Mark wrote his book, The Messenger is The Message to explain this, and he has seen incredible growth since its release. 15. CHANGE CAREERS Even if you have no business of your own or entrepreneurial aspira- tions, a book can help you substantially advance your career, either within your current company or by helping you switch careers entirely. Simon Dudley did this with his book, The End of Certainty. He was a big influencer in the video teleconferencing space, but because of various technological changes, he didn’t believe in the field anymore. He thought they were going to be disrupted and didn’t think companies there would change. He wanted to move out of video teleconferencing, so he wrote a book about his theories on technological change and how to adapt to it, never mentioning teleconferencing. That way he could go to other businesses and pitch them, saying, “Listen, I know exactly how you’re being disrupted. I can help you.” He created a firm called Excession Events, and now he’s successful as a consultant on technological change. He essentially created a new career. Here’s the supreme irony: no one in the teleconferencing business listened to him before he wrote the book. Since he wrote it—and though he never mentioned teleconferencing in the book, the par- allels were obvious—half of his consulting business is made up of the firms in the teleconferencing business that wouldn’t hire him before. Jeb White is doing the same thing. He was a very successful lawyer, but it no longer served him, and he wanted a new profession. So 394 · ThE SCriBE METhOD