Mike MichalowiczBusiness Author & Keynote Speaker Empowering Entrepreneurs

How One Book Changed My Family's Mind

15 Jul 2026 · 1 min

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In this personal anecdote, Mike Michalowicz recounts how his decision to become an author was initially met with skepticism from his spouse, who warned that writing wouldn't pay the bills and likened the dream to becoming a rock star. Undeterred, Mike wrote his first book, "Toilet Paper Entrepreneur," and received a heartfelt letter from a reader expressing how the book had profoundly helped them. When Mike showed the letter to his spouse, she read it and recognized the impact of his work, declaring that writing was his life's purpose and agreeing to support his authorial pursuit. The story highlights the pivotal role of external validation in shifting family support from doubt to encouragement.

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I will tell you probably the greatest story in family support that I don't know if I've told you. I remember I was living in Rockaway, New Jersey, and I told Chris, I said, "I want to become an author." She responded appropriately, not her words, but basically, "Authors don't make money. Are you crazy? You think you're going to be the next Stephen King? That's a one in a billion." It's equivalent to saying, "I want to be a rock star." Basically, no one makes it. She goes, "What are you going to do to earn money because we have to sustain?" I said, "No, I got to do this." I put fear in her unintentionally and never wanted to do that, but I did. But I also felt called to do it. I wrote the first book, Toilet Paper Entrepreneur, and I got a letter. I printed it out from someone that was so kind and said, "This book has served me in such great ways. Thank you for doing this." And I showed Krista and she read the letter. I remember she looked up, she goes, "Oh, she's looking at it now. This is your life's purpose." So she said, "You have to be an author." She was willing to roll the dice because she knew I had to, quote unquote, roll the dice.