I am currently featured in the spring issue of Sharing Ideas: The International News Magazine For Speakers. They wrote a great review of The Ways of Elvis. Editor Dottie Walters said, “Among the many fascinating secrets included are the actual steps he used to become famous, with his own words and wit. We here at Sharing Ideas were amazed with the things we thought were spontaneous in Elvis’ career which were actually carefully planned, and done on purpose. We are already applying some of them to our business.”

I want my book and Elvis’ life to be an inspiration to others who have dreams they want to reach. My book is based on facts and direct quotes from Elvis on his thoughts about the most important areas of his life and personality that resulted in his success. His thoughts on success were, “If you want to get ahead, you gotta be different.” Elvis never forgot that others played a role in his success. He said, “The great backing that I’ve had - the people and my managers and my assistants, and all that sort of stuff, have really done a wonderful job. Everybody’s just been really, really helpin’ me. If you don’t have people backin’ you, people pushin’ you, well, you might as well quit.”

The things that I learned from The Ways of Elvis that have helped me in life are to be respectful to others, help the less fortunate, dress sharp, be confident, go for your dreams, have a strong faith, enjoy music, laugh and have some fun.

To order your hardback copy of this special 25th anniversary limited gift book edition of The Ways of Elvis for $19.95 plus $4 s/h, you can choose from the following options:

Print off the Quick Order Form from The Ways of Elvis website at www.thewaysofelvis.com
Telephone orders: 817-282-5889. Have your credit card ready.
Postal Orders: John Dawson, P.O. Box 671, Hurst, TX 76053.
E-mail orders: john@dailydosesofhypnosis.com.

I am also a certified hypnotist and public speaker. I am the president and owner of Daily Doses of Hypnosis in Hurst, Texas, where I maintain a highly successful hypnosis practice. Please visit my website www.dailydosesofhypnosis.com.

I appreciate the opportunity to write this column for Lady Luck Music. I wish everyone health and happiness.

Twenty-five years after his death, Elvis Presley is more popular than ever. The sales of Elvis-related merchandise grows every year; his home, Graceland, is consistently second to the White House as a top tourist attraction in the United States; and releases on compact discs topped the charts in the last year, with Elvis’ #1 U.S. and U.K. hit single “A Little Less Conversation” and “Elvis: 30 #1 Hits.” The box set “Elvis: Today, Tomorrow and Forever” charted in the top 30 on the country music chart. Elvis and his music are currently featured in the Disney film “Lilo and Stitch,” and an endless stream of sensational stories and products continue to flood the market. Tens of thousands of Elvis’ fans from across the globe converged on his hometown of Memphis, TN for Elvis Week during the 25th anniversary of his death last year.

Despite this increase in popularity, there is a resource of easily available factual information that sheds light on the phenomenon of Elvis Presley, his life and career. The Ways of Elvis ($19.95 US, August 2002, John Dawson and Tapestry Press) is the first complete and authenticated gift book that details, through Elvis’ own words and wit, the techniques he used to become the unexplainable phenomenon that he is today. I wrote and designed this informative hardback gift book, which includes never-before-published photographs.

I have studied Elvis’ life for the last twenty-six years. I have been an Elvis Presley fan and collector since age twelve when I attended Presley’s July 3, 1976 concert at Fort Worth’s Tarrant County Convention Center. Elvis did an awesome show that afternoon. I remember when Elvis was singing “America, the Beautiful” I had a floor seat and was watching him through binoculars, and when he hit the high note of the song he crossed his eyes and made a funny face. He had such a playful sense of humor.

After that concert, I began studying every aspect of Elvis’ life. As a result of that research, I became the consultant and interviewed Elvis scholar for the Fox Family Channel’s two-hour documentary, The Presley’s: Rock ’n’ Roll Royalty, and was interviewed by Elvis Presley Enterprises for a Graceland Production on Presley Place, housing units for the homeless, that featured Elvis’ daughter Lisa Marie Presley.

I have also served in the research, writing, and photographs on numerous other books on Elvis including: Life With Elvis; Elvis: His Life From A to Z; The Elvis Encyclopedia; Raised on Rock; The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Elvis; and Elvis Immortal. I am the president of the Taking Care of Business Elvis Style Fan Club in the Dallas/Fort Worth area in Texas. I started the fan club two years ago and we now have sixty-six active members. You can visit our fan club website at www.tcbelvisstylefanclub.com

I am constantly asked about Elvis, his personal life, and about his popularity twenty-five years after his death so I came to the conclusion that Elvis’ fans and the general public needed a reliable source that explains the most important aspects of Elvis’ life, his phenomenal following and what can be learned about his life from the man himself. That’s why I wrote and published this book myself. Thus began a massive research project that resulted in The Ways of Elvis. This beautiful hardcover gift volume provides readers with: Things they should know about Elvis; Techniques he used to become a phenomenon; Inspiring quotes from Elvis; What can be learned from Elvis for success; Why Elvis is a source of inspiration; More than twenty unpublished photographs; and An introduction by Elvis’s stepbrother David Stanley.