Episode 390: Midwest Book Review of “What Am I Made For?”
EPISODE NOTES
The official launch of “What Am I Made For? Cultivate and Grow Big and Little Ideas” was April 10, 2026, at Open Book in Minneapolis. We also celebrated my 65th birthday with delicious food, including vegan entrees, an enormous red velvet cake (not-so-vegan), balloons, flowers, music, and an introduction from Matthew and Olivia. I read from my book, and enjoyed signing books all evening.
The event was a huge success. Attendees commented on the high energy, the love, my accomplishment of a big goal, and the fact that people from all walks of life attended, including two high school classmates and their wives!! It was the kind of day you wish could last a month.
I am recording an audiobook that will be available on Audible in July!
Once my book was out, I started getting book praise and reviews. With anticipation, I received my first book review from Jim Cox, the Editor-in-Chief at Midwest Book Review. It is common in the publishing industry to pay editors to review your book. They review without bias, I am told. I paid $50.00 for this review.
Here is the email letter I received on May 7, 2026. I deleted what was unimportant at the end.
Dear Nancy Meyer:
I’m very pleased to announce that the May 2026 issue of our online book review magazine “Library Bookwatch” features a review of “What Am I Made For? Cultivate and Grow Big and Little Ideas.”
Synopsis: Each of us are born carrying ideas-quiet seeds of possibility that wait for courage, attention, and the rhythm of our lives to coax them awake. Our stories, our losses, our inheritance, and our small, ordinary moments of wonder shape what we create. We evolve each time we say yes to an idea that scares us, or stirs us, or calls us by name.
Growth is rarely convenient. It arrives disguised as grief, as curiosity, as a question we didn’t plan to ask. It asks us to listen to our emotions, intuition, relationships, and the wisdom that travels through our lineage.
“What Am I Made For? Cultivate and Grow Big and Little Ideas” by Nancy Meyer is a companion for those who are in the process of fully becoming themselves. It is a reminder that ideas are not separate from us; they are expressions of who we are becoming. To generate, incubate, experiment, and birth an idea is to take responsibility for our own unfolding.
The contention of “What Am I Made For? Cultivate and Grow Big and Little Ideas” is that you are here to create, not perfectly, but earnestly. To lead yourself with tenderness and truth. To shape a life that honors your worth and your peculiar talent.
And somewhere inside that unfolding, you will glimpse the answer to the question: What am I made for?
Critique: Original, exceptional, ‘real world’ practical, and inspirationally motivational, “What Am I Made For? Cultivate and Grow Big and Little Ideas” by Nancy Meyer is exceptionally well written, organized and presented, making it an ideal and unreservedly recommended pick for personal, professional, community, and college/university library Small Business Management and Entrepreneurial collections and supplemental MBA curriculum studies lists. It should be noted for MBA students, self-employed entrepreneurs, corporate executives, and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject that this hardcover edition of “What Am I Made For?: Cultivate and Grow Big and Little Ideas” from Manuscripts Press is also readily available in paperback (9798901020784, $19.98) and in a digital book format (Kindle, $9.99 Amazon and eBook, $9.99 B&N).
Editorial Note: Nancy Meyer (https://wementor.com/34906) is an entrenovation mentor, author, podcaster, and founder of WeMentor, inc., where she has spent more than three decades guiding entrepreneurs and creative leaders in developing the self-leadership, clarity, and resilience required to bring meaningful ideas to life. Her work blends strategic thinking with mindful practice, helping clients evolve themselves as they redesign their businesses. A former entrepreneurship and small-business finance professor at two private universities, Nancy has shaped curricula and leadership programs that integrate research, innovation, and emotional intelligence. She is known for uniting practical business insight with relational literacy and a deep respect for the creative process.
You have complete permission to utilize the review in any manner you deem useful for marketing and promotion.
This review will also appear in the Gale Cengage (www.gale.com) online publication Gale General OneFile.
Additionally, this review will be archived on our Midwest Book Review website for the next five years at www.midwestbookreview.com under Library Bookwatch: May 2026: https://www.midwestbookreview.com/lbw/may_26.htm#business.
I look forward to your next title!”
James A. Cox
Editor-in-Chief
Midwest Book Review
278 Orchard Drive
Oregon, WI 53575, USA
Other places you can find my book:
The Business Shelf
What Am I Made For? Cultivate and Grow Big and Little Ideas
Nancy Meyer, MA
Manuscripts Press
https://manuscript.press
9798901020791, $32.99, HC, 298pp
Amazon
https://www.amazon.com/What-Am-Made-Cultivate-Little/dp/B0GS78LP8V
Barnes & Noble
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/what-am-i-made-for-nancy-meyer/1149626969
Thanks for tuning in. Five assessments in my book can help you advance with unexpected experiences and new ideas. Until next time… keep evolving.
Episode Resources
NEXT STEP: Challenge yourself and do the three Conscious Attentive Leadership Mentoring (C.A.L.M.) Activities, below. 
Conscious Attentive Leadership Mentoring
After listening, do these three C.A.L.M. Activities:
- Take this risk or do this adventurous task: Choose one idea you’re advancing. Ask yourself: Is my intent rooted in contribution or validation? Expansion or control? Liberation or fear?
- Apply Self-Compassion: Sit quietly for a few minutes and consider what intention aligns with your values. Then, proceed with the next step, with your values at the center.
- Welcome Appreciation: “I appreciate you, whether you could attend my event or not. Thank you to those who made my book launch and 65th birthday party a huge success. I loved every minute. Thank you to those who supported me from afar. I could feel your love and support.”
It’s your turn. Start with, “I appreciate what I heard from today’s Mentor, Nancy Meyer. I appreciate this week’s adventurous task because…”
“Most of the problems in our lives and world are caused by relational dysfunction, a dysfunction in how we relate: as social groups, as individuals, to animals and the environment, and even to ourselves. Therefore, developing relational literacy—the understanding of and ability to practice healthy ways of relating—is essential for personal, social, and ecological transformation.” —Melanie Joy, psychologist, author, theorist, educator.
When WeMentor… your life becomes more meaningful!!! Redefine how you lead as you redesign your business—Dual Innovation Leadership WORKS.
Visionary Mentor
Nancy Meyer, MA
Business and Life Mentor | Podcaster | Author | Mindfulness Yogi and Meditation Integrator
I integrate mindfulness yoga into everything because breathing, meditation, and movement are essential as you change your life and how you lead.
I have a compassionate, collaborative approach that reinforces resilience and maintains accountable conversations supporting your evolution. Bottom Line: My top priority is your transformation and creating a meaningful life through business ownership. You will learn new skills, practice, evolve, innovate, expand marketing efforts, and prosper financially. We start with your desire to develop as a leader.
To give you more background, I founded WeMentor, inc. in 1992 to promote Dual Innovation Leadership, the ability to evolve how you lead as you redesign your business model. To grow our businesses, we must lead differently when our perspective shifts.
The thousands of brave leaders I have mentored succeeded by taking charge of how they evolved and learned how to respond to the unpredictable nature of business ownership by innovating on purpose (asserting self-leadership).
When your perspective shifts, your intuition nudges you into a growth process so you can learn how to lead differently. As you practice new ways of leading, you notice ways to change your business. It is like remodeling.
We start with a plan when we embark on a remodeling project. When we implement the plan, obstacles challenge us to adjust our mindset, gather further information, and brainstorm other options. Adapting the plan to fit our new reality is part of every remodeling project. Budgets always need adjusting, and we need to update our approach to complete the innovation. What I love about renovating our businesses is that new ideas emerge, and the project usually has an even better result. We feel changed through the process and have learned many details about remodeling that we can apply in our next project.
HEAR why I am doing this podcast and subscribe HERE. Get inspired with resources and tools to support your transformation. We post new conversations regularly! You can also binge and listen to prior podcast conversations.
Another thing to know about Dual Innovation Leadership is that you can rebound and recover from trauma, distractions, destructive habits, thoughtlessness, confusion, pointlessness, helplessness, overwork, stress, and suffering as you transform how you lead. Integrating our experiences is exhilarating as we evolve how we lead and redesign our lifework.
Take the opportunity to change. Assert the next phase of self-leadership development, contact me.
Episode 390: Midwest Book Review of “What Am I Made For?”
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Author: Nancy Meyer, MA
Nancy Meyer, M.A., an entrenovation mentor, author, podcaster, and founder of WeMentor, inc. Nancy has invested more than three decades guiding entrenovators and creative leaders in developing the self-leadership, clarity, and resilience required to bring meaningful ideas to life. Her work blends strategic thinking with mindful practice, helping clients evolve themselves as they redesign their businesses. A former entrepreneurship and small-business finance professor at two private universities, Nancy has shaped curricula and leadership programs that integrate research, innovation, and emotional intelligence. She is known for uniting practical business insight with relational literacy and a deep respect for the creative process. Raised on a Minnesota dairy farm, she learned early that work can be both contribution and calling—a lesson that informs everything she teaches. Nancy lives in Minnesota with her husband, Matthew, and their miniature schnauzer, Letty, and delights in the unfolding adult life of their daughter, Olivia. Nancy founded WeMentor, inc. in 1992 to transform the leadership in our country by providing experiential mentoring to entrenovators - where innovative thinking dances with entrepreneurial action. She has mentored thousands and is eager to work with you! Assert self-leadership and get started today! Clients say, “Nancy is a compelling, engaging, and ‘decipher...
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