38 You Have a Book in You are seeing you for their 昀椀rst, and probably only, time. How can you give them the feeling that this is as exciting for you as it is for them when you’ve already done this same show on 10,000 prior occasions? 吀栀e solution is simple, but not necessarily easy—and it’s very pertinent to what’s involved in being an e昀昀ective writer. You certainly need to communicate your understand- ing of the readers’ needs, but you must also convey your own excitement in creating the book. You’ve got to feel that excitement yourself before you can share it. When I was speaking in Australia, a lady named Natasha told me that my new book Cash in a Flash emotionally jumped o昀昀 the page as she read it and inspired her to become a suc- cessful entrepreneur. 吀栀at happened to her as a reader because I felt it as a writer. Writing can be hard and sometimes tedious work, but even as you’re slogging through it, you need to experience it as the most exhilarating thing in the world. Until you’re thrilled yourself, don’t expect to thrill anybody else. Spir- itual teacher Ram Dass, formerly Dr. Richard Alpert, once told me that every author should be mandated to write on the back cover of their book their prevailing attitude while composing it. Was it positive or negative? Every writer must 昀椀nd his or her own way to get primed for the task. I can tell you this: if you’re feeling really bogged down—not just lazy, but genuinely out of