The road to success is not a straight line. In today’s show, Jonathan Fields talks about his zigzag route as an author-entrepreneur, tips for writing non-fiction and his latest book, How to Live a Good Life.
This is a pre-recorded intro as I am currently travelling in Israel. If you want to see the photos, pop over to Facebook.com/JFPennAuthor
Today’s show is sponsored by my own course, How to Write a Novel: From idea to finished manuscript.
Jonathan Fields is a bestselling author, inspirational speaker and podcaster. He runs The Goodlife Project, a global community with the quest to live more meaningful, connected and vital lives. His latest book is How to Live a Good Life: Soulful stories, surprising science, and practical wisdom.
You can listen above or on iTunes or Stitcher or watch the video here, read the notes and links below. Here are the highlights and full transcript below.

* What happened when Jonathan wrote a book that didn’t work.

* Finding a new way to write.

* Jonathan’s early beginnings as an entrepreneur, including a business in high school painting album covers on jeans jackets.

* The winding road of Jonathan’s entrepreneurial journey.

* Recognizing patterns in one’s life to discover passion and purpose.

* In writing, and in life, work to the plan and open to the magic of serendipity.

* On what creates a Good Life and where work fits into that good life.

* Incorporating play into a serious adult life.

* The hybrid method of publishing that Jonathan is using with his new book.

You can find Jonathan at www.GoodLifeProject.com and you can find How to Live a Good Life here on Amazon.

Transcription of interview with Jonathan Fields
Joanna Penn: Hi everyone, I’m Joanna Penn from thecreativepenn.com, and today I’m here with Jonathan Fields. Hi, Jonathan.
Jonathan Fields: Hey, awesome to be hanging out.
Joanna Penn: Oh, it is. It’s been so long and we’ll go into that as we talk. But just an introduction, if anyone doesn’t know you.
Jonathan is a best-selling author, inspirational speaker and podcaster. He runs the Good Life Project, a global community with the quest to live more meaningful, connected, and vital lives. His latest book is “How to Live a Good Life: Soulful Stories, Surprising Science, and Practical Wisdom,” which is out now as this show gives out, so really excited about that.
Jonathan, I wanted to get started with your writing process. and I was literally just looking back over your site and I saw this quote from you. “I worked three different manuscripts. I almost gave up more than once and learned a ton about writing, both about my writing and myself.” You’ve written other books.
What was it about this book that made it so hard?