Closing the Gap- Launch Day #172

Aaron McHugh (00:00): Closing the gap between where I was and where I am. Choices trade-offs, Grace, reboot, start, rest, pray, reflect, Celebrate. Today is January 14th, 2020. And as my buddy texted me a day that will live in infamy, my new book, Fire Your Boss. “Discovering Work You Love Without Quitting, Your Job” goes live today into the world. And a decade ago I sat on my back patio. I wrote the first draft of this liberating idea of firing my boss. What if I stay at the job I have, but renovate everything from the inside out? My life changed that day. Not all at once. I can look back now and see how it sparked the beginning of this journey I've been on. And then I remember deciding to make that manifesto version, that early draft available in a print self-published copy version.

(01:19): So probably four or five years ago, I remember a buddy of mine asked, Why self-publishing? And I said You know what? I don't wanna wait to be picked. I had something inside of me that I had to get out and I didn't want the world of publishing to be, as Rob Bell calls, it the committee for deciding if my words were gonna have life. And so I went about this long and steady Marathon endurance event of just steadily, continually bringing this work to life and really allowing it to, transform me in the process. So today I woke up this morning, logged in, and saw that at Local Barnes and Nobles I can cruise by and pick it up. It's in-store. So I'm gonna run over on my lunch hour today between meetings and go buy a couple of copies. So I've never in my life been able to walk into a bookstore outside of like a local one that carried my manifesto in our city of Colorado Springs years ago, but like a genuine, big kid bookstore. So I'm gonna text my friends and my family and say, Look up online and check out your local Barnes and Noble and

(02:59): Drive over, take a picture. So my son lives in Costa Mesa area and I already checked out that there's a Barnes and Noble couple of 'em nearby his house and a couple where I am and a couple in Denver. I'm just really excited. It reminds me of the summer I went to go watch one of my favorite bands play at Red Rocks, Lord Huron is their name. It was the first time they'd ever played Red Rocks. And all their moms and their dads were there. And so in the middle of the set, they stopped down, throw the big video screen on their moms up in row 22 and say, Mom, we love you. So yes, mom, I love you. And that same kind of euphoria of this will never happen again.

(03:45): I will never again have the very first time of having a book published and the very first time of my book being on a bookstore floor being able to walk in the door and say, Hey can you tell me where the business section is? Where about I might find Fire Your Boss by Aaron McHugh? So I'm doing it. I'm doing it today. And let me close by reading You The Introduction of my new book, Launching and Releasing Today Into the World, Available at All Places You Find books. This is the third time I've written this book. The first version was a rant. The second was a passionate sermon. And this one is a swan song. I've contemplated quitting and not finishing this version a thousand times, but I knew that you were out there waiting for a lifeline.

(04:42): The work you do every day is meant to make a lasting dent in the universe, but some of you don't believe it anymore, and your heart is growing weary. I suspect you picked up this book because of the polarizing title and you're banking on me giving you some silver bullet advice on how to rid yourself of a boss forever. Sorry pal, But this isn't a book about becoming an entrepreneur or about how to retire early. I'm offering alchemy. This is a book about how in the day in and day out of going to work, you can learn to create irrefutable value in every workplace regardless of circumstances. And if we attempt to tackle our career challenges, head-on, Albert Einstein, promises no problem can be solved from the same level of consciousness that created it. But if we take a personal transformation approach about becoming the kind of person who can move from fear to freedom, blame to accountability, disengaged to engaged, powerless to empowered, compartmentalized to wholehearted and rule follower to a heretic,

(05:56): Well then everything can be different. “Fire your boss” is a new liberated way of working where we learn to lead and manage ourselves, mature into wholehearted humans and transform our work organizations from the inside out. True career liberation is an inside job, always. Together we're starting a revolution, a gathering of ruckus, making brave souls who share a conviction about the importance of doing work that we love while engaging our heart, body, mind, and soul. In other words, we want it all. We're about to embark on a journey, a road less traveled to confront the root causes, fueling our workplace unrest. But full disclosure, it isn't going to be what you think. This is not a revolution with pitchforks and torches. As I said, this is an inside job. Ready. Let's go. Let's make a ruckus at work. Friends, wherever you find books online or at Barnes and Noble stores or stores nearby, you check it out today. I'm so proud to say this is the day and thank you for all your belief and support and for those of you that are new here, welcome aboard. This is where we keep it real and this is how we keep going. So friends, let's keep going together.

*We’ve done our best for this transcription to accurately reflect the conversation. Errors are possible. Thank you for your patience and grace if you find errors that our team missed.