How to Become Famous for Becoming Famous
If the name Walt F.J. Goodridge isn't yet a household name,
chances are it soon will be. That is, if a Jamaican-born, former
civil-engineer turned self-help guru with aspirations of stardom
is successful in his bid to achieve national fame in 365 days
beginning January 1, 2006.
Goodridge is a career coach and business book writer who lives
in an inner world of Prophets, Inspirers, Wow Masters, Adepts,
Creators, Saviors, Gurus and Guides. Those are all terms he's
created to inspire, inform and instruct others on exactly how to
become "passionpreneurs"--entrepreneurs who've discovered their
passion, harnessed their "wow factor" and launched
passion-centered businesses to make money doing what they love.
It's earned him the title "Passion Prophet", and he's already
achieved a degree of local fame doing it.
But it's not just his knack for coining new words and catchy
concepts that makes his approach unique. Goodridge has forged a
path of success by writing "how to" books about the specific
journeys he's personally taken to achieve his success. Inspired
by his own frustration with and successful escape from the
nine-to-five work world, every book has been an object lesson in
the pursuit of entrepreneurial freedom.
"Every book I write comes from my own personal experience. From
running a record label, managing artists, escaping from
corporate confinement to pursue my passion, to the level of
commitment and positive thoughts necessary to live a
passion-centered life--they are all things I've learned to do
from my own journey. The books are my way to 'share what I know,
so that others may grow'," he adds, quoting his personal mission
statement.
This prolific author and poet--he's written and published 12
books and over 435 poems--has been churning out trendsetting
ideas at a frenetic pace, concepts that thousands have seized on
to see the world a little differently and empower themselves to
create the lives of their dreams.
His first book, entitled Change the Game is a how to guide for
hip-hop entrepreneurs. It was inspired by his first business
venture--an independent record label he started after graduating
from Columbia University.
His second book, entitled The Game of Artist Management, was
culled from his stint managing recording artists.
Once he mastered the art of being a self-sustaining entrepreneur
after walking away from his civil engineering career, he wrote
his groundbreaking classic, Turn Your Passion into Profit, using
the creator, savior guru and guide concepts to defining one's
purpose--a vital first step in focusing the direction of one's
passion. It's also where he defined the term passionpreneur, and
added the "passion-centered business" to the business lexicon.
In 2000, in response to coaching clients' questions of how to
really succeed in business, an coinciding with his own embrace
of Taoist principles, he wrote The Tao of Wow/Art of Wow
introducing the world to a mysterious "Wow Master" who spoke in
rhyme and offered the key to discovering one's Wow Factor.
And through it all, every week for the past 8 years, he's
written and sent to his 26,000-strong subscriber list an
original brand of poetic motivation he calls Life
Rhymes--designed to sustain the perspective necessary for
success. So, for his 7th book, he compiled 365 of them into a
455-page tome entitled Life Rhymes for the Passion-Centered Life.
But wait, there's more. Goodridge, a strict vegan, attributes
his own business success to his lifestyle and makes the
connection between dietary choices business success.
Consequently, his latest The Ageless Adept (written under the
pen name A Seeker) is the story of an ailing man who goes on a
quest for a mythical immortal who reveals the secret to perfect
health, long life and the fountain of youth.
He's launched websites, made money online, created online
communities, and helped others do the same.
It's this holistic, spiritually-based, multi-disciplined,
"been-there-done-that, here's-how-I-did-it" approach to business
self-help that has garnered attention from such national media
as Entrepreneur, Essence, the Wall Street Journal, while winning
him rave reviews, and a loyal base of fans, followers, clients
and customers. Teachers use his life rhymes to teach their
students; professors recommend his books to business majors; and
Hip Hop Entrepreneurs use his manual as the bible of music
industry success. A perusal of his websites reveals testimonials
from clients who've benefited from his coaching to discover
their passions, create products, launch websites, and make their
first sales within hours. Others have followed his example and
quit their jobs, while some even request dietary advice.
With total gross sales of over half a million dollars in sales
of his independently published books, it's a mission that's been
quite financially profitable as well.
But even with all this to his credit, he remains relatively
unknown on a national level. That will all end, Goodridge hopes,
with his latest project: Elements of Fame.
The idea is to chronicle his rise to fame on a blog where a
fame-curious public, as well as fame-seekers will be able to
follow his week-to-week, step-by-step rise to fame as it
happens.
But not only is he documenting his fame-seeking adventure on his
blog, Goodridge, true to his prior mode of operation--intends to
publish the process as a book entitled Elements Of Fame, A
Step-By-Step Guide For Becoming Famous. Goodridge calls this
real-time blog-to-book project a "blook."
"It starts as a blog, and ends as a book. I had no choice but to
call it a blook," he explains in rhyme.
On the surface, this blook is about fame. But, as Goodridge
explains, fame is a metaphor for success. Everyone has their own
unique elements of fame they can use to be successful. The
challenge with writing a blog which becomes a book how to become
famous is that you have to become famous, or it's all
meaningless! No one wants to read a book about an attempt at
fame. So failure is not an option here. So it's basically an
object lesson in the level of commitment one needs to have in
order to be successful."
And that lesson has already begun. Already available for
download on the Elements of Fame blog are Goodridge's analysis
of the Levels of Fame, and his Fame Checklist which includes
among other instructions: deciding what you'll become famous
for, deciding what you're willing to give up, and setting clear,
quantifiable goals for success.
Among the goals Goodridge himself has set for his fame, and as
criteria for whether he's been successful are: appearing on the
front cover of specific national publications; being interviewed
on national television; and becoming a bestselling author--quite
a tall order!
And while Walt possesses many potential elements of fame:
creativity, clarity and one heckuva commitment,, the question
remains: will it all be enough to create the stardom he's
committed to achieving? Will he succeed? Will his "blook" on how
to achieve fame then be credible?
If he succeeds, you won't have to wonder. He hopes you'll hear
about him in the usual places you get your celebrity fix. In the
meantime, however, you can read how Walt F.J. Goodridge becomes
famous for becoming famous on the Elements of Fame blog at
www.elementsoffame.com