#27 Robert Barker - Author / Veteran / Charlie Chaplin / Comedy / F. Scott Fitzgerald

Welcome to another episode of "Wish I Knew . . . " A podcast where I speak with people about their careers focusing on their success, advice, mentoring and listening to interesting stories.I've got a good friend and author to share his story thus far Robert Barker. Background- Author of 5 books under the pen name Robert Nicolas - Served our country in the Army - Went to Indiana University- Majored in Telecommunications and Sociology- Worked for an insurance company for 16 years. Did not love it- Transitioned to full time author in 2007 under the name of Robert Nicolas Highlights:- Taught himself to read as a child- Attended Catholic school- Wrote short stories- An English teacher in High School left him alone in class to write- Constantly moved around growing up - Walked out of high school with 3 days left in his junior year- Traveled back to hometown of Indianapolis for a girl- The Army trained him to be a journalist- Turned down a chance to attend West Point- Got a ‘Dear Robert’ letter while in basic training- Feels he’s a genius and an idiot at the same time- Found out Alaska is an international assignment in the military- Took a Charlie Chaplin class in college.  Saw all the films, where he learned  about story telling, especially Beginning / Middle / End, like a snake eating its tail. - Did standup comedy, gotta have guts to do it. - Must churn out material constantly- Improved his public speaking with practice and understanding your material- Embrace your nerves- In 1990 conversation with a publisher told him it was obvious he could write, had to keep that compliment for a long time- Best fantasy career- The moon is a sore point for Robert- Would like to give assurance to F. Scott Fitzgerald that he was greatWant to be a guest? Email me at [email protected]!