Not because they wanted the card, right? Is one like God, how do I shut this guy up? Anybody? Is that? Does that describe you at home? Raise your hand if you think I'm raising mine. And so I was, yeah. So what I learned was they say, you know, what do you do? And I go, Oh, I am a and two or three things, right? I am a bestselling author and a book publisher. And they called me the book guy. And I found that tagline, to have them go, what does that mean? The book guy, then I say, short answer again. That means I can take you from first thought to bestseller, wherever you are, in that process, I can meet you where you are, and get you to where you want to be.

Yay, finally didn't talk their ear off and didn't throw up all over them. Then they say, do you have a card? Now? I don't blow it by giving him the teeny tiny piece of paper and go. Yes, I do. And I hand him the book. And I opened it up to that stamp that I just told you about with the contact information, I opened it up and said, as you can see, I've clearly marked my contact information right here. So take this book home, my gift to you read it. And when you're ready, give me a call. And I will give you the right. So then you give them some kind of offer, like the first session for free, and then tell them what it's by the way that has a value of $500. Right? So when you're ready, notice I said that twice to them, because you don't want them to call you till they're ready. When you're ready, give me a call, tell me that I gave you this, this book, and I will give you that thing. And then just stop talking.

And they're just like, blown away when you just gave them a book, and $500 worth of value, like it was nothing to you 520 bucks. Clearly, you must be successful. Right? And you didn't talk their ear off. And then you just stopped talking, then that usually either opens up a further conversation. Or they say, Oh my god, will you sign my book? Or like I had a woman kissing me one time because I gave her a business card. You know, when's the last time you got kissed given a business card away? Oh my God, you're so sweet Mom, like wow, like it's good.

So it's just, it's just the gift that keeps on giving. Because they will either go home, read the book, or call you to get the free thing. Or go home, and throw the book on the table. And every time they pass the book, it says call you to get the free thing. And it harasses them incessantly until they do so. So it's not if you'll hear from them, it's when and that's a process that I created. And I teach and you know I have templates and everything for for people that work with me, but that's the quick version of it that I just gave you. So anybody listening right now if you just did that one thing, right? It would just change everything for you.

Gresham Harkless 9:51

I absolutely love that. And I want to ask you now for what I call your secret sauce and you might have already touched on this but this could be for yourself or your publishing company or a combination of both, but what do you feel kind of sets you apart from it?

Keith Leon S 10:05

Yeah, it really has been the book as a business card piece. But as far as it has a publishing company, I would say if you ask 100 people, how do you like your publishing company, 99 of them are going to say, I hate him. You know, I just, they suck, they didn't help me at all. They didn't do it. And I got no mentoring, I got no service to them. It's just like, I felt like a number. And, that's the one thing that really sets us apart all the people that publish with us feel like a family member. So you know, that's not something like in bullet point, or even if you hear right now if I'm saying it, it means one thing. But if you go to my site and read all the testimonials of my authors who said it, or when people ask me for references, and they send, just send them straight to my authors, it's what other people say about us. That means everything.

Gresham Harkless 10:51

Yeah, absolutely. And it's so funny, I was just about to ask you for what I call a CEO hack, which can be like an app or book or a habit that you have, is that what you feel like the mentorship and being able to kind of reach out to people and ask them, you know, for five minutes, or whatever that might be for that mentor should be for like, that's your CEO?

Keith Leon S 11:08

yeah, that's what truly got me to where I am today was, I learned how to ask really well-known people for support in a way that was so stupid, easy for them to say yes, that they did. And that's what I love to teach. You know, all the authors and the people that I work with, personally, is like, I give templates, you know, if you're asking for endorsements for a book, there's a template, there's a specific way to ask those people that make it easy. And they're used to that way. And if you ask the hard way, which is will you read my book? No. Will you give me an endorsement? No, that's not every time because it sounds like a lot of work. But if you say they say here's a short excerpt from my book, Loving Endorsement, here are three pre-wrote, you can pre-written quotes, you can either choose one, as it is changing a bit or if you're feeling saucy, right with your own right.

Now, there's just like, if they open up a book excerpt, they can see what the book is writing style it good enough, and then they get in, if you're really doing it, an endorsement coach should only be one or two sentences, two sentences the most, right. And in one or two sentences, you can only be so creative. So chances are that one of those three quotes that you sent them is exactly what they would have said. So a lot of times, they just go like that one. And then just like thanks for making that so easy. And you're like, You're welcome. And then you put endorsed by boom on your cover. And that's how easy it was.

Gresham Harkless 12:35

Absolutely. And so I wanted to ask you now for what I call a CEO, nugget. This might be a word of wisdom or piece of advice, it might be something you mentioned earlier, or it might be something if you have to do a time machine, you might tell your younger business self.

Keith Leon S 12:47

No matter what anything I do for years and years and years, I've always ended the same way. And that's even if you're CEO of a business, I want you to know that you make a difference in this world. And everything you do is making a difference. And people forget to tell you that you made a difference in their lives. But you may have had a phone call with someone today. And you just thought, you know, it didn't really go that well. But there could have been someone who's going to take their life that day. And it didn't feel like anybody saw them or cared about them.

And even though it was a sales call, the fact that you call them and talk to them like a human being especially if we did was teaching you to be vulnerable and transparent on the call, right? Then they feel a connected connection to you. And then they talk to themselves and awesome themselves that day. And you wouldn't know because they wouldn't tell you. So I am blessed and fortunate to be in a position where people are constantly coming up saying, here's how you made a difference in my life. So if people aren't telling you that, I just want to be the one to tell you for them. Whether you know it or not, you make a difference each and every day that you're walking this planet. So thanks for being that gift of you.

Gresham Harkless 13:49

I appreciate the reminder. And now I want to ask you my absolute favorite question, which is the definition of what it means to be a CEO. And we're hoping to have different clinical CEOs on the show. So Keith, what does being a CEO mean to you?

Keith Leon S 14:00

Your connection and making a difference with the most amount of people possible?

Gresham Harkless 14:09

Absolutely love that. Because it is kind of right in line with what we said with a nugget so many times we forget that and the impact and the connection that we make. But having that impact and being able to kind of do it, as you mentioned as being the gift of you really creates this domino effect, I think.

Keith Leon S 14:24

Yeah.

Gresham Harkless 14:26

Awesome. Awesome. Awesome. Well, Keith, I truly appreciate that. And I appreciate your time, even more. What I wanted to do is pass you the mic, so to speak, just to see if there's anything additional, you can let our readers and listeners know and of course, how best they can get a whole view on about all the awesome things you're doing and get a copy of all the phenomenal books that you've created.

Keith Leon S 14:43

Yeah, well, if you go to Leon Smith Publishing, that's the site that tells you all about the books that we published and we can help you there as well. If you go to Beyond Belief Publishing, the unbelief books That will show you what we talked about really quick in the intro, but to talk about on this call, because we're, you know, doing some CEO business stuff. But I did write a book called Walking with My Angels which really introduces you to, the part of you that has access to any question that you would want to answer. So if you go to Beyond Belief books, you'll see the programs and products there. And I would suggest to anybody picking up a copy of that book, it's called, it's called Walking with My Angels, and that would serve any CEO to read what you're reading there. Because it'll inspire you to not only do things like Facebook, marketing, and all those things that are outside of us, but to explore the inner journey, and how that can also affect your business and affect the way that you connect with your people.

Gresham Harkless 15:53

Awesome, awesome. Awesome. Thank you so much, Keith, we will have those links and information in the show notes. And I appreciate you obviously, for mentioning that book. And obviously writing as well too, because I think so many times, you get caught playing the outer game so much we forget about that inner guidance system, as you said, and the things and the answers that are within that really lead and I think propel everything outside. So I think if we spend more time kind of winning and understanding and playing that inner game, it could serve as well. So I appreciate obviously writing in and appreciate that reminder as well too, and hope you have a great rest of the day.

Outro 16:23

Thank you for listening to the I AM CEO podcast powered by Blue 16 Media. Tune in next time and visit us at IAMCEO.CO. I am CEO is not just a phrase, it’s a community. Be sure to follow us on social media and subscribe to our podcast on iTunes, Google Play, and everywhere you listen to podcasts. Subscribe and leave us a five-star rating. Grab CEO gear a www.CEOgear.co This has been the I AM CEO podcast with Gresham Harkless. Thank you for listening.

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