All through college and part of med-school, I sold battery cables, ignition wire-sets and jumper cables. I loaded up the trunk of my car with hundreds of feet of cables and hawked them to gas stations and small auto accessory stores.
“Buy a dozen battery cables and I’ll throw in two packages of wire-sets. Plus I’ll give you 20% off,” I’d say, standing under a leaking auto chassis with a sweating mechanic.
“Are dees any good?” one brawny station owner asked.
“They’re great,” I answered. My father had a small factory and made them. They were actually quite good.
“Oh yeah?” He took a jumper cable, held one end in his huge fist and the large clip in the other fist. He  grunted, and ripped the large clip off the end of the cable wire.
“What?” I yelled.
“I want 25% off and I’ll buy three dozen cables in all sizes.”
I nodded, ran to the trunk, and made my biggest sale of the week.
Somehow, my life as an author/psychiatrist has gone backwards. Now, instead of selling battery cables, I’m selling Art Smukler and his books. It’s a little weird. Maybe if I were Smuckers Jelly it would be less weird. Maybe not.
On the other hand, Art Smukler is a good product. If you pull hard enough the ends might come off, but they can be re-attached.
Will you lose 15 lbs? Maybe, if you deal with your mother and improve your relationship with your kids. Will you fall in love? Absolutely. Just read Chasing Backwards. If you don’t fall in love with Joe Belmont, you’ll fall in love with Karen Levine.
Plus, I’ll throw in 2 dozen blog posts!
Inside The Mind of a Psychiatrist 