Today we’d like to introduce you to Matt Guzman.
Matt, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I started writing when I was ten years old. I fell in love with science fiction and storytelling because of my mom and grandma. I spent many years writing short stories and novels. In the meantime, I fell into Restaurant Management. There I developed a love for leading. I went through a divorce and found a therapist to help me. It opened my eyes, and it sent me on a trajectory where I became obsessed with psychology. Reading books, watching videos, listening to podcasts. Anything to do with health, the brain, science, and psychology. As I continued to manage restaurants, I became more and more disgruntled with working for big corporations where money and profit were more important than people. Even when I tried to change the systems from within, the best outcome I could get were loyal employees to me. But the systems wouldn’t change. After years of trying to get my novels traditionally published, I realized that I could no longer tolerate being limited by others. The entrepreneur spirit had completely taken charge. I pursued becoming an Indie Author. I quit managing restaurants so I could pursue my true purpose full-time. I decided to craft stories for middle-grade readers focused on emotional health. I believe that if all people could become emotionally healthy, so many of the world’s problems would be solved. So, I wrote the story that I wish I had read when I was twelve years old. I’m on a mission and a purpose to improve children’s emotional health through the art of storytelling. My debut novel Rieden Reece and the Broken Moon will be published on Jan 3rd, 2023. It is the first book in a seven-book series.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Not at all. My personal motto is expect obstacles and unexpected everything. Our mind is predictive and we’re constantly creating stories of how things SHOULD be or SHOULD happen. But our brains are imperfect at this, and we get it wrong most of the time. When things don’t turn out how we expect, we get frustrated, angry, and disappointed. The key is to recognize our unrealistic expectations and adjust to the obstacles that are presented in life. One of my favorite books on the subject of success is Mindset by Carol Dweck. She discusses the concept of having what she calls a “growth mindset.” This means when we make mistakes, instead of beating up ourselves for having “failed” we should celebrate the joy of having learned something new. This learning process helps us to move forward, growing, and learning. A “fixed mindset” falsely believes we must be perfect, not make mistakes, and be good at things automatically. As I’ve learned how to be an Indie Author, I’ve constantly had to readjust my incomplete expectations. Usually, it revolves around time. I imagine a task will take a day or a week and it ends up taking a month. But I keep reminding myself that I’m moving forward and if I stop then I won’t make any progress at all. Often, our self-destructive mind lies to us and convinces us that we should “give up” because who are we to accomplish this great goal? So, no matter how many times I have to learn something. No matter how many mistakes I make along the way. No matter how many times my anxious brain tells me to quit, I keep going. Because every step gets me closer to where I want to be. Anne Lamott makes it clear in her book Bird by Bird. One task at a time. Learn something. Do it. Repeat. When it gets scary, I just remind myself that I’m more terrified of having not tried and living a life of regret.
With this perspective, I have found great joy in finally giving myself permission to follow my purpose and bring it into reality.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
It’s only been in the last ten years that I realize I’m an author. There’s a part of the mind that authors have that is hard to explain to people who don’t LOVE storytelling. The imagination we all have as children gets lost by many as we grow up and become adults in this stressful world. But authors never stop dreaming. We never stop generating fantastic worlds in our mind’s eye. When I’m in flow state, I find tremendous joy in generating possibilities. Because I love science fiction, I often imagine what future technology might be like and how it might change our beliefs and behaviors. Or I imagine watching human behavior through the eyes of an alien. I have notebooks, a phone, and a laptop filled with ideas that my mind constantly generates. I also have a love-or a gift, depending on how you view it-for public speaking. Many authors identify as introverts or feel shy around crowds. Not me. I’ve been public speaking since I was ten years old and love the energy and ability to capture an audience’s attention and motivate them to feel, think or act a certain way. In conjunction with my middle-grade writing, I intend to create a YouTube channel for busy parents on the subject of emotional health. Modeling my teaching after people like Tony Robbins, Mel Robbins, Simon Sinek, Malcolm Gladwell, Brene Brown, Adam Grant, and so many others. I want to create simple short videos to give parents an emotional health boost. Like a morning vitamin. The name of my publishing company is Mindfast Publishing. It’s a play on the concept of Morning Mindfast, like breakfast for your brain. I want to create motivational videos based on all the information I’ve consumed over the last 15 years and provide it for busy parents who have a hard time finding the time to invest in their emotional health.
I think what I’m most proud of is the ability I have to connect with people, to understand them with empathy, and be able to filter out judgement to help them find ways to improve their life. So, often I found myself feeling great joy after talking with friends because I was able to share something with them that made their life a tiny bit better. I want to infuse that ability I have into videos so I can help multiple people at once.
So, before we go, how can our readers or others connect or collaborate with you? How can they support you?
I’m still in the early stages of building my career so for now it is a one-person show. Though down the road I’m sure I will need help as my business expands. For now, the most important help I could ask for is good old-fashioned word of mouth. Do you know a twelve-year-old who loves to read? A parent or grandparent of a twelve-year-old? Then send them a copy of my book or request my book at a library or bookstore. The more librarians, teachers, and parents understand my mission to help children’s emotional health, the more children I can potentially inspire. My goal is to release a new book every six months, and as I transition into a full-time author and speaker, I hope to release a new book every three months. Once my publishing company expands, I hope to inspire other authors new and old to teach these concepts within their stories too. Young people, now more than ever, need support and understanding when it comes to such subjects as fear, anxiety, and depression. Storytelling is a great way to teach children how to think and feel in an empowering way.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://authormattguzman.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/authormattguzman/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MattDahGooz
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/AuthorMattGuz
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@authormattguzman
- Other: https://authormattguzman.com/riedenreece/
