ST. PETE BEACH — The champagne flowed and the cheers rang from every corner of the Hotel Zamora’s top floor on May 7 as author Kelly Moser kicked off the launch of his new book, “Move Your BUT!”
But this wasn’t a typical book signing. It was a book-buying exercise.
At 6:50 p.m., guests clicked a QR code that sent them to Amazon, where they could purchase Moser’s book in real time.
“We want to wake up the algorithm,” he said.
It worked. “Move Your BUT!” began the evening ranked No. 8,700 on Amazon’s leadership and motivation list. By the night’s peak, it had climbed to No. 112.
“That’s a win for sure,” Moser said.
Moser, a leadership coach and keynote speaker with 20 years of experience, raised a glass alongside his wife, Janet; son, Elijah; and parents, Terri and Barry, thanking guests for attending.
The title came to him at a personal development conference about seven years ago, he said. He had been “vomiting my life story” to a stranger he now calls “an angel,” who listened intently before asking a simple question.
“Kelly, what do you think you should do?”
Moser paused, then answered: “I guess I need to move my but.”
“When his eyes got big, I knew I had something,” Moser said.
That’s right — not “move your butt,” but “move your but.” Don’t let obstacles stop you. Don’t procrastinate. Don’t worry about who might think your idea isn’t good enough.
“It’s about giving yourself permission to listen to that little voice — knowing this isn’t selfish or egotistical, but has a higher calling,” Moser said. “This book is a process of really getting to the next level.”
He said the book is also aimed at people who have already found success but are keeping themselves from reaching the next level. Examples he lists on his website include:
“I want to scale the team, BUT nobody does it like I do.”
“I want to step back, BUT everything falls apart when I do.”
“I want to lead differently, BUT this is just how our culture works.”
“This book is for somebody who says, ‘I really want to grow my business, but I’m stopped by excuses, limiting beliefs and negative thoughts,’” he said.
Moser speaks humbly, as a guy from Mount Airy, N.C. — the real-life inspiration for “The Andy Griffith Show” — who once drove a sanitation truck, swung a wrench and wore more than one uniform that didn’t include a suit and tie.
At the heart of his message is his younger sister, Mary. Doctors diagnosed her with glioblastoma — one of the most aggressive forms of brain cancer — at age 16. She died three years later.
Moser refers to her often when he speaks.
“Mary didn’t get today,” he said. “You do. So what are you going to do with it?”
His anger at God, he said, eventually turned into gratitude for every minute he has.
“Mary is looking down, hoping I do something with my talents,” he said.
And what would she think of her brother writing a book?
“She’d be very proud,” he said.