Gary John Bishop is one of the world’s leading Personal Development experts in the industry. Bishop has impacted tens of thousands of people worldwide. From athletes and celebrities to Fortune 500 executives and stay-at-home Moms and Dads, his “urban philosophy” approach represents a new wave of personal empowerment and life mastery that has caused miraculous results for people in the quality and performance of their lives.
LS: Tell us your inspiration for your work:
GJB: The inspiration for what I do is kinda like a response to the persona development industry in general, which I feel as if is trying to be helpful but doesn’t actually make a difference. And, from everything I’ve ever learned about transforming a human beings life, I’m crystal clear that that rarely happens with good news. So I’m committed to giving people the kind of “truth” that makes a difference.
LS: I imagine you want your potential audience to be pulled outside of their comfort zone! In “Do the work” it’s impossible not to leave feeling the need to take action immediately, have you heard success stories from readers?
GJB: I have, I get regular emails, most of which I don’t send out to my publishers or my assistant and some I do so that they get a sense of how our work is working. But all of my work is ultimately to inspire you to change your life. Albeit in an unorthodox way.
LS: So much of what you touch on in “Do The Work” really takes that no-nonsense approach you’re known for to the next level- was there a time in your life where you could have used your own advice?
GJB: Well yes, and it wouldn’t have been my own advice at that time. At that time, it would have been someone else advice. fortunately for me, I took it.
LS: We love when authors narrate their own audio books, what was the recording process like? Why was it important to you to narrate yourself?
GJB: So the first part, I used to be a musician, so the recording process for me was simple and straightforward and I was very comfortable in that environment. The second part of that is that I’m clear that my accent makes a lot of what I have to say, more acceptable to the listener. I’m never out to offend people, but I am out to wake them up, so there are certain nuances in what I say that someone without my background wouldn’t be able to pick up on and could be confused by the listener, so its critical to me that I deliver the message.
LS: We have a budding local writer’s scene here in Fort Collins, What would you say are common traps for aspiring writers?
GJB: There is one and it's thee one. You should never write to be famous. You should write to write and let the chips fall where they may. Because ultimately, whether you are successful or not, you want to love being a writer. that is really the joy. It’s not the reviews.
LS: If you had to do something differently as a child or teenager to become a better writer as an adult, what would you do?
GJB: Thats a hard question to answer and it's a hard question to answer because it's pretty clear that the darkest moments of my life were the most educational, so I wouldn’t want to change any of those. In other words, I would have never gotten belief without doubt so the years in doubt gave rise to belief. So to answer that question quickly, nothing.
LS: It’s hard to beat the title of New York Times Best Selling author, do you have other big, bold goals for your career?
GJB: Yes I do. Two. Help as many people as I can, thats been the goal since the beginning. And number two, ignore the platitudes. The platitudes are not what this is about. I haven’t sent a pathway of platitudes.
LS: I'm excited to meet you in person in February! How did you get involved with Fort Collins Fitness Festival’s Break-Free movement?
GJB: They reached out to me and I was happy to find a space in my calendar and go and talk to the kind of people who are out to make a difference. Influence the influencers.
LS: How important do you think physical fitness is to living your best life?
GJB: Its always a touchy sulkiest when you talk about peoples bodies because there is a lot of social pressure to conform to an ideal. But on the other side of that, there is the notion of living in denial of your predicament. So I always relate to my body like its a vehicle and I should treat it in such a way so that it lasts a long time, and if you are treating it in such a way that creates damage, then I would say it’s limiting your ability to live your best life.
LS: Thank you so much for this interview, we have one last question- what can we expect next from you?
GJB: Release dates we should add to our calendars? There are no set release dates for new books but are at least two more in the pipeline. One is about how to get Wise. Like how to grow my own wisdom. And the other one is all about how to have authentic relationships at work. Throughout 2020 I will be doing a series of workshops in the US and Canada. I am very excited to burst into that next phase of delivering my work. And then I will be releasing a a podcast in the early part of 2020 alongside several projects I can’t talk about just yet!