Melissa R. Collings spent years in the operating room taking down one side of a spine while the surgeon took down the other — and her favorite part of the job was sewing the tattoos back together, because that part was art. She read the statistics on getting published and had exactly the wrong reaction. On rejection, waiting, and the book she was told to put away that sold in a week.

Melissa R. Collings is an award-winning author and former spine surgery physician associate. She writes humorous, diverse romance and women’s fiction, as well as probing psychological thrillers. When she’s not writing or plotting, you can find her engaging in deep philosophical conversations with her husband and kids in Nashville, studying preventative health, or losing time in a painting. Her imagination never fails to get her into trouble, and she lives by the philosophy: nothing is impossible, and everything is better with glitter — except surgical wounds.

“Some people think I’m just not even gonna try. And other people say, well, someone’s gotta be chosen — why not me? That’s who I am.” — Melissa R. Collings

Links and Calls to Action

• Melissa R. Collings — melissacollings.com
• Melissa’s newsletter (goes out every Monday, and it is where she breaks her news first) — melissacollings.com/newsletter
• Instagram and TikTok @melissarcollings · Facebook /MelissaRCollingsAuthor · Substack @melissacollings · Goodreads: Melissa Collings
• The Love Operation — out this October. Pre-order at melissacollings.com.
• The False Flat — her debut novel with Montlake.
• Melissa’s book answer: the book you need right now is the book you need right now. If pressed, she names Atomic Habits by James Clear.

• Get Honorée’s Nonfiction Author’s Empire Roadmap HERE.

Cliff Jones started a temporary landscape company in the 2008 recession and is still running it seventeen years later. He has also been through three brain cancer diagnoses in fourteen years while building it. His word for his life right now is thankful. On the migraine that would not quit, what he had to give up control of, and why he now blocks time on the calendar to sleep in.

Cliff Jones is the founder of Landscape Solutions, a landscape design-build firm focused on thoughtful landscapes, craftsmanship, and lasting relationships. Guided by faith, family, and the Golden Rule, Cliff leads with resilience, humility, and a passion for creating meaningful outdoor spaces.

“You have to react to the moment you’re in. It’s okay to be sick. It’s not that you’re down — it’s that you’re not a hundred percent.” — Cliff Jones

Links and Calls to Action

• Cliff Jones — Landscape Solutions, landscapetn.com · Instagram @landscape_solutions_tn · Facebook /LandscapeTN · LinkedIn: Cliff Jones
• Cliff’s two book recommendations: Right Away and All at Once by Greg Brenneman, and Every Day Counts by David Pollack.
• Also mentioned: Die with Zero by Bill Perkins, and The Joy of Movement by Dr. Kelly McGonigal — the source of the hope molecules Honorée describes.

• Get Honorée’s Nonfiction Author’s Empire Roadmap HERE.

Jim Daneker is an award-winning and Billboard-charting composer, producer, and musical director. In addition to twenty-seven years as Musical Director, Keyboardist, and Producer for CCM icon Michael W. Smith, Jim has enjoyed a diverse musical career. He has produced several #1 albums, written music for film and television, and created a popular virtual instrument series called Backstage Pass in 2019. After two decades of serving other artists, Jim fulfilled his dream of scoring a cinematic instrumental album, Ad Alta (2017) — a project that fused soaring melodies reminiscent of classic film scores with creative synth textures, ethnic instruments, massive percussion, and lush orchestration supported by top musicians from around the world. In 2018 he produced another Billboard #1 album, this time for quadruple #1 artist Paul Cardall: an album that had the distinction of debuting on nine charts simultaneously and won a Dove Award for Instrumental Album of the Year. In February 2023 Jim retired from touring to launch his life dream project, Arcade Orchestra, which reimagines the biggest hits of the ’80s with iconic guest artists, live orchestra, and a spectacular live production. Arcade Orchestra is on track to open as a major long-term residency in one of Las Vegas’ biggest venues in Q1 2027.

Links and Calls to Action

• Arcade Orchestra — arcadeorchestra.com. Sign up for the newsletter there for ticket news, exclusive offers, and merch before the rest of the world. Instagram and Facebook @arcadeorchestra.
• Jim Daneker — jimdaneker.com · Instagram @jimdaneker · Facebook /jimdaneker · YouTube /c/JimDaneker
• Ad Alta — Jim’s cinematic instrumental album (2017). The title is Latin for "to the summit."
• Jim’s book recommendations: The Prayer Experiment by Matt Smallbone, and the book of Proverbs.
• Primary CTA (every episode): For the next step Honorée mentions in this episode, get her roadmap at honoreecorder.com/roadmap
• Get Honorée's Nonfiction Author's Empire Roadmap at HERE.

Justin Zebell is a founder, creator, and lifelong learner who has spent more than twenty-eight years at the intersection of business, creativity, and human experience. A natural entrepreneur, he has built multiple companies and led teams that have helped some of the world’s leading brands tell their stories through unforgettable moments. Through the highs of success and the lows of failure, Justin has discovered that the real lessons live in the hard seasons — that failure, more than success, shapes who we become. Today he channels those lessons into new business ventures of his own, helping others build lives and companies rooted in purpose, resilience, and forward motion. Whether leading companies, writing, or speaking, Justin is driven by one core belief: progress happens one intentional day at a time. No Zero Days. Above all, he is a proud father of four daughters, whose laughter, curiosity, and courage inspire the legacy he hopes to leave behind.

"Fault and blame have a way of always looking back. When you take responsibility, you are looking forward." — Justin Zebell

Links and Calls to Action

• Justin Zebell — www.justinzebell.com · Instagram @justinzebell
• No Zero Days by Justin Zebell — his story of failure, leadership, and rebuilding momentum one intentional day at a time. Available wherever books are sold. Honorée produced the book, and Justin names her in the gratitude pages.
• Justin also leads experiential agency No Name Group and event intelligence platform ROME Insights.
• Justin’s book recommendation in the lightning round: No Zero Days.
• Also mentioned: the Diary of a CEO podcast, and the Scooter Braun episode Justin cites on what actually matters at the core of a life.

• Honorée’s recommendation in this episode: Greenlights by Matthew McConaughey — she says listen to the audiobook, because he reads it.
• Get Honorée's Nonfiction Author's Empire Roadmap at HERE.

Joel Robare grew up the youngest of seventeen children in the farm fields of Illinois, in a house where the loudest thing was the drama. Thirty years later he has scaled luxury brands across North America and has four letters tattooed on his wrist that tell him what to do with his one life. On the $50,000 that walked out the door with his name still on it, the plan he could not see, and why the subway is where he does his hardest thinking.

Joel Robare is a growth executive and design-industry leader with more than twenty years scaling luxury brands, architecture practices, and premium product businesses across North America. He is based in New York.

• Joel Robare — joelrobare.carrd.co
• Joel on LinkedIn — linkedin.com/in/joelrobare
• Instagram @joel_robare
• Joel’s book recommendation: biographies, and specifically the Frank Lloyd Wright biography he had most recently finished. Confirm the exact title before publish (see Before You Publish).
• Honorée’s recommendation in this episode: Greenlights by Matthew McConaughey — she says listen to the audiobook, because he reads it.
• Get Honorée's Nonfiction Author's Empire Roadmap at HERE.

Grayson Garvin was a first-round MLB draft pick out of Vanderbilt who spent seven seasons with Tampa and three of them under a surgeon’s knife. When his body ended the career his identity was built on, it took the better part of a decade to work out who he was without it. Today he is a Certified Financial Planner who has helped steward more than half a billion dollars — and he says the recipe for success is simple, just not easy. On attitude, effort, and what being rich actually means.

Grayson Garvin, CFP®, is the Founder and Principal of Arrow Alliance, a Nashville-based financial advisory firm, and the host of The Pursuit Podcast. A former first-round MLB draft pick out of Vanderbilt, he is a Certified Financial Planner who has helped steward more than half a billion dollars.

Links and Calls to Action

• Grayson Garvin, CFP® — Arrow Alliance, ArrowAllianceLLC.com
• Grayson on LinkedIn — linkedin.com/in/graysongarvin
• The Pursuit Podcast with Grayson Garvin — his show on what it actually takes to achieve in every area of life. Available wherever you stream podcasts.
• Grayson’s book recommendation: Sacred Pace by Terry Looper.
• Also mentioned: What I Wish I Knew About Luck — the book Honorée promised on air she would put in the show notes. Title and author to be confirmed before publish (see Before You Publish).
• Primary CTA (every episode): For the next step Honorée mentions in this episode, get her roadmap Here

Jeff Goins is a bestselling author of five books including the national bestsellers Real Artists Don't Starve and The Art of Work. As the founder of Bestow Literary Group, he is a prolific book collaborator and ghostwriter of more than thirty titles, including Gen. Stanley McChrystal's recent New York Times bestseller On Character and Pat Flynn's Lean Learning. He also runs a bestselling Substack newsletter on creativity and transformation called The Ghost. Jeff lives just outside of Nashville with his wife Chantel — where you can usually find him sitting on his front porch or cooking a five-course dinner for their family of six.

Links and Calls to Action

• • Jeff Goins — goinswriter.com (his one link to everything: ghostwriting, books, and his Substack, The Ghost)
  • Jeff's book recommendation: On Character by Gen. Stanley McChrystal — the collaboration he is proudest of.
  • Real Artists Don't Starve, The Art of Work, Lean Learning by Pat Flynn, Atomic Habits by James Clear, and Mauncy the Dragon and the Secret Under the Stairs — the middle-grade novella Jeff wrote with his daughter's class.
  • Get Honoree's Get The Nonfiction Author's Empire Roadmap at HERE.