I became aware of Jeff Goins through my friends Michael Hyatt and Stu McLaren.

Jeff Goins has come “out of nowhere”, and over the last 18 months has taken the blogging world by storm. His blog readership has grown at an incredibly fast pace, and he landed a book deal with a major publisher. How did he do it? That's what we discuss in this week's interview on the podcast. And here's a clue: one of Jeff's favorite sayings is, “Stop waiting to be picked. Pick yourself.”

It gets better: Stu McLaren returns to the podcast this week, sharing with us on the art of “lifestyle business”. Want to know a surefire way to grow your business like crazy? You want to hear this segment.

This week's tip is a book recommendation, and I have to be right upfront about this: the book was written by my son, Sean Edwards. And it is awesome. Of course, I would say that. But it's a very good book nonetheless.

The book is called The End Of Days, and it explains what the Bible actually says about the so-called “last days”. Surprise: what the Bible says is not what you find in the popular “Left Behind” novels and movies. Many Christians seem to think that believers are supposed to “hunker down” and wait for Jesus to come snatch them out of “the world”, which is going to “hell in a handbasket”. This kind of thinking leads Christians to become disengaged from the rest of the world. That's not what Jesus had in mind at all, and this book explains why the “left behind” view of the “end times” is not scriptural.

John [3:16] is perhaps the best-known scripture in history. Interestingly, the next verse,
John [3:17], is hardly ever quoted along with verse 16. Here's what the entire passage says:

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. (emphasis added)
John [3:16]-17

What if our job as Christians is not to judge the world, but rather to make it better? I recommend you buy this book and read it right away.

This is an interview filled with insights from writer Jeff Goins. I think you'll find it inspirational, informative, and educational. And you should buy Jeff's book, Wrecked – it's a book worth reading, in a sea of books that aren't.

Stu McLaren returns as our “lifestyle business correspondent”. He got a fancy new mic, so he sounds like a million bucks.

I will be speaking in Denver, Colorado, November 9-11 at the next JV Alert Live. I'll be sharing the stage with great marketers including my friends Joel Comm, Rick Butts, Debbie Bermont, and others. You can register for the event using this link, and I would love to connect with you in Denver. If you do register using my link, please let me know. I am thinking about having a special get together just for people I have invited to the event. I would like to get a sense of how many people that may be.

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Question: In what ways will you stop waiting, and just “pick yourself”? You can leave a comment below.