Writing

Start With the End in Mind…

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Stephanie
Below is a beautiful post from my friend Stephanie D. Riggs, who works with elderly and hospice patients.
I’m reminded of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, and reading the section on thinking of the end in mind, literally changed my life. It was one of the first times I pondered this concept of values, mission, purpose, legacy. A couple of years later I resigned from the corporate world and have pursuing my mission since, and helping others do so as well.
When you reflect on the possibility of dying tomorrow or in a month or in a year, it puts everything into perspective. The first time I realized my own mortality, I was 30 and the thought of potentially dying spurred me to write my first book in just 3 weeks. It was divinely inspired and I just kept writing until I finished!
What am I here for? I knew a book could be part of leaving my legacy. That was a precursor to my company and method Mission Based Branding.
Who are you called to be? What are you called to do? Read on…
・・・
Repost by Stephanie D. Riggs: When I ask my hospice patients about their regrets there’s never mention of frustration over not being the skinniest or prettiest, or wishing they had more money, fame or status. Instead, these are the top 5 regrets of the dying:
1) I wish I had the courage to live a life true to myself instead of the expectations others had of me.
2) I wish I hadn’t worked so hard.
3) I wish I had the courage to express my feelings more often.
4) I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends even with the distance and the passing of the years.
5) I wish that I had let myself be happier- because happiness IS a choice.
Everyday, take a moment to sit at your deathbed and see what your dying self has to say about your Life. Is there anything that needs to change? ✨
Do you know there’s something more to your life, but you’re just not sure what that is? Would you like to step up, step into your mission and share your message with the world Now (or eventually)?  If so, schedule a Discovery Call  with me and I can help you gain clarity. To your mission! -Alexandra

I used to be an aspiring author

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About 7 years ago I was an aspiring writer. I was writing about 3 books at a time but never had a clear focus or purpose other than to be an author. Then one night I woke up suddenly and it hit me like a lightning bolt–write a book entitled Sculpt Your Life From Sketch To Masterpiece. It felt like it was part of my legacy to write a book, a way to share my mission and message that could serve hundreds, thousands, even potentially millions! It may sound extreme, but I was motivated by an internal drive to get that book written as quickly as possible before I die, and 3 weeks later the book was written and in 3 months it was released.

Then a few years later, I was an aspiring bestselling author. Looking back, part of me wanted to have a bestseller as a sense of achievement and accomplishment. Nothing wrong with that, except that these types of goals bring temporary happiness and fulfillment. A much more impactful reason for having a bestselling book is to provide greater awareness, credibility, exposure and prominence so once again, I could get my mission and message available to hundreds, thousands, even potentially millions! A book is a tool for doing just that, along with a way to position you and your brand.

No matter your Why, you have a message in you that can be shared in your own book. And you definitely have a potential bestseller in you. If you’d like to learn how I did it *accidentally* just a couple of weeks ago, click below:

How My Mission Accidentally Turned Into A Bestselling Book

What will you learn on this webinar:
  • My Why and planning steps I took to launch my book promotion;
  • Top 3 reasons my book became a bestseller;
  • How I continue to leverage my book and mission to brand and co-brand myself; and more!

[Note you will be signed up and asked to confirm your email before getting access to the webinar]

Oh and for the rest of the month of March, 100% of the proceeds of Sculpt Your Life From Sketch To Masterpiece ebook (listed at ONLY $2.99!) will go toward arts and empowerment charities serving girls. Click on the sidebar for more details, THANK YOU!!

Helping to transform the world one mission at a time,

-Alexandra 🙂

How I accidentally got a bestselling book

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Bestseller secrets

March is my birthday month and also Women’s History Month, so I knew I wanted to do something to celebrate and also give back in a bigger way. I’m in the middle of a few big projects, so I decided quite last minute to host a promotion for my ebook Sculpt Your Life From Sketch To Masterpiece--the recently updated 5-year anniversary edition of my first book.

Last week on March 8th, International Women’s Day, I offered the ebook for free as it’s part of my mission to share my message with as many people as possible. Well, with little preparation and zero advance promotion, I ended up getting way more downloads of the book than I expected! I was ecstatic! Missionpreneurs, students, retirees, people searching for their mission and many others who may not otherwise know about my me or my book were downloading it!

Quite unexpectedly, and quickly, it became an Amazon bestseller. In fact, among other free books, it got to top 10 in several categories and even reached #2 in one category where the #1 book was from an author I greatly admire. It even reached bestseller in the entire category of “Business and Money” for free Kindle books! I was floored!

After the free book promotion ended, I continue to promote the book as offering 100% of proceeds for the paid version during Women’s History Month to charities I support that empower girls through the arts, a cause I’m particularly passionate about. Again, quite unexpectedly and with little promotion, I reached bestseller in my category where the likes of Tim Ferriss are fellow authors. On top of that, it’s helped co-brand me and my business, especially when reaching a new audience that didn’t know about my work previously.

Wow! How did this all happen with little preparation and zero advance promotion?

I’ve come up with some answers and I’ll be sharing those on an upcoming webinar:

How My Mission Accidentally Turned Into A Bestseller

What you will learn:
  • The planning steps I took to launch the book promotion
  • The top three reasons this book became an “accidental” best seller
  • How I continue to leverage my book and mission to brand and co-brand myself
  • And more!

Sign Up To Watch The Replay of This Webinar

[*Note: You will be signed up and asked to confirm your email, then redirected to webinar.]

 

Do you know anyone else who has a book in them? Please forward this to them, thank you!

Transforming the world one mission at a time,

-Alexandra

If you have any questions, please email Alexandra@MissionBasedBranding.com

Alexandra Figueredo is a brand strategist, author, publicist, trainer, singer-performer and founder of Mission Based Branding Institute. She’s on-a-mission to help mission-driven businesses and entrepreneurs share their message and help transform the world. She has authored and coauthored multiple Amazon bestselling books including most recently “Sculpt Your Life From Sketch to Masterpiece – 5 Year Anniversary Edition” and “Shift Your Beliefs To Get What You Want.” Alexandra has received a master’s in Global Strategic Communications, bachelor’s in Business and Life Coaching certification. Â