Ask the Author: J.D. Bloodstone
Answered Questions (2)
J.D. Bloodstone
Hi Kathleen, thanks for your question! The working title of my first book was The 14th Success Principle, as I set out to write the "missing" and final chapter to Think & Grow Rich, which is about Napoleon Hill's 13 Success Principles. Towards the end of writing it I felt as though my book could stand on its own and I didn't want my book to be so closely tied to TAGR so I began brainstorming for other title ideas. The title Think & Grow Balls! came to me during a meditation session in which I asked the Universe (i.e., Infinite Intelligence, Collection Unconscious, Cosmic Habitforce, etc.) to give me a great title for my book. I remember the instant the title popped into my head like it was yesterday. It was, and still is, one of the most profound moments in my life. A voice whispered the title to me in my mind and I instantly awoke. I hopped on my computer to check to see if the domain name was taken. It wasn't, so I registered it... and the rest is history.
The subtitle came a short while later. I wrote a blog article about my book title a few years ago. You may want to check it out if you have time. Here's the link:
http://www.thinkgrowballs.com/blog/20...
I was sent a cease and desist letter by the Napoleon Hill Foundation in 2013 to stop using the title Think & Grow Balls! so what was supposed to be the 2nd and 3rd editions of TAGB became my second (Awaken the Balls Within) and third (The 10 Habits of Highly Ballsy People) books. These titles were easy to think of as they just followed the theme I had been using for years. My most recent book, The Last Success Principle, is a compilation rewrite of all three books, which is a return to the original working title except I went with "Last" instead of "14th". I also removed all references to the word "balls" in an effort to make it appeal to more people as well as make a ton of other changes I had been wanting to make to the books for years.
Think & Grow Balls! is my favorite title and is the best title for my first book as it conveys so much about its message and my sense of humor at the same time. I've been told that the title is "brilliant" and a "stroke of genius", but I don't know about that. I believe I was just chosen to share my message with the world and made myself open and available to it. After all, being ready for something is the first half of the Carnegie Secret and I just put it to work for me!
Thanks again for your question!
The subtitle came a short while later. I wrote a blog article about my book title a few years ago. You may want to check it out if you have time. Here's the link:
http://www.thinkgrowballs.com/blog/20...
I was sent a cease and desist letter by the Napoleon Hill Foundation in 2013 to stop using the title Think & Grow Balls! so what was supposed to be the 2nd and 3rd editions of TAGB became my second (Awaken the Balls Within) and third (The 10 Habits of Highly Ballsy People) books. These titles were easy to think of as they just followed the theme I had been using for years. My most recent book, The Last Success Principle, is a compilation rewrite of all three books, which is a return to the original working title except I went with "Last" instead of "14th". I also removed all references to the word "balls" in an effort to make it appeal to more people as well as make a ton of other changes I had been wanting to make to the books for years.
Think & Grow Balls! is my favorite title and is the best title for my first book as it conveys so much about its message and my sense of humor at the same time. I've been told that the title is "brilliant" and a "stroke of genius", but I don't know about that. I believe I was just chosen to share my message with the world and made myself open and available to it. After all, being ready for something is the first half of the Carnegie Secret and I just put it to work for me!
Thanks again for your question!
J.D. Bloodstone
Lately, I haven't had to deal with writer's block so I've been fortunate. I'm dealing with the opposite of writer's block right now and I hope to have enough time to get everything out. I've been very inspired lately, like I've tapped into a source of an idea that I'm just channeling right now, and driven to get everything out on the page while it's all still in my head. That being said... in the past, I've been able to power through writer's block by opening up my journal and just start writing jibberish. I'd like to call it poetry, or creative writing, but it wasn't... as it had no structure and usually didn't have any context... but what it DID do is clear out whatever blockage was preventing me from getting the good stuff to percolate to the surface. I've always thought that the best way to become a writer is to just write... so, that's what I've always done... force myself... to just... write.
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