In this Business Blast Podcast episode, host Tyler Wagner interviews author Michael Jordan about his novel The Company of Demons and his journey as a writer. Jordan shares a personal story of overcoming a speech impediment and a small‑town upbringing, emphasizing perseverance as the foundation of his success and even noting his ambition to write an opera. He offers writing advice, stressing that compelling characters are more important than plot or setting for keeping readers engaged. Jordan extends his perspective to business, asserting that hard work (perspiration) is the key to standing out among talented competitors. He advises his younger self—and listeners—to pursue passions without delay, integrating creative pursuits into daily life. When asked about happiness, he discusses the danger of envy, encouraging gratitude for one’s own circumstances. Jordan reflects on literary influences, highlighting the value of authentic characters and quoting Shakespeare’s “to thine own self be true.” His favorite personal quote underscores resilience: it’s not the knock‑downs that matter, but getting back up. The episode concludes with a plug for his book’s website (www.michaeljordanbooks.com) and standard sponsor messages for Authors Unite and Anchor.
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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 the support you need to finish your book. Best part is, after you finish your book, they take care of the entire publishing and marketing process 100% for you. So if you want to become a successful author, make sure to check out authorsunite.com. Now let's jump into the episode.
¡Hola! ¿Cómo estás?
All right everyone, welcome back to another episode of the Business Blast podcast. I am your host Tyler Wagner. Today I have Michael Jordan with us, and years ago, a serial killer known as the Torso Murderer terrorized Cleveland, Ohio, eluded Elliot Ness, and disappeared without a trace. Michael's book asks, what if the killer returned today? So welcome to the show, man.
Hey, thank you very much, Tyler. Appreciate it.
Of course. Grateful to have you here. So first one I got for you is, what is the best story from your life that has an underlying valuable message?
I think it's probably the fact that I overcame a lot of adversity when I was a young kid. A speech impediment, a small town, not much going on, and, uh, I worked hard all my life and was able to have a very good career, and now I'm doing things I really wanted to do, which is number one, write an opera. So things worked out quite well. Perseverance is the key.
And what is the most valuable piece of information we should know that's within your expertise or industry?
Well, one thing I learned when I became very focused on writing, Tyler, is that it's important to make sure you're focusing fiction writing remains on the characters. Your plot is important, your settings are important, but the number one thing is to make sure your readers will care about the characters. That keeps the pages turning.
And what is your best piece of overall business advice, so not necessarily industry-specific?
I think the number one is perspiration is indeed the key to inspiration and success. There's a lot of very bright people out there you'll be competing with whatever business you're in. And the one way to make yourself stand out, make people notice you and your work product, is to work and work very hard.
And if you could give your younger self one piece of advice, what would that be?
Uh, if you have a passion like writing, uh, don't wait. Always find time in your life to pursue it. Means something deeply deep to you as a person. We all have our careers, we all have obligations outside of those careers, but whatever it is your passion might be— writing, Theater, food. Find that way to focus on that passion as well and keep it part of your existence as a human being.
And kind of going a little bit down a different path, in your opinion, what is the key to happiness?
I think it's understanding and accepting that the grass is indeed always greener on the other side of the fence. We can always look around and see things we think other people might have better than we do. Have some envy, and we have to really try to avoid that and focus on what's good and important in our lives and why we should be grateful for that.
And what is the best book that you've read and what was the number one thing you learned from that?
I can't point to a single book, Tyler, but I can point to almost every book I've read that have had a resolution that was satisfying, is where the characters were true to themselves. And maybe it began with Shakespeare when he wrote, "Above all, to thine own self be true." And I think there's a valuable lesson there for all of us to learn.
And what is your favorite quote and why?
There's many variations I've heard of this quote, but I'll tell you what I really think it is. It's that it doesn't matter that you get knocked down by life, it matters that you get up. Because we all will be knocked down by life if we try to do anything. If we try to be successful in any endeavor, we'll run into roadblocks and hurdles and disappointments. And the key is to learn from those experiences and get up and keep going to chase the dream.
Absolutely, man. Um, the last one I have for you— thank you for coming on— is where can our audience best find you online?
On the website for my book, The Company of Demons, is www.michaeljordanbooks.com.
Perfect. Thanks again for coming on.
Thanks for having me, Tyler. Really enjoyed it.
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