Last night I finally began decorating my house and getting ready for Christmas. I decided that I wanted to do something special and different with my tree because it will have been eleven years since all of my family will be together on Christmas day. Over the years, I have put up gorgeous trees. At one point in my life, I put up seven, one in each different room. I lost that spunk years ago, but I have always maintained the tradition of the large family tree in the living room where we can gather. Here are some pictures of the tree. I'll update you as I start wrapping the presents.
Okay, I did try something new. That technique is called crisscrossing a tree with ribbon. Isn't it awesome? I'm not fishing for compliments, I just feel a certain satisfaction having done this.
Speaking of awesome, I have a new author for you to meet. Today's author is:
Flavio Ballerini, Ph.D.
Awesome Again
Seven Simple Steps For a Man to Regain his Vitality
This book makes the perfect Christmas gift or stocking stuffer for any man over the age of forty, but you'll have to wait because it hasn't been published yet. However, as soon as I receive the pre-sale link I'll blast it your way. The book is set to launch December 15, 2019.Awesome Again
Seven Simple Steps For a Man to Regain his Vitality
ABOUT THE BOOK
This program is valuable because it evolved and was tested over a period of twenty-two years of clinical experience with hundreds of men who felt that they had lost their edge but now wanted to be Awesome Again. After my breakdown, I went to many therapists, but it was not until I remembered and started working with the Seven Steps that my life started changing for the better.
The program has five parts:
1. A self-assessment to
know where you are at on the Awesomeness Scale.
2. The philosophy,
therapeutics, and science of awesomeness, so you know that you CAN change.
3. The Seven Steps
to becoming Awesome Again.
4. The routines of
Awesomeness, a powerful program to keep the positive changes going forward and
to discover your purpose in life.
5. The guided
meditations in your personal portal used to install the Seven Steps to
Awesomeness into your subconscious mind.
The Seven Steps are:
1. Talk it out.
2. Quit all toxic substances.
3. Sleep well.
4. Mind your health.
5. Release negativity.
6. Upgrade yourself.
7. Contemplate your life.
People
tell me that is magic in these steps, as presented here, for as you work on
each step on your journey to becoming Awesome Again, you discover other
values, strengths, and a peaceful power within you that will transform your
life into what it is meant to be.
Flavio Ballerini, Ph.D.
Awesome Again
Seven Simple Steps For a Man to Regain His Vitality
Tell your readers a little about yourself, where you grew up, where you live now, where you went to school etc. Let them get to know the personal you.
I was born in Sao Paulo, Brazil in 1966. My family moved to
Edina, Minnesota, when I was sixteen I worked as a design engineer, then as a
scientist and as a professor of engineering. Most of my research was in the
area of cardiovascular mechanics, which led me to hypnotherapy because of the
mind/body connection. Later, I attended medical school. I have four daughters,
from twenty-five to two. I now live in Pembroke Pines, just north of Miami,
Florida.
What inspired you to write this book?
This program evolved out of the need to help men at the office
more effectively. Then I had my own breakdown, a near-death experience, and catharsis
that lasted many months. I went to many therapists looking for a way out of the
pain until I remembered the notes that became this book. Once I realized that a
structured program such as this was working for me, I wrote the book in twenty-five
days.
Where did you get the inspiration for your book’s cover?
Ancient Egyptians saluted the Sun in the morning as a way of celebrating life itself. For some reason, since I started writing this book, I could see the cover concept in my mind. I wrote a description of it to a cover designer who was able to capture it precisely.
Who has been the most significant
influence on you personally and as a writer?
Besides awesome parents, I also had two mentors on the spiritual
path who became parental figures to me, in a way. I studied mystical philosophy
with professor Santiago Aranegui, whose school I inherited. I also studied with
Ana Luiza Borjas, a nun from the Marianita’s order for many years. Without a
doubt, these two people influenced my entire life the most. As a writer, I am very
fond of Richard Bach; I think in many ways, he is my writing hero.
What were your struggles or obstacles you had to overcome to get
this book written?
Following a near-death experience in December of 2018, my
relationship with life itself broke down so much that I often questioned
whether I had actually ‘come back.’ I am still dealing with PTSD and depression
but getting better each day. As I was writing this book, I cried more than I
thought someone could cry. I experienced waves of panic and doom and gloom at
least once a day, but I kept working with the Steps in the program, and the
project kept advancing. Writing the manuscript was not difficult, except for
“my story,” which I kept rewriting over and over. Once the manuscript was completed,
again, I stalled a little and delayed the publication, but still, the Steps in
the program kept me going forward.
Who is your target audience, and why?
This book was written for men over forty who want to become
awesome again, who want to regain their vitality. We have found that many women
who have a man in their lives who feel that they lost their edge can be of
immense help to them by reading this book and understanding the program.
I feel that this book fills a huge gap in the mind/body/spirit
space, the holistic space when it comes to transforming one’s life. Over the
years, men came to see me desperate with a lack of answers and coherent
understanding of what was happening to them, and also on how to change. This
book covers every angle, including critical scientific ideas such as
epigenetics and neuroplasticity, that will help the reader see that he CAN
change his life.
If you were going to give one reason for anyone looking at your
book to read, why should they buy it?
The book is written as though you and I are in a therapeutic
relationship. I describe complex ideas in simple terms and show you, step by
step several things:
1.
Where you are really at
2.
Enough philosophy, therapeutics, and science for you to know
that you can change
3.
The actual steps to change your life
4.
How to build routines that keep on producing great results
5.
How to find your purpose in life
Throughout the book, you will find encouraging words that will
keep you reading and succeeding.
What do you consider your greatest success in life?
Having the opportunity to know my four daughters is a huge
blessing to me. I also had the opportunity to serve some people as a
hypnotherapist and coach through 40,000 sessions and over 300 exorcisms. The
work we did at that little office for 22 years is not common, and I am happy I
had that opportunity.
Everyone has life lessons to learn, tell your readers one or two
of yours, and how they make you the person you are today.
One of the toughest lessons I learned since the NDE was that I
am not a good person. I am glad I finally learned that lesson. Good and bad are
terms relative to one another. For years I did not know that behind my thought
of being good there was a judgment that some others were bad. I am glad I
learned that lesson, for I no longer think of anyone as bad.
Another lesson I learned is to balance the heart and mind. I
lived all of my life with not much regard for the logic of life; I did as it
felt right in my heart. For the most part, I lived an awesome life as a result
of this abandon, but the end of my second marriage taught me that deep love and
great intentions are not enough in some cases.
What one unique thing sets you apart from other writers in your
genre?
I bring a great
deal of theoretical and practical knowledge of philosophy, therapeutics, and
science to this book. I write in simple terms, and I put my heart into the book
so readers can actually change their lives into the awesome life they are meant
to live.
Tell your readers anything else you want to share.
I have worked as a hypnotherapist and coach for 23 years.
Nothing makes me sadder than hearing a client say that they have been told they
cannot change something, that this is just the way they are. This is one reason
I explain a bit about epigenetics and neuplasticity in this book, so you will
know that you can change. Something else that still amazes me is how simple
some changes are when we use hypnosis to access the unconscious motivations
behind a behavior or a feeling.
