00:00This is Speaking of Writers. I'm Steve Richards.
00:07This is the Speaking of Writers podcast. I'm Steve Richards.
00:11In life, the choices we make determine our levels of success or regret.
00:16Ultra-successful people, the super-rich, rarely take a look back at the lessons of the past.
00:22That privilege is often reserved for the regretful.
00:25And whether we show it or not, many of us have our secret regrets.
00:29The book is God That's F'd Up, the story of my life from a seated perspective.
00:36The author is Johnny Williams. Happy to have Johnny Williams back on this program.
00:40Welcome, Johnny.
00:42How you doing, Steve? Good to talk to you again.
00:44Nice to talk to you. So what made you decide to write this book?
00:48Oh, I had a lot going on in my head at the time, and I just didn't know how to get it out.
00:58You know, I've talked to therapists, I've talked to friends, I've talked to family members,
01:04and it was just, I never could get it all out just to clear my head.
01:10So one day I just started writing, and I mean, it just, I started to feel better as the days went on.
01:22So this was helpful for you, writing this book?
01:25Extremely, extremely helpful.
01:29It was kind of a weird process because while I was writing it, I felt better,
01:36but it also made me remember things that I was trying to repress.
01:41So I felt better, but I would sometimes feel worse because, you know, I would get disheartened.
01:49But I knew by going through that process that once I finished and said everything I needed to say,
01:56that I would be clearer and better for it.
01:59It felt really good, I'm sure.
02:01Amazing, amazing.
02:03All right, I'm sure you get asked this a lot, the title, God That's F'd Up.
02:08How did you come up with that?
02:11Well, first of all, I wanted something that was eye-catching.
02:16But really what it was, because it's so many different, I've played so many different roles in my life.
02:25I've been the good guy. I've been the bad guy.
02:28I've been a hero. I've been a villain.
02:30You know, I've been helpful. I've been hurtful.
02:34You know, so I've done so many things in my life that I never really knew what my purpose was.
02:44So it was just the way of me saying that, you know, it effed up that I've had to go through all of this to find out who I am and what I'm supposed to be doing right now.
02:57Who are you, Johnny Williams?
02:59Oh, man, I'm amazing. I'm amazing.
03:03I mean, I'm just the average guy, but I'm extremely extraordinary.
03:09And I'm blessed to be able to still do the things that I can and have the freedoms that I have to do at the same time.
03:18What's your background? I know you served in the Army. Thank you for your service.
03:24Well, yeah, I served in the military. I'm a Paralympian.
03:31I'm a brand ambassador. I'm a father. I'm a son. I'm afraid.
03:37I mean, like I said, I wear so many different hats that I just I just try to be what I can be in every moment that I can be.
03:49Did you always want to write?
03:51No, no. Writing was.
03:57After doing a lot of research and a lot of therapy, it first started out as just something to kind of get the thoughts out of my head, kind of like journaling and keeping the dream low.
04:09And once I realized that it was it did have therapeutic value, I started to.
04:18I went back in my computer and I had actually started writing in, I think, was 2009.
04:27And I went back and started to kind of just do an outline of the different events that have gone on in my life since then.
04:35And it ended up. It ended up kind of pointing me in a direction of there was so much between the different subjects that I just figured, hey, let me just write something down and kind of see what I'm working with.
04:54And once I realized it was it was about 50 pages, I was like, oh, well, let me go back and kind of juice this up a little bit and make it more interesting.
05:06And it just like I said, it made me feel better and it made me start to remember things that I had forgotten.
05:17You know, I have I was I was recalling so much bad and negative energy that I had forgotten all the good things that have happened to me in my life.
05:27And so as I got all of that negativity out of my head, the positivity started to raise and I started to enjoy just being me more.
05:37What have you learned from going through this process?
05:42I've learned to let myself make mistakes and I learned that. Failure is a part of the process is not permanent.
05:52You know, disappointments, failures, they happen. But if we don't dwell on them and we look look at the bigger picture, then, you know, there's there's nothing that you can't do or get accomplished.
06:08How do you deal with criticism?
06:11I welcome. I welcome it, because any criticism that I receive, if it's truthful, then it can only make me better.
06:24Now, if you're just being a troll, I laugh at it and I'll probably come back with some quizzical to kind of confuse you.
06:34But I welcome constructive criticism. It's a part of the process.
06:39Johnny, if you could go back in your life and change anything, what would it be and why?
06:46I've actually thought about this question quite a few times.
06:52I wouldn't change anything because.
06:57The trials and tribulations that I've gone through in my life have gotten me to this point and made me who I am.
07:04And if I go back and change one lesson that I learned. Or didn't learn, then I may not be in this position right now.
07:13So I wouldn't change anything, even if I had the opportunity to do it.
07:18Want to talk to you about self-publishing what this is now your second book. What has the process been like for you self-publishing your books?
07:28It's been a roller coaster. It's been a roller coaster when I when I first started.
07:33And actually it's four books. This is actually my fourth.
07:38When I first started, I didn't know what I was doing.
07:42I did. I basically just, you know, put something out there just to kind of test the water and gain some knowledge.
07:51And as I put out my second, third and fourth, they actually were recognized and received a reward from the publishing company.
07:59And I just I was ecstatic because I knew it was good for me, but I didn't know the value it held for other people or could hold for other people.
08:11Just to know that it was appreciated. It was a it was a blessing.
08:16And it did come with an additional price tag. But, you know, if you truly believe in yourself and you have to invest in yourself.
08:27So you have four books. Will there be a fifth?
08:33You're liking this writing thing, right? I do. I'm I'm hoping that it will be a fifth.
08:40I'm currently working on a fifth in a rough outline. It hasn't gotten to the point where I'm satisfied with it.
08:49So, you know, in writing. It's easy to just put something out that you don't truly believe is finished or believe in completely.
08:58But I'm I'm at a point where I think it's good, but I just wanted to be a little bit better to where I'm satisfied with putting it out and putting my name on it.
09:11And Johnny, what's the main message that you would like the listening audience and viewing audience here to take away from this book?
09:19I just want people to believe in themselves and never quit and know that there's going to be disappointments.
09:27They're going to be let down. They're going to be failures and setbacks.
09:31And as long as you believe in yourself and stay goal oriented in whatever you're doing and you're happy,
09:39then there's no such thing as a as a bad day because you will only focus on the positive.
09:48And, you know, hey, tomorrow might not be good, but today might not be good.
09:53But tomorrow could be better, will be better.
09:57The book is God, that's f'd up the story of my life from a seated perspective from Johnny Williams, his fourth book.
10:04It is available at Writers Republic dot com, Amazon dot com and Barnes and Noble dot com to Johnny.
10:11Thank you for joining me again. Thank you, Steve.
10:14It was a pleasure to be on your show again. Thank you.
10:18And this is the Speaking of Writers podcast. This is Speaking of Writers.
10:24I'm Steve Richards.
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