Advance Praise for
Why Epiphanies Never Occur to Couch Potatoes

"Amtower hits the "ephiphany" nail on the head with this book that inspires and encourages one to take action! It's a must read!"

Nettie Hartsock,
AllBusiness.com Must Read Books Editor

“Though this book will only take you a short time to read, the lessons you learn will last a lifetime.”

Rieva Lesonsky.
Editorial Director, Entrepreneur magazine

“The Speech” was one of the finest I have ever heard—from the heart and constructed of timeless integrity and wisdom. Now, the book tells us what lies behind the speech and it makes it all the more important to read and hear this brilliant, multi-faceted jewel, this treasure of honest writing.

Don Libey
Libey Incorporated

“There are very few people who can write and speak with equal ease on highly specialized topics as well as broad big-picture notions. Mark Amtower is one of them. He is best-known as America’s leading expert on marketing to government. In Why Epiphanies Never Occur to Couch Potatoes, he widens his focus to dispense wisdom won from the school of hard knocks – common-sense advice and practical ideas that can help you achieve greater success in every important area of your life.”

Robert W. (Bob) Bly,
World-renowned copywriter, author of over 70 books

“Finally a book I can recommend to family and friends. An enjoyable set of stories containing profound life lessons I wished I'd learned 20 years earlier!"

Bill Harrison, FreePublicity.com

“Fun, easy and real. Amtower’s outlook on life is simple and unpretentious. I kept finding myself thinking of my own life priorities.”

Bob Prosen
Award winning and best selling author of Kiss Theory Goodbye

“What a little gem of a personal statement. Don't let the wry title mislead you: Mark Amtower holds back nothing, neither in his personal history nor in his personal philosophy. Statements such as "Fidelity is its own reward" and the more abstruse but certainly profound "The Law of Divine Right to Attention" are worthy of consideration even by those who regard themselves as super sophisticates.”

Herschell Gordon Lewis

“Some people make great works of art. Some people build giant corporations.

Some people attain high office and bend others to their will. And some people merely go through the world, doing well by doing good. These are the ones who sleep best at night. Mark Amtower is such a person.

I’ve known Mark since we started our publishing company Key Communications

Group in 1976. Mark was my list broker, helping me choose and obtain mailing lists that led to my company’s early success.

Then Mark became an expert on mailing into the Federal government, just as we got into Federal HR. Once again, Mark gave us a leg up, and this time only Mark could do so. Mark was the only person alive who knew anything about this devilishly difficult task – and Mark seemed to know everything about it.

Mark entered the seminar business and invited me to speak at one of his “do’s”. That engagement led to a connection with National Audio-Visual Supply and its principal, Scott Heller, that has been one of the most rewarding business friendships I’ve enjoyed.

Then Mark introduced our publication, the Federal Personnel Guide, to his

federal-marketplace clientele, with the happy result that four Amtower clients bought tens of thousands of copies of the Guide.

Did I make some money along the way? Most certainly. Did Mark? I hope so. As I said above ... doing well by doing good has been Mark’s way for the thirty-plus years I’ve known him.

How would you like to succeed the Mark Amtower way? You can ... because now Mark has written it all down in Why Epiphanies Never Occur to Couch Potatoes.

I’d call this a how-to book but it’s really more of a why-I-did book. Mark spells out the beliefs that have inspired his professional life. Beliefs like --

• Why relationships matter more than dollars (and why good relationships
• often result in dollars).
• “Tithing” as a secret of success.
• The bottom-line benefits of being loyal.
• The law of market ownership, and how to respect it.

Mark portrays himself herein as “not God’s brightest child.” If this book has a flaw, I’d say it was false modesty. Mark is among God’s brighter children, I am here to tell you, and anyway – as Mark himself immodestly says – he is among God’s most persistent children.

There’s much more here, delivered in Mark’s own folksy style – a philosophy of life translated into business success terms, with entertaining asides and charming cartoon illustrations to make the medicine go down.

Will Mark’s aphorisms work for you? That is for you to find out, and I encourage you to do so. That they worked for Mark is beyond question.”

Frank Joseph
Long-time Amtower friend and award winning author, To Love Mercy

Mark Amtower proves you can achieve greater success in business and in life than you ever imagined possible.  He shows you how to stop letting perfectionism and other excuses from holding your back and start creating your dreams.

Steve Harrison
Co-founder, FreePublicity.com

“Amtower calling” is a welcome topic designator on my incoming email. I haven’t seen Mark in person in about 4 years since I relocated to the Seattle area. But such is his continuing hold on my respect that my cursor moves promptly to open the message. “What’s he up to now?” I wonder.

I open the email and once again bask immediately in the Amtower presence. (I almost said “aura,” but that word feels too fancy for this rustic, irreverent sage from Cumberland.)

I think we first met at the Tower Club in Virginia. I was amazed at his earthy, opinionated style. “How does he survive,” I asked myself, “in the business environment where a polished patina often outshines real content?” He was intrigued to learn of my book on public speaking. We soon got into a great discussion about my theory on the importance of “the message from your marrow, the authentic things that are true all the way to the center of your bones.” He experimented eagerly with several ideas I offered, learning from both his successes and misfires.

All these years later I reflect that he has always “gotten away with,” his “unique” style for 7 reasons:

• He honestly knows what he is talking about
• He tells the truth
• He wastes zero energy on BS or pieties
• You’ll never catch him spouting anything merely popular or convenient (unless it’s also entertaining!)
• He uses elements like surprise, irreverence, and laughter to help listeners unlock their thinking, opening themselves to new possibilities or original ideas
• He applauds talent, wisdom, experience and accomplishment in others
• He nurtures long lasting loyalties.

I guess all this reflecting makes me wish we all demonstrated these qualities to the degree that Mark does.

What I do know is that whenever “Amtower (is) calling,” I’ll be listening. 

Maggie Bedrosian, author, Speak Like a Pro and Life Is More Than Your To-Do List

The appealing thing about Mark Amtower is that no one else has the same view of the world as he does.  It's always different, sometimes dramatically different.

You also never have to wonder what Mark's agenda is.  It's right out front.

You never have to wonder what he thinks about something or if he is going to tell you straight out.

I don't always agree with Mark, but I am always interested in what he is thinking. His 10 laws of survival are an excellent guide to managing business and Life.

Anne Armstrong, President and Group Publisher, 1105 Government Information Group