After a lifetime in book publishing, Peter Guzzardi had edited a remarkable group of diverse authors, from Stephen Hawking to Deepak Chopra, from Carol Burnett to Douglas Adams.. Yet everything he’d learned from working with them felt oddly familiar. One day it suddenly became clear: all that wisdom had its roots in a film he’d watched as a child, “The Wizard of Oz.” That revelation led to his first book 'Emeralds of Oz: Life Lessons From Over the Rainbow'. Deepak Chopra says: "The nine Emeralds in this book provide a powerful, near-magical tool for navigating any difficult situation. I have been using them myself, and my life is more effortless, spontaneous, and joyful."
In this episode, we cover:
- 1:47 - From editor to writer
- 4:21 - Working with difficult people
- 5:27 - The two types of book editor
- 6:20 - The structural editor
- 7:02 - Working with first time authors
- 9:01 - The Wizard of Oz
- 10:54 - The Heroes Journey
- 13:36 - Your ideal reader
- 17:15 - Listen to your longing
- 18:57 - Seeing it for the first time
- 20:08 - Celebrate yourself just for showing up
- 21:05 - Choose compassion
- 22:10 - Realise you already possess what you want most
- 23:30 - Face what you fear
- 24:08 - Pull back the curtain and see things as they really are
- 24:56 - You've got the power
- 25:34 - There's no place like home
- 26:58 - Working with Douglas Adams
- 27:15 - Writing to deadlines
- 28:09 - "I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by."
- 30:02 - How to get unstuck
- 32:32 - Spoken word vs written word
Resources mentioned in this episode:
- peterguzzardi.com
- Book: On Writing by Stephen King
- Tool: Microsoft Word
- Album: Bop Till You Drop by Ry Cooder
If you enjoyed the show, please rate it on iTunes or Stitcher and write a brief review. That would really help get the word out and raise the visibility of the Creative Life show.
