In this Business Blast Podcast episode, host Tyler Wagner interviews best‑selling author and speaker Clint Arthur. Arthur shares a pivotal personal story from a 2008 self‑help campfire where a shaman told him he was "already dead," prompting him to ask what he would accomplish if it were his last year—a question that sparked his transformation from taxi driver to millionaire, weight loss, marriage counseling, and a debut on the Today Show. He then outlines his core advice for entrepreneurs: position themselves as celebrity experts. Arthur details five concrete techniques—TV news/talk show appearances, VIP speaking engagements at prestigious venues, celebrity attachment through photos, authoring best‑selling books, and building a dedicated celebrity‑positioning website (ClintArthur.tv). He explains his own book‑writing process: speaking the book, recording, transcribing, and editing the transcript. The conversation also touches on his definition of happiness (knowing what you want and being content with it), his favorite book (his own "The Speaking Game"), key speaking tricks for influence, a favorite Patton quote about embracing challenges, and where listeners can connect with him online.
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Welcome to the Business Blast Podcast. I'm your host, Tyler Wagner. This episode is brought to you by Authors Unite. Authors Unite provides you with all the resources you need to become a successful author. You can learn more about Authors Unite and join the free community at authorsunite.com. Now let's jump into the episode.
Alright everyone, welcome back to another episode of the Business Blast Podcast. I'm your host Tyler Wagner. Today I have Clint Arthur with us. He's the number one best-selling author of What They Teach You at the Wharton Business School, and his newest book is Speaking Game: 7-Figure Speaker Secrets Revealed. So welcome to the show, man.
So excited to be with you.
Thanks, man. Excited to be with you as well. Well, we'll dive into the first one. The first one I have for you, Clint, is what What is the best story from your life that has an underlying valuable message?
In October of 2008, I was at a men's self-help campfire, and the shaman on the other side of the fire was pointing at me through the yellow and orange crackling flames. He said, "You don't know it yet, but you're already dead." I said, what are you talking about, man? 8 years ago I was driving a taxi. Now I'm a millionaire. I was living on a little boat. Now I live in a mansion. He said, you're already dead. You just don't know it. And I didn't know what he was talking about, but I couldn't stop thinking about it for months. I'd wake up in the middle of the night out of a sound sleep. I'm already dead. What does he mean? And it came to be New Year's Day of 2009, and I asked myself a question that changed everything in my entire life. If this was going to be the last year of your life, what would you want to accomplish? And that question got me to write my first bestselling book. It got me to lose 40 pounds and get healthy again. It got me and my wife into marriage counseling, and it took my career ultimately all the way to my debut appearance on the Today Show.
Wow, man. Thank you for sharing that with us. The next one I have for you is, what is the most valuable piece of information we should know that's within your expertise or industry?
It's kind of like the question, what would you tell your 20-year-old self if you could go back in time? And the number one most important thing any entrepreneur, business person, anybody really who wants to have influence and impact in the world needs to do is they need to position themselves as somebody really special in the eyes of their customers and prospects. Ideally, you want to be seen as a celebrity expert on your topic by your customers and prospects.
Got it. And so, and the next question I normally ask is, is pretty general, like business advice, but because you have two books, I'd like to dive into that quick. Like, do you have any tips for people that have been wanting to write a book like, you know, how did you write your two? Did you do like 1,000 words a day, or did you do like 20,000 words in a day and just like drive through it? Like, you know, tell us about your process.
When I write books, I like to speak the book, record it, have it transcribed, and then work off the edited transcript.
Got it. Okay, I like that. See, and I think That's actually huge because a lot of people do not like writing or it's very difficult for them. So speaking it is the way that you can do it. So thanks for sharing that. The next one, actually, you kind of already answered, but the next question that I asked is if you could give your younger self one piece of advice, what would that be? So maybe you could actually answer it in a way of like directly to your younger self.
So expanding on what I said is there's really 5 techniques that I use in positioning myself and my clients as celebrity experts in our area of expertise in the eyes of our customers and prospects. Number 1, you need to go on TV news and talk show interviews. That's the fastest way to be a celebrity in a real way. Number 2, you need to be a VIP speaker. You need to speak at important and impressive places like at the NASDAQ Stock Exchange in New York City or at Harvard Club in Boston. And I have events for my clients at those places to make that possible. Number 3, you need to be photographed with major celebrities. That's called celebrity attachment. And I provide celebrity attachment opportunities at my events for my clients too. And number 4, You need to be the author of a best-selling book, and a lot of times I will write books with clients. And number 5, you need to put it all together in a celebrity positioning website similar to my own, which you could view at ClintArthur.tv.
Yes, I agree. And in your opinion, then, what is the key to happiness?
The key to happiness is is knowing what you want and then still being happy with it when you get it.
Ah, got it. Okay. And what is the best book, speaking of books, that you've read? And what was the number one thing you learned from that?
The best book I ever read would be The Speaking Game by Clint Arthur. I wrote it, I read it, I reread it all the time. And really what it's about is about how to get more impact and influence when you speak, when you talk. Everybody thinks they know how to speak because they talk every day. But when you're trying to communicate a message, when you're trying to put ideas into people's heads, when you're trying to influence people, There are certain tricks you can use with your voice to make your words sound more entertaining. And the greatest leaders all know about this and do this, like Ronald Reagan and Franklin Delano Roosevelt and even Abraham Lincoln. And they know that when you are speaking, the key is to entertain audiences, which is what you learn how to do in Speaking Game.
Hmm. And what's your favorite quote and why? And it doesn't have to be word for word, but that's the next question.
General George Patton, the man who saved the free world during World War II, said, "Accept the challenges so that you can feel the exhilaration of victory." And really, that is how you really come alive.
I like that. Thank you again for coming on, man. The last question I have for you before we let you go is where's the best place for people to find and connect with you online?
ClintArthur.tv. Clint like Clint Eastwood, Arthur like the king..tv because I'm looking forward to seeing you on television. Awesome.
Thanks again for hopping on.
Right on.
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