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Jim House

@thebookcarver

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"Don't Let the Great Book in Your Head Become a Disappointing Book in Your Hands"

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Jesse Itzler begins his forward to Chad Sanschagrin's amazing new book (and USA Today #1 Bestseller) “Keep Telling Yourself: Shift Your Story and Create a Life of Abundance” with a story that also involves me and two other friends climbing a steep frozen hill in at Jesse's house in Connecticut.

Three days earlier, as I arrived and walked into Jesse’s living room and this big smiley guy stood up and said, “You’re the Book Carver—you’re Jim House! After I watched your retreat video I told my wife, 'This is the guy who needs to help me with my book!’”

I liked Chad immediately, and he quickly became a dear friend—which also means that I have deep respect for him and for his work. He’s remarkable!

I was excited and honored when he came to San Diego with his brilliant twin daughters to plan his book! Here’s what he said to me as we started the second of our two VIP Book-Planning Days…

“I think I've been to 5,327 coaching programs, leadership events, and training programs, but I don't know if I've ever been to one, actually I DO know, I do know that I've never been to one that, forced me to expand my way of thinking and my capabilities, like I just did yesterday with your process.

Later he said, “It’s insane what Jim house was able to pull out of me, because I didn’t know all of this was inside me. I'm a believer now.

And it's amazing to think what you have in you. You sometimes just need people to help pull it out of you.

That's what Jim has just done for me!”

Chad's story is nothing short of Phoenix-esque. If you’ve EVER worried that you are falling short of the full potential God created to be, come be inspired by Chad’s real-life journey and wisdom, and gift yourself with this powerful little personal-growth retreat in a book. It’s that good!

So many stories I could tell about Chad—one of my favorites is when he set @GaryVee back on his heels during their podcast interview!

Do yourself a favor—Keep telling yourself to go buy this book, and then…

Keep Telling Yourself! :)

Here are a few behind-the-scenes photos :)

#keeptellingyourself @chadsanschagrin @cannonballmoments by @thebookcarver

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2 years ago

I still haven’t watched Kate Flannery on "The Office", yet (I know, I know—everybody has watched the show except me), but I’m grateful for the very kind words she shared about our work together to plan her really good book…

“Jim brings so much integrity to the writer’s approach.
When my literary agents approached me about writing a book, I thought I was going to have to do a lot of tap dancing to fake my way through this. In just two days, Jim got me through the fears and the dark feelings. He created a sense of possibility that I wasn’t expecting so soon.

While some of my ideas might be good, Jim helped me find the best intention.
He helped me respect my inner artist. Thanks to Jim’s help I have a clear plan and the confidence to move forward—and it feels good.”

-Kate Flannery
“The Office”
“Dancing With the Stars” by @thebookcarver

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4 years ago

This legendary athlete flew in to Coronado last weekend to plan her amazing book…

Let me back up a bit.. when you set a world record it means, by definition, that you’ve accomplished something that NO other person on the planet has done before. EVER.

Katie Hoff Anderson did that twice.

She has an iconic body of work that includes a boatload of medals, records, world championships and other accolades—she was also named Sportswoman of the Year by the US Olympic Committee… twice!

And yet you’ll seldom—if ever—hear her touting her own accomplishments because she’s SO startlingly and genuinely humble.

But you don’t dominate the world stage in your sport… and you don’t set world records by doing the same things in the same ways that everyone else does.

So you can imagine that it was fascinating to take a deep look at how she approaches her life and her work.

Katie has a profound desire to help others with this book, and it was super fun to help her shape the positive impact she wants to have on her readers, and ultimately to create a book structure that will accomplish that.

And she knows what will go in and what will not, and she can now write with confidence!

I’ll let her tell you what the book is about when it’s the right time. ;)

Katie is truly remarkable and You are definitely going to want to pre-order this amazing book!

My process is very similar whether I’m working with a legendary athlete, a TV star, or a mom who just wants to leave some important lessons for her kids… and it works.  I’m truly honored that get to do this work with wonderful people! taken in Coronado Island Marriott Resort & Spa by @thebookcarver

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4 years ago

You don’t f*ck with Shakespeare.

Nor with your book.

Let me explain... but first I need to make a correction to my fun post about Duke’s Martini Bar:

Duke’s was actually #2 on my London list...

 #1 was seeing Shakespeare live.

I've loved Shakespeare since I saw several of his plays in Balboa Park while in junior high school.

Seeing Shakespeare live, more than anything, seduced me into falling in love with words and, specifically, the visceral awareness that by sequencing them in different ways, you can create magical trances and paint impact.

So when I decided I was going to London for two nights, I immediately searched for live Shakespeare at the Globe.

Two plays that I really like, "Much Ado About Nothing" and "As You Like It," were being performed. I got super excited, as this was a huge bucket list item!

It was my last day in Amsterdam, in a super cool coffee house on the canal, bicycles racing by mere feet away, and I had just booked my train under the English Channel.

When I clicked on the page to buy tickets I realized both of these plays were modern adaptations, and my heart just absolutely sank.

Now, I don't begrudge a director's right to make a modern adaptation of an older play, but, in my book…

You don't f*ck with Shakespeare.

I was crestfallen and lost interest.

Duke's and James Bond instantly vaulted from number two to a bold number one.

On the plane back across the pond, I thought about why that hit me so hard.

I think it has to do with writing truth. Not truth as in "60 Minutes" or a fact-checker level, but truth on an energetic level.

These adaptations may have similar themes and storylines.

But they aren't Shakespeare.

You see, the words matter,

the phrases matter…

They're the ONLY way we know and trust that it's your soul talking.

Words, phrases, soul, voice. All of those go into making a good book.

Including YOUR book.

Your story deserves

your words,

your phrases,

your soul,

your true voice.

And just like I feel strongly about "You don't f*ck with Shakespeare,"

I would also say the same thing about YOU and YOUR book.

"Don't f*ck with ___________ [insert your name]!"

I got you. taken in The Rare Book Collection at the British Library by @thebookcarver

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9 days ago

If the best client you never had closes your book at page 17... you've lost them forever, and you'll never even know.

#TheBookCarver #WriteYourBook #NonfictionWriting #ThoughtLeadership #AuthorLife by @thebookcarver

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12 days ago

I waited two hours outside the hallowed doors of this London bar for a martini, and I'd do it again tomorrow.

Dukes Bar, tucked into St James's, sits at the epicenter of James Bond lore. Ian Fleming, an actual British spy master from World War II and creator of the world's most iconic spy, spent considerable time here, and legend has it this is where "shaken, not stirred" was born.

I've read every one of Fleming's 14 Bond books (the books are VERY different from the movies), so when I went to London, Dukes was the number one experience on my list.

When I arrived, I reverently walked straight through the bar and found the white-jacketed Alessandro Palazzi, the famous martini maestro himself. We connected right away, and I think he could sense how grateful I was to be there. He passed me along to the maître d', who informed me I would have to wait outside for at least a couple of hours.

The bar doesn't take reservations, doesn't serve dinner, and won't pour you more than two martinis. While we waited, car after car pulled up. Black cabs and Ubers spilled out couples in evening wear and finery, expecting to stroll in for a quick drink at the famous Dukes, or at least book a table. Each of them heard "two hours" and climbed right back into their cars. Neither tuxedos nor tips will get you into Dukes one minute sooner.

We stayed. At one point Alessandro stepped outside, saw that we were still there, and gave us an approving nod that seemed to say, "I'm glad you stuck it out." Then he assured us, "I'll get you in soon."

Once we were seated inside, the ritual began. A protégé wheeled up a trolley that, I learned, has been doing this for nearly 100 years. The top-shelf spirits leave the freezer only long enough for the trip to your table. With considerable practiced flair, he built each ice-cold drink before us in large martini glasses with solid stems that felt worthy and strong enough to support an elixir of this order.

=> Continued in the first comment because… too long :) by @thebookcarver

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19 days ago

Jefferson and Franklin followed me around Philadelphia for two days. Not literally. But almost.

I was here to work with a remarkable client on his book. More on that in the recent mystery-author post.

Once the book-planning immersion was complete, I moved to the old part of the city for a couple of days… my room overlooked Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell.

I love exploring the cities I visit, but spending time in this birthplace of the country was more moving than I imagined.

I was surprisingly reverent as I lingered in these historic places.

The echoes of Jefferson and Franklin especially stayed with me. I was constantly reminded of how the powerful thinking of just one person can shape generations.

Good ideas, communicated well, outlive us.

Finished up in the Museum of the American Revolution. There was something powerful about seeing Washington's actual campaign tent right after standing before his "Rising Sun" chair in Independence Hall, the place where so many of our enduring words were debated and signed.

Somehow, those physical remnants made the ideas feel more immediate.

Part of what draws me to museums is that they preserve physical reminders of the past that still carry the power of the ideas behind them.

Shouldn't a good book do that, too?

#thoughtleadership
#writeyourbook
#aspiringauthor
#thebookcarver taken in Independence Hall Philadelphia by @thebookcarver

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a month ago

There are authors I’m not allowed to post about at all.

This time I can, but I can’t reveal who. Not yet.

So instead of just the usual posters and photos, I’m going to give you a glimpse into a few things about the two book-planning days that I’ve never shared before.

This immersion with this remarkable author took place on the East Coast.

Each morning started the same way. A surprisingly good cappuccino around the corner, a short walk back, and then up to a spacious suite on the concierge floor of the Ritz, high above downtown Philadelphia... where the real work began.

Two days planning... not writing.

Just planning.

Before we dive into each session of the planning process, I guide every author through a series of uncommon pre-writing activities I developed during the 20,000 hours of studying writing I logged before self-publishing existed. And they leave with those in their pocket.

We usually have lunch and dinner together, and the only rule is that we can’t talk about the book. The subconscious mind needs space to chew on the intense work we’ve been doing.

Nearly everyone sleeps like a rock. There’s just nowhere in life that demands this type of sustained work from the brain and soul. This is the level of work required to build a specific path so precise that the reader never realizes they’re being led.

We do the heavy lifting on behalf of the reader because if the reader’s subconscious has to do any heavy lifting, the book closes forever.

And a closed book never changed anyone’s life.

If you have a book in you that deserves this kind of attention, send me a DM.

#TheBookCarver
#ThoughtLeader
#ThoughtLeadership
#KeynoteSpeaker taken in The Ritz-Carlton, Philadelphia by @thebookcarver

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a month ago

This was the exact spot. He stood here.

I was standing alone in the upstairs studio of Rembrandt's house in Amsterdam where he painted his masterpieces…

I was the last visitor of the day, and this was my second time through the house.

I realized I now stood in the very room where this one man fiercely wielded his own God-given gifts in a way that would move, impress and inspire millions of people for centuries.

Two of his canvases, in particular, are very special to me: Man in the Golden Helmet, because I grew up with a replica of this hanging in the hallway outside my bedroom, and The Return of the Prodigal Son because of the startling depth of the storytelling he imbued into the characters.

Most of the great Masters supported themselves by painting commissioned portraits, and Rembrandt was no different.

The workshops of his contemporaries churned out a high volume of commissioned images under a master's name and aggrandized their subjects by replacing wool with velvet here, removing a double chin there, adding jewelry and placing an expensive globe in the background to suggest wealth and stature, turning everyday merchants into royal-looking patrons.

But unlike his contemporaries, Rembrandt didn't "glamorize" the clients who posed for their portraits on the very floor I was standing upon.

Instead, the clients who sat here came to have him render their best and most authentic self.

He captured his clients as they were, and told their stories in his portraits, their real, authentic stories, the only stories that are really worth telling.

Rembrandt painted their souls.

And that's why I visit his studio 400 years later.

And that's why I do what I do.

There are plenty of ‘workshops’ that will churn out your book the way those studios churned out portraits. The one that follows the well-worn templates. Formulaic and forgettable.

But some books deserve what Rembrandt gave his clients...

The one that shares your hard-won wisdom. 
The one your readers most need. 
The one they will read cover to cover.

The one that reveals your soul.

The one that doesn't just tell readers what to do...

But shows them who they can become.

#TheBookCarver taken in Amsterdam, Netherlands by @thebookcarver

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a month ago

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a month ago

The Hidden Fear Keeping Smart Founders and Professionals from Writing Their Book... 

I call it "The Harvard Library Syndrome." 

Imagine for a moment one of Harvard's most esteemed professors strolling reverently through the tall stacks of the hallowed Harvard library.  

She's authored dozens of influential articles which are published in the most respected academic journals. Her popular books are also found in here, and her professional opinion is considered beyond reproach.  

Something catches her scholarly eye— and she stops. 

 
Reaching out she pulls a book off the shelf.  

It's YOUR book!  

She pulls her glasses down off of her forehead, cracks open your book, and begins reading with the intense scrutiny of a detective searching for that one damning piece of evidence.  

She flips through your pages quickly scanning up and down...  

"Mm-hmm." 
"Mm-hmm."    

"aHA!" she exclaims out loud.   

Her finger races to the page as she quickly traces the blasphemous text, shaking her head condescendingly.  

"I knew it!

You're a fraud!"

"I need to expose this imposter, this so-called 'expert', to the world NOW!"  

Urgently grabbing her phone she quickly dials her producer friend at "60 Minutes..."  

Did that land close to home?   

If you notice you're holding your breath right now, this might be you!   I know this fear very well...

Most of the aspiring authors I get to talk with confess they have this same fear, or their own version of it, and most had never consciously acknowledged it before.

So I get it!

Sometimes just this conversation alone can be empowering for them.

But this Harvard Library Syndrome, as I've named it, can be paralyzing if you try to move past it without guidance.

The unique book-planning process I have created at The Book Carver was designed specifically to address this fear and help you move past it, so that the great book in your head doesn't become a disappointing book in your hands.

If you feel like this may be holding you back from starting your book, let's talk.

DM me the word HARVARD and I'll send you the first step.

#TheBookCarver
#ThoughtLeader
#ThoughtLeadership
#KeynoteSpeaker by @thebookcarver

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a month ago

What do the Dalai Lama, Wayne Dyer, Deepak Chopra, and Patch Adams all have in common with The Book Carver?

Jane Ehrich...

I spent two very fun (and sacred) book-planning days working with Jane, a client whose life is a tapestry of awe-inspiring encounters.

I heard crazy story after story about her life and work…

🔥 She met with the Dalai Lama… one-on-one… TWICE!

🔥 She met one-on-one with the Dalai Lama’s Oracle who invited her to visit them in Dharamsala.

🔥 Deepak Chopra asked if he could use one of her stories in his book… she said NO. (The story he wanted is in her book.)

🔥 She and Wayne Dyer spent days in each other’s homes, sharing laughter and mischief.

🔥 Patch Adams dined in her home.

There’s truly something special about Jane that attracts spiritual luminaries.

She’s been called a cross between Deepak Chopra and Lucille Ball, and serves the world as an inspirational speaker and a holistic practitioner.

In her upcoming book, Jane shares magical stories that are not just jaw-dropping but also transformative—and she shares these tales from a place of deep and authentic humility.

Early on the second day Jane said to me, "I've never said this to anyone before…” You’ll find out what that is in the book.

She also includes practical steps for us to join her on an enlightening journey, showing us that the world is full of wonders waiting to be discovered – and your story might just be the next.

Stay tuned for a book that will to guide you to truly believe that anything, anything is possible… It’ll be worth the wait!

It's always good, always the same in that way… and I love it when God conversations mix in.

(Got to spend some time with her amazing son TJ, as well!)

#TheBookCarver
#ThoughtLeadership
#Storytelling
#KeynoteSpeaker
#MikePosner taken in Binghamton, New York by @thebookcarver

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2 months ago