67. My Interview With Writing Legend, John David Mann

When I ask for a show of hands, in any audience, how many people want to write a book, almost everyone’s hand goes up. I know that less than 10% of these people will ever actually sit down and start writing a book and less than 10% of that 10% will ever actually complete a book, and even a smaller percentage of these people will ever publish a book.

John David Mann has not only written the international best seller, The Go Giver, with Bob Burg, he has helped write many personal development favorites including The Answer with John Assaraf.

Growing up, John wanted to be a concert cellist and then a screen writer. His friends would often ask him to edit their writing and he found that he had a gift for helping people bring a higher caliber of writing to the forefront.

Deciding to pursue his dreams, he didn’t even finish high school, or go to college. Instead, he focused his full-time efforts on writing and has had tremendous success including winning several awards.

When I asked John about his writing process, he explained that each book is like a symphony. There is a start, there is an end, and his goal is to help bring out the music in between. He also said that in screen writing school, all movies essentially follow the same formula and he has brought this to books.

There is a main character. The main character then faces a challenge and against seemingly ridiculous odds, triumphs. If you have read the Go Giver, and now the newest book in the series, The Go Giver Influencer, you will see Mann’s proclivity for bringing an award-winning movie landscape into his books.

One of the central themes of John’s success is that he consistently focuses on his intention in any communication whether it is writing, email, or social media. He counsels that if we have pure intent, that will come through regardless of form. Sage words indeed.

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