First, a little backstory.

As my husband and I were recovering from the Great Recession of 2008, I felt a strong pull to write a sequel to The Jackrabbit Factor. After all, what’s a person supposed to think or do when all those powerful mindset principles from the original book just don’t seem to be cutting it anymore?

That’s exactly what we were asking ourselves when all the success we’d built suddenly unraveled after the market crash. The impact was so severe that the problems which originally inspired my search for answers a decade earlier now felt like child’s play in comparison.

But walking through the fire gave me a chance to pressure-test everything I had learned. And it quickly became clear that The Jackrabbit Factor needed some fine-tuning.

In 2009, we hit the end of our rope—just $200 in the bank, credit maxed out, seven kids to feed, a portfolio of bleeding real estate investments, no job, and no paycheck in sight.

But by clinging (and I do mean clinging) to our evolving understanding of the mindset principles—and fighting to apply them despite the mental and emotional hurricane raging 24/7—we ultimately found peace in the storm. And that’s when the miracles started again.

It starts with finding PEACE.

(Long version of that story [here].)

What we learned during that brutal season had to be captured. And that’s how Portal to Genius came to be.

Fast forward twelve years, and I received an email that reminded me exactly why that book needed to be written. It meant so much to know that those gut-wrenching hardships weren’t experienced in vain.

Lisa Welch wrote:

Dear Leslie,

What if I told you that your novel "Portal to Genius" wasn't just a fictional story, but the actual story of someone's life—would you believe it?

Well, believe it or not, it's my story!

I won't get into all the details here, BUT...

One year ago, I attended your ... Genius Bootcamp and used almost all of our savings to get there. It made such an impression on me and a difference in our world that 6 months later, we sent my husband.

This time we had zero money in our bank account (which is a hilarious story for another time), but we had just enough gas to make the 6-hour drive to Phoenix... barely.

So, “jackrabbiting” that the last two oatmeal packets from our pantry would cover breakfast and dinner for our three kids, we packed up and trusted that God would get us where we needed to be.

Fast forward 6 months later: we live in a huge, beautiful home in small-town Pratt, Kansas. We just received the deed to our new house. I’ve started teaching dance out of my home studio, and my husband's heart health is better than it's been in a long time.

We’ve gone from standing in a food line to being all but debt free in 6 weeks.

And the best part... I wake up every morning with the thrilling feeling in my gut that this story is just beginning.

God is real. God is good. And He has big plans for the future. I’m sure you feel it too!

My best,
Lisa Welch

Image credit: Facebook

Here’s how I responded:

Hi Lisa,

This is amazing! What a fun and joyful story to find in my inbox. Thank you for taking the time to share your update!

It doesn’t surprise me that Portal reflects real life—I’ve seen so many stories like that over the years—but I think you might be the first to have a dream home and a dance studio. 😊

Fun fact: last year, I felt a strong nudge to re-read Portal to Genius. I kept brushing it off because I had so many other things to do—and it’s not like I hadn’t read it before!

But when I finally sat down and reread it, I was blown away. So many of the corporate stories Garrett B. Gunderson helped me fabricate were suddenly exactly mirroring conversations and experiences we were now having in our own company during a big push to scale.

I had never personally related to those parts of the story before—until now. It was incredible to realize just how far we’ve come over the past twelve years.

I hope you don’t mind me sharing your story. It’s so inspiring! Please keep me posted on your updates—I would love to hear more. 😊

Warmly,
Leslie

So, dear reader,
If you’re ready to experience what helped Lisa create this incredible turnaround, grab your free copy of Portal to Genius today. It just might change everything.

Prefer a different format? We’ve got hardback, paperback, MP3, or CDs available. You can also find it on Audible here.

Or… if you're ready to dive deeper,
Experience Genius Bootcamp for yourself! We’ve got a brand new, flexible way to participate:

• Genius Bootcamp 3-day via Zoom

• NEW: Genius Bootcamp Immersion (online, self-paced – start anytime!)

• NEW: Genius Bootcamp Immersion (online, 8-week guided course)

• Want the full experience? We still offer occasional LIVE 3-day retreats in a resort setting. Join the waiting list here to be notified when the next one opens up.

I can’t wait to hear your story next.

Image credit: Facebook

I replied:

Hi Lisa,

This is amazing! What a fun and joyful story to find in my email. Thank you for taking the time to share your update! It does not surprise me that Portal describes real life, because I have seen quite a bit of evidence of that in several people's experiences, but I think you may be the first to have a dance studio in the dream home. :)

Fun fact - last year I felt strongly impressed to re-read Portal to Genius and I kept dismissing it because I had so many other things I needed to be doing, and it's not like I hadn't read it before. It had just been a very long time.

I finally sat down to read it through and was blown away by some of the corporate stories Garrett B. Gunderson had helped me fabricate and how many of them were perfectly mirroring conversations and experiences we were NOW having in our own company after our recent push to scale our business.

I had never personally related to those stories until now, so it was really fun to see how far we had come in our own development over the last 12 years.

I hope you don't mind me sharing your story with others, it is so inspiring!! Please do keep me posted on your updates and progress at any time. :)

Warmly, Leslie

So, dear reader, if YOU'RE ready to see what helped Lisa turn this major corner in her life, read Portal to Genius FREE! It will change you.

If you would prefer to purchase it in another format, we've got hardback, paperback, MP3, or CDs. You can also find it on Audible here.

OR... if you're ready to dive in now, experience Genius Bootcamp for yourself. We have a brand NEW way to participate, now more convenient than ever!

Choose your format:

• Genius Bootcamp 3-day via Zoom
• NEW - Genius Bootcamp Immersion online, self-paced - start any time!
• NEW - Genius Bootcamp Immersion online, 8-week guided

We DO still have occasional LIVE 3-day options, where you attend at a resort retreat-style. Join the waiting list here to be notified of our next LIVE event option.

I can't wait to hear YOUR story!

_________________

•   To discover how to start choosing more effectively now, read The Jackrabbit Factor (FREE!)  
•   If you want more step-by-step guidance on creating the life you really want, join me in the Mindset Mastery program.
•   If you want my help overcoming that giant obstacle right in front of you, learn more and sign up for Genius Bootcamp.