#142 Brad Thor – Episode Notes

Episode #142 Brad Thor – Episode Notes

Brad Thor is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of nineteen thrillers including his newest release Backlash! His summer of 2018 release Spymaster was a book Sean couldn’t put down and The Washington Times said “One of the all-time best thriller novels”.

Brad has been one of Sean’s favorite authors for over a decade and excited you guys get to hear more about Brad and his journey.

Brad has been called “THE MASTER OF THRILLERS,” and“AMERICA’S FAVORITE AUTHOR.” His bestselling novels have been published in over 30 countries.

Brad discusses going from an award winning creator, producer writer and host of the TV show Traveling Lite to conquering his fear and becoming a Bestselling writer! In this episode Brad dives deep on his creative process, how he overcame his fears and why “Stagnation is death”.

Key Takeaways

Brad attributes his success to his Midwestern upbringing, his high energy personality, and his love for new experiences.

● “The ‘get after it’ attitude is part of my DNA” ●

When starting a new venture, Brad says to take the focus off of your inexperience by putting it onto the experience of other people.

● “No matter how many no’s I got meant I was one step closer to the yes and it was just as many no’s as it would take to get that yes” ●

Brad’s List For Writing Success:

Gain a mini PHD in your writing genre by constantly reading within your genre
Writing requires honesty and introspection with yourself
Let the idea come naturally
“You can’t find a story that hasn’t been told but it’s what you bring to that story that makes it unique and special” ●

3:35 – 3 Quick Questions

If Brad were a professional wrestler what would his entrance song be coming into the ring?

Back in Black – ACDC

➤ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pAgnJDJN4VA

Sitting down with one cocktail or beverage of choice what’s his choice?

Bourbon – Colonel Taylor

➤ https://www.masterofmalt.com/distilleries/colonel-eh-taylor/

He has one vacation left, where is he going?

Paros and Antiparos in Greece

5:15 Morning Routine

https://www.airr.io/quote/5f0dd5abfe53ec2eb248b967

Brad makes sure to get up early and immediately works out because it is important to him for his kids to see him being productive

Lifts weights 3-4 days a week
Cardio 2-3 a week
Takes one full day off with hiking/walking to get away from technology

6:38 Inner Drive and Entrepreneurial Spirit

https://www.airr.io/quote/5f0dd700fe53ec596348b976

Brad grew up in the Midwest with two entrepreneur parents that instilled in him a ‘get after it’ attitude that he says is “part of his DNA”

His personality is very high energy and engaged

● “Where success happens is in the details” ●

7:27 Education Background

https://www.airr.io/quote/5f0dd7d6fe53ece22548b980

Brad went into University of Southern California as a Business Administration major and left with a degree in creative writing and film production. He always wanted to be a writer, but ran away from that idea for a while.

After graduating, Brad went to Paris and worked on his first novel, but quit after writing three chapters
He then used his saved up money from college to travel and decided to do a TV show about traveling to encourage young Americans to see the world
Brad says that he went through all the stress of launching the show, Traveling Lite, because he had so much fear and anxiety about committing to writing

● “That which we are destined to do most in life we are most afraid of” ●

9:37 TV Show – Traveling Lite

https://www.airr.io/quote/5f0dd91efe53ec1b9348b985

“Nobody is born with a beard” his dad said

Meaning, you don’t have any experience but you need to take the focus off of your inexperience and put it onto the experience of other people

Put together his team about researching and finding freelancers
When pitching the TV show he used this team to take the focus off of his inexperience

● “No matter how many no’s I got meant I was one step closer to the yes and it was just as many no’s as it would take to get that yes” ●

Paid for the first pilot in Paris with his own money

● “If I’m not willing to take a risk on myself why should I ask anybody else to” ●

➤ https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0818645/

15:12 Writing Career

https://www.airr.io/quote/5f0dd9b8fe53ec0f0f48b98d

Brad explains that he talked himself out of doing the first book in Paris because it was hard with the amount of honesty and introspection necessary with writing.

● “If you can’t be honest with yourself and fearlessly look inside yourself, you’ll never be a halfway decent writer” ●

On Brad’s honeymoon his wife said:

“What would you regret on your deathbed having never done?”

His answer:

“Writing a book and getting it published.”

When they returned from their honeymoon he spent two hours a day writing.

When he finished writing his first book it was the greatest feeling in the world

Brad found the three chapters from his unfinished first novel years later in his garage and wants to finish the novel as his last piece of writing.

➤ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oCO7NMrKSlE

24:52 Idea Generation Process

https://www.airr.io/quote/5f0dda52fe53ec46ff48b995

Brad says that his ideas come to him naturally when he’s relaxed – in the shower or after a second glass of bourbon.

The idea can’t be forced but the book needs discipline

He describes playing mental ping pong with facts to get an interesting story out of something that might not seem interesting.

26:57 Advice for an interested writer

https://www.airr.io/quote/5f0ddb19fe53ec37b348b999

The primary fuel for Brad is new experiences, and so he has drawn a lot of idea generation from his life experiences.

Brad believes that you cannot be a good writer without being an incredible reader

● “You can’t find a story that hasn’t been told but it’s what you bring to that story that makes it unique and special” ●

30:28 What Brad’s Reading

https://www.airr.io/quote/5f0ddba8fe53ec90f948b99e

Brad is constantly reading other books within his genre and in between publishing a book and starting a new book he reads about the craft of writing.

Always thinks when writing and finishing a book, “is this good enough that if it was my first book I would get a deal for it?”

31:47 Map of Brad’s Year

https://www.airr.io/quote/5f0ddba8fe53ec90f948b99e

Brad calls the genre that he writes ‘faction’, where he weaves together fiction and facts. He wants to make sure that he does his research with the facts and every book is different in the amount of research prior to the book or during the books

● “Every year is exciting, different, and never boring” ●

The key is ‘when he gets the idea’ because he can’t start researching until then

Brad feels like he isn’t honoring the trust the readers put into him if he isn’t improving every year

● “I have to remain competitive by constantly evolving” ●

42:13 Research process

https://www.airr.io/quote/5f0ddd45fe53ec54ae48b9a7

In order to get the facts, Brad’s research process consists of constantly spending time with the people he’s writing about

-Loves the book “Lessons Learned From a Lifetime of Writing” by David Morrell

➤ https://www.amazon.com/Lessons-Lifetime-Writing-Novelist-Looks/dp/1582972702

He prefers to research with hands-on training
Anything you’ve read in his books he’s probably gotten familiar with

Brad’s coolest experience was that he was able to train with and learn from a lead ATF firearm instructor.

48:18 Writing Process

https://www.airr.io/quote/5f0dded9fe53ec14f648b9ae

No formula and no outline, all of Brad’s books are written organically
Wants each chapter to end with a cliffhanger so the reader catches their breath but their heart rate doesn’t go down