Goodreads asked Chris Westfall:

Where did you get the idea for your most recent book?

Chris Westfall The story came to me when I had already pitched a different idea to my publisher, Wiley. I had offered to write a book of 100 tips for the future of work. I got started on it and my heart sank. I thought to myself, "Really? This book is going to read like a series of blog posts. Or commandments. Or little pieces of advice. How is that really going to make a difference for people? And what's interesting about THAT?" My wife took it a step further: "People are going to read your book in the toilet," was all she said. I didn't want to flush it out any further. So I shifted gears. I was working with my writing coach at the time, and I don't know where exactly the shift happened - but I decided to turn the book into a story. A narrative. A business fable, if you will. I decided to make it a story about a Client who hires a Coach to help him out of his job. He's frustrated and can't find the courage to do what he knows he needs to do, so he meets up with a Coach to explore the possibilities. Little does he know he's about to be fired in just five days. So, from inside this "life after career death" story, these two men discover 60 ways to make anything in life - yes, you read that right, _anything_ - easier. The Client meets up with the Coach to find guidance, insight and maybe just a little understanding around why his life is so hard. And he discovers what Michael Neill says: "Hard is a habit. But it doesn't have to be." When I started on this new narrative format, the book was originally written in first person, from the Client's perspective (First person, like the Tale of the White Whale, "Call me Ishmael" and all that). My writing coach asked me, "Are you sure you only want one point of view into the story?" I wanted to share the coach's perspective as well, in hopes that those who are coaching and leading others might benefit from the kind of service and understanding that's expressed in the book. The story is unlike anything I've ever written before - and as I've told anyone who's willing to listen, it's not only the book I needed to write, it's the book I need to read. Because the story really does make everything easier.

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