Passionate People Who Make a Difference

Last week I had the opportunity to visit the headquarters of the publisher of my book and was delighted to discover that they walk their talk.

If you are a regular reader of these Monday Aha!s you know that publisher Hay House will be releasing the hardcover version of my book, The Napkin, the Melon & the Monkey in February. The company was founded by Louise Hay in 1987 and today is the largest publisher of self-help books on the planet. 
Since last November when I signed the contract, I have visited Hay House’s small office in New York City several times. My most recent visit was a few weeks ago when I met with the three PR pros in charge of promoting the book to both the business and consumer markets. I have been so impressed with the caliber of the staff in NYC as well as their genuine commitment to making the world a better place, I wanted to see if the same was true of the people at the main office in Carlsbad, California. The only way to find out was to pay them a visit.
I was delighted with what I found. Everyone I met was a pro and obviously committed to the Hay House mission of making a positive difference in the lives of others. After a day half of meetings with an array staff members and lunch with the CEO, this first-time author came away a bit overwhelmed and very excited about the plans Hay House has for my little book. I now have much better understanding and appreciation for what it takes to launch and promote a book these days. 


Book tours are out. Social media is in. Hay House dedicates considerable resources to creating a buzz on the web. So, with the help of their staff of “new media” experts I will be connecting with bloggers, providing articles to Hay House’s newly launched interactive site: www.healyourlife.com and maybe even Oprah.com. I’ll be working with their Facebook expert on doing more there. My interview on Hay House Radio will reach many thousands of people. But the coolest thing is the possibility of creating an iphone app featuring the 22 Aha!s from the book. (The new iphone apps were introduced in July and will someday replace their famous card decks.)
And then there are the videos which will go on U-tube, Amazon.com and various websites. To do that they needed some footage. On Wednesday I was scheduled to do my “There’s No Such Thing as a Difficult Situation” presentation to the 20+ employees who signed up. Knowing that I’d probably stress about being video-taped, they were considerate enough to wait until the night before to let me know they’d like to video tape my presentation. The employees made a great audience (see the photo). 
 In my last meeting I looked around the table at the eight staffers in charge of marketing and social media and it suddenly occurred to me that I now have my own “peeps.” I am so grateful! Finally after 24 years of being a one-person operation (with the “help” of my two associates, my cats) I now have a team of terrific people both there and in New York who share my passion for making a difference. How cool is that?

Have a great week knowing that there are people just like you out there who are passionate about making a difference.