"Know why you're serving, know why you're here" with Marjah Simon-Meinefeld
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Photo credit: Photographer Solwazi Afi Olusola, Ancestral Beauty Photography
Marjah Simon-Meinefeld created Author Writer’s Academy (AWA) to capture the wisdom of productive, successful entrepreneurs.
Can you tell our readers about your background?
I'm a trained attorney, practiced in international contracts litigation. I've represented the United States in foreign contracts with foreign governments and countries. I've also practiced as a prosecutor in court. As a military veteran of two military services, the US Army and the US Air Force, I've served as an enlisted member, as well as an officer. I hold a Juris Doctorate of Law, a Masters in Diplomacy, and a Bachelor of Science in Business, English, and Behavioral Science. I’ve trained in coaching and business with Tony Robbins, Luke Wren, and a host of amazing people.
What inspired you to start your business?
The big inspiration came after my first book, Fork Disease! Go Vegan! that I co-authored with my sister in 2017. I encountered lots of pain points that I noticed that other people were also having. I suffered years and years of rewriting, doubting, crossing out, and changing everything because I didn't have a coach like myself—which is what I offer to my clients now—in order to set those boundaries, to help me through limiting beliefs and mindset, to break through, and actually have the objectivity to move through the writing process quickly and efficiently.
I didn't have that. So, five years, seven years, 10 years passed, and then finally I said, “Enough,” and I published the book. Then I encountered additional pain points that other people often encounter if they ever get to that point of getting a completed manuscript, where I went with a traditional publisher and I started outlaying lots of money, and realize I was not getting the support I wanted and need it in order to make my book successful. Unless, of course, I shelled out a lot more money. Even that was not any kind of real, warm, and fuzzy as to whether they would actually deliver that. Each thing was just, “Pay us more, pay us more,” and add injury to insult, they kept most of my royalties.
And so, all of these pain points made the whole process from beginning to end very long, drawn-out, and difficult. I would say, “This is supposed to be fun. This is supposed to be easy. This is supposed to be something beautiful because we're sharing wisdom with the world and making people's lives better. So why is it this big hurdle and burden with it?”
So, the second book I published as an E-book, a cookbook. I did that on my own, and of course, had some missteps and learn some things along the way. My third book, however, was completely different—The One Law for Amazing Abundance in Every Area of Your Life. It became an international bestseller in three countries—the US, Germany, and the UK on Amazon. In addition to that, as I went through that process, I saw I had my unique lawyer brain that works in kind of a weird, strange way. I employ that way of thinking into this. I said, “Okay, what did not work and what worked in my first and second book? What are the systems and processes I can pull out and employ so that my third book is an entirely different experience?” I did that and it worked, and it's beautiful.
I have a wonderful team around me, that helped make that happen that I've now expanded on to serve my clients at an even higher level. And what inspired me to start my business was the beautiful experience that I had with my third book, getting that success in being able to get my message out into the world, and seeing other people's lives who were touched by my book. I wanted to bring that experience to other people who desire to be authors. Then, Author Writer’s Academy was born.
Where is your business based?
My business is based internationally. I am US-born. My family is from Trinidad and Tobago. My immediate family was located primarily in Germany. I am based both in the US and Germany, however, I work with clients worldwide. I have authors in the US, in Switzerland, in Australia, in the UK, you name it. It's an actual beautiful thing that we're no longer restricted by physical location, but the world is truly connected. That's a really special message to me because that's the main message in my book, The One Law—that we're all connected, we're all one, and I get to exhibit that in my business.
How did you start your business? What were the first steps you took?
The first step I took was actually articulating what the system was that made it work. I employed coaches, trainers, and business people that were successful in their own industries, in their own right, to shortcut my learning process. There are two ways you can learn; from your own experience or from other people's experience. And learning from other people's experiences is a lot faster, a lot less painful, and a lot less costly. And so, I chose that route. That was the first step. I got good advice.
What has been the most effective way of raising awareness for your business?
The most effective way we raise awareness for Author Writer’s Academy has been by delivering outstanding value for our clients and making them into raving fans. Most of our business comes to us organically through word of mouth or referral, because people are having such an amazing experience that they want to share that. Also, from people that know me directly, or know one of my team directly, and they know that we are people of integrity and quality, they love working with us, themselves. And they love referring us out to other people who have these dreams of writing a book, becoming an author, or who have a message that is worth sharing with the world.
What have been your biggest challenges and how did you overcome them?
My biggest challenge was probably something that is common to all people: the challenge of our own thoughts, thinking, “Am I good enough? Am I ready? Should I do this? What if this happens? What if this doesn't happen?”
The biggest challenge I think we all face is often the challenge between our two ears, the thoughts that tend to stop us from moving forward with our own dreams, that tend to stop us from helping other people that we allow to get in the way and overtake that knowing, that desire in our heart, and that faith—and stepping through that.
I overcame that by, one, employing coaches to help me to step into that new identity, to own who I really am by working with myself, examining my own language, and my own way of showing up in the world each and every day. Zig Ziglar, I think, said that it's like bathing. You have to do it every day. This is not necessarily a one-stop-and-done endeavor. The book says, “Stand guard at the door of your mind.” Doing that by paying attention to, “What am I listening to? What am I watching? Who am I around?” and setting that environment up intentionally. I direct my mind into thoughts of power and of love. From that place, I'm able to serve my clients at a high and a high level.
How do you stay focused?
I stay focused in several ways. One, I intentionally set up my day, my week, my month, and my year. Directing our time in advance is really important. However, it's not a to-do list. In directing our time, we need to do what we're directing it to. So, I start with my outcome. I have a clear outcome. My outcome right now is to bring 100 new authors into the world that have a message of love, light, hope, positivity, resilience, health, all of those messages that will benefit the world and change lives. My goal, my outcome, is to bring 100 of those stories into the world so that they can spread those messages exponentially.
The second thing is I tap into, “Why do I want that?” I want that because I believe that wisdom is one of the most precious things that we have. All of our experiences that we can share shortcut and help other people. With each person that has those experiences, they create a legacy by sharing that in their books and stories.
Another ‘why’ of mine is that I want to rob the graveyard of all of that wisdom that dies every time a human being leaves this earth because we have not captured those experiences, those words, and those understandings that that person had. I'm on a personal mission to rob the graveyard of all of that and bring it out into the world. Knowing my outcome, knowing my why is what fuels me. And, of course, like I said, directing my time towards those outcomes. That's what keeps me focused.
How do you differentiate your business from the competition?
Well, I think the first thing is, I don't believe in calling it a competition. There are enough people with enough beautiful, amazing stories for us all to serve them. And like I said, I know my outcome. My outcome is to help people to get those stories, to get those books written, and to get those messages out to the world so it can change lives.
I think it's an amazing, beautiful thing that there are several of us that are on that similar trajectory of the path to do that. I know my intentions are directed towards that. And so, I'm not concerned with the competition. If you're asking me what sets me apart, and the way I do things that may differ from what other people are doing it, like I said, by profession, I'm an attorney. My brain has a very unique way, I can see the connections and disconnections, I can understand the stories and what is not only being said but what's not being said. I use those skills to direct and help my clients to uncover their full story, their full message.
Most of my clients, don't even write a word. I speak with them and it’s like having a conversation with a friend. And the same skills I used in court when helping my witnesses to share with the jury their experiences, I use those to help my clients. And also, when we have all of this information, all of these words together, I use the same skill set that I use to understand a mass and think through 1000s and 1000s of pages of contracts. I use those to help make sure that the client's words are put together in a beautiful cohesive flow, in a way that is capturing their authentic voice and that will be received by their readers.
What has been your most effective marketing strategy to grow your business?
The most effective marketing strategy is actually caring about my clients. I think a lot of businesses make the mistake of falling in love with their product or their service and forget to fall in love with their clients. I absolutely love and adore each and every person that I am working with. I select people that have this heart of service, that have these beautiful experiences, that have overcome and created these successes in their life, and have this heart and willingness to share that information, that understanding, and those experiences. I love working with my clients. I love connecting with them. I love speaking with them and spending time with them in order to make their dream of becoming an author happen.
What's your best piece of advice for aspiring and new entrepreneurs?
Number one, know your outcome. Know why you're serving, know why you're here. And my outcome is not to write books. My outcome is to capture the wisdom of all of these amazing people, bring their messages to the world, and change lives. Number two, fall in love with your clients, not with your products or services. In doing that, we can stay focused on the right thing: people and making a difference.
What's your favorite app, blog, and book? Why?
My favorite book is the ‘next one.’ I get so excited as I see each author’s book unfold, create, come to life when they're holding it in their hands, when their readers are holding it in their hands, and when people are celebrating with them. That is my absolute favorite book. The ‘next book,’ when I see authors creating their new businesses around their book, or scaling up their existing businesses around their book, and seeing how they're able to use it to exponentially grow. The ‘next book’ is my favorite book. Always.
I love all of the apps that helped me to connect with people. There's so many of them now. But any of the apps that keep me in touch with people where we can actually still have that heart to heart connection, even though we are not physically together, all of those apps that make that happen, I absolutely love that.
What's your favorite business tool or resource? Why?
My favorite business resource is people. My team is amazing. I love the people that I'm working with—their heart of service, their skill set, their insight, their wisdom in their unique fields coming together so that we can all serve our clients. My favorite resource is definitely my team.
Who is your business role model? Why?
My business role model is an amalgamation. It is actually a combination of different people. I admire and love watching everything that Oprah Winfrey created; what she did, the way she communicated and use words, and the connection with people to change lives. I love emulating that in my own life and in my own business.
I also directly work with my mentor, Luke Wren. Everything that he's created in his business is absolutely amazing; how he set up his business, how he serves, and what he does. I love having him as my mentor to learn every single week, I think multiple times a day, sometimes we're in communication. And having that example of success has been really a game-changer. I've also gotten the privilege of working and learning directly from some of the amazing greats in their industry, such as Tony Robbins, Les Brown, and all of these people that have this heart of service and have this way of using words to connect those hearts.
How do you balance work and life?
I stopped trying to balance work and life. Instead of trying to balance them, I look for a natural rhythm and a flow between the areas that I've identified are important in my life. At any given time, one area of our life may need more attention than another area, but by paying attention to all of the areas, we can make sure that we're flowing and not neglecting any of those areas that we've identified matter to us. So, instead of trying to balance, I've learned that working on staying in flow, and finding our natural rhythm between the different areas is a much more authentic, easier way to enjoy life and to make it productive.
What’s your favorite way to decompress?
I actually have a long list of ways to enjoy my life. Decompress, I think, implies that there was a compression. And unfortunately, I think that's the best case for many people. I learn in that rhythm, in that flow of life, to not allow myself to get compressed so that I have to decompress. Instead, I stay, as much as possible in that flow. But when I find that I'm not operating in that flow space, I again look back to, “Okay, how can I shift into taking care of and paying attention to what actually matters to me?” and I do that.
One of the other things that I have is a list of different ways that I enjoy life, both small, quick ways. You can shift your state and how you're feeling by sometimes just stopping and taking slow, deep breaths into your heart, and counting all of the amazing things that you’re grateful for in your life right now. And that alone shifts that energy. It flows from something that's quick and easy like that to larger things like taking time off, taking time out, to spend time with people that are important in your life, your family, your friends.
I also schedule time by myself to be still, to be quiet, to think, to appreciate, and just to have fun and relaxing. We are so serious nowadays and people forget to have fun in their life every day. If you've gotten to the end of your day and you have, one, not accomplished anything of value, of importance to you, and two, not had fun doing it, you've done it wrong.
What do you have planned for the next six months?
In the next six months, I plan to continue to focus on my outcome of bringing 100 new authors into the world that have that beautiful message that will change lives.
How can our readers connect with you?
The best way is to connect with us is on www.awa4life.com. There, you can find all of the amazing ways that we can connect. I'd love to hear your story.
Marjah’s social media and websites:
Website: https://www.awa4life.com/author-writers-academy
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/marjahtheauthor/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marjah-simon-meinefeld-84084516/
Marjah’s Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/marjah.simon
AWA Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorWritersAcademyFB
