Mike Capuzzi: Welcome back to another insightful episode of The Author Factor Podcast. My guest today is Dwight Heck, a financial educator who has turned personal trials into a life changing mission. With determination and hard work, Dwight rose to the top of the industry and has spent the last two decades helping families and businesses thrive. Dwight's book, give a heck how to live life on purpose and not by accident, helps others navigate financial wellness with intention. Dwight, welcome to the show.

Dwight Heck: How are you doing, brother? Good to see you, Mike.

Mike Capuzzi: I appreciate this, and I love that title, by the way. I love, obviously you're playing off your last name, but it's a great book title. Dwight, I just barely touched on your background. I know you've had quite an interesting background. Can you share with our listeners a bit more about your background, what you've done and what you're doing today?

Dwight Heck: Sure. A little bit about my background. I was, I grew up in a rural community, very small rural community of 10,000 people, farming based community, about an hour outside of my capital city of Edmonton where I live now. I was sickly kid, I had asthma, I had health issues, and thus I got bullied a lot, right? I wasn't, wasn't the greatest experience in my life. And it taught me compassion and empathy. Getting bullied can teach you to be a bully, it can teach you to be an angry person, or it can teach you the exact opposite. And because of my empathy and my ability to be caring, because I got picked on so much, I developed, I've developed a very close personality. I didn't let a lot of people in because I was afraid of being hurt, you know? So as I continue to grow up though, my dad was an entrepreneur, owned his own business a very young age.

Dwight Heck: He was basically the type of person, like, all I have to do is give you shelter, food and love you. I don't have to give you anything more than that. If you want something, you got to work for it. So I became an entrepreneur at twelve years of age. Well, how can you be an entrepreneur at twelve years of age? People will say, easy. I had a couple paper roots and back when I delivered papers, it was four seasons. It didn't matter if it was snowing out, blizzarding out. If I had to collect money, I had to collect money.

Dwight Heck: If they didn't pay me, I still had to pay the paper. They didn't care, right? So I had to learn. I got doors slammed in my face, I had to go out and recruit new clients. We had a quota that we had to hit if we wanted to get bonuses, all this stuff. And I was twelve, I had to get a checking account for those listening. That's where you had to write on a piece of paper that you owed somebody this amount of money. And, you know, fast forward to that. By that.

Dwight Heck: By the time I was, you know, 13, I was working for my dad full time in the summers. He didn't believe that you should sit back and do nothing. You had to earn your keep in his business. A very thriving, successful farm implement dealership. It taught me some work ethic and different things about how to deal with people and build relationships that I never realized till I was in my twenties. And then when I was got a little bit older, my dad and I didn't see eye to eye. He wanted me to take over his business. I was like, heck to the no, I love you, but there's no way.

Dwight Heck: Because we were like, we were just like oil and water. We didn't really combine very well. And I decided to go to school. I went to a technical college in my country in Canada for electronics engineering. Fast forward through that, I ended up being. I was very tenacious and started working for a company and took over their it work, their computer technology work, because the company that was dealing with it for them didn't know what they were doing. I was doing that on the side full time in the evenings and weekends and days off. Plus working a full time job.

Dwight Heck: Started getting burned out. Decided to buy a computer company and a consulting firm. They were all wrapped up into one as a part time person, but really working full time hours. I left the job that I was at and did that for many, many years. The problem is with that job, it was as a computer consultant. I took everything really personal. I'm a tenacious person. I don't give up.

Dwight Heck: So there was sometimes literally and no word of a lie. I've worked days on end without sleep trying to make sure that systems were up and running cause I did their security and set up their servers, did all that sort of work where I ended up having some severe health concerns. And I got reached out to in 2002 and said, hey, you know, we know you're having some health issues. Maybe you should look at the finance industry and helping people. We're going to educate and teach you so you can help others. But before we do that, your life's a mess. And this was a friend of mine, a really good friend, I'm still friends with him 30 years later. He says, you need to get your life on purpose, right? He never created that phrase that I use in my book.

Dwight Heck: But he said those words, you need to get your life on purpose. He says, you're just, you're on a hamster wheel, going to work, go home, get paid. You've had all these challenges in your life. We're going to take you through some personal development journey. We're going to educate and teach you, and we're going to help you be able to change your life. Because a lot of people, it doesn't matter if you're a six figure earner, which I was at the time. I literally lived on the hamster wheel of life. I lived a life of quiet desperation, right? My associations of people around me weren't the most healthy.

Dwight Heck: They'd pull me down. They wouldn't necessarily help me get where I needed to go. So I started that industry, ended up firing my trainer after about six weeks because he was very transactional, and I had learned from my dad. Those are one of those epiphany moments again that I had and look back at my dad's life and why his business was so big and why he had so much respect in the community from his clients and family. He was a relationship builder. He was a good listener. He knew how to extract from people their pains and hurts without making them feel less of right, making them feel like they weren't the best, that they weren't worthy. And I started implementing that in my practice and really becoming holistic as to what was causing people the challenges they were going through.

Dwight Heck: Implemented systems over 21 years now. I've implemented and used those systems to help people live life on purpose and not by accident, and drive that quiet desperation out of their lives, which obviously.

Mike Capuzzi: Brings us to the book that you published in 2021. So, Dwight, tell me a bit more about the book. Give a heck, how to live life on purpose and not by accident, obviously. It's this culmination of this journey that you've been on personally. Share a little bit more about, first of all, why a book, but also what the book is about, why a book?

Dwight Heck: Well, it's going to sound kind of funny. My whole life, growing up into being an adult and having kids, I ended up becoming a single father full time of my kids. I have five kids, and they used to go through a lot of trauma and stuff and that before I got full time custody of them, going back and forth, and I used to tell them stories all the time. I used to go to, we'd go to bed at night, and I'd say prayers with them, and we'd tell stories. Eventually, they got to a point and said, dad, we're tired of these books. What else do you got? So I used to make up stories, and I'd just start telling stories about, you know, sometimes they were based on some truth, sometimes things in my life that they didn't realize. And I just, you know, and I'd make a spin on it. The next night was the next segment.

Dwight Heck: It was like a series of stories. And I said to myself, someday I'm going to write books. I'm going to write children's books. Well, fast forward to 2020. When everybody was locking down and scared, I took the journey. It took me way longer than it should have to go to a conference down in the US. A good friend of mine was running a conference, and then one of the speakers there, and he's a good friend of mine today. We talk and text quite regularly during the week.

Dwight Heck: He was a book publisher. He come up to me, he says, after listening to you speak and talk in conversations, he says, you know, you've seen my presentation. You know, he says, this is. You're going to think this is a selling pitch. But really, he says, you're one of the people that actually needs to do a book. Some of the people that come to me that want to do books, they shouldn't do books. You need to do a book. You need to share your origin.

Dwight Heck: You need to share all the things, the trials, and tribulations of where you've been and where you want to go, because you're going to help somebody that's caught and trapped and light bulb moment. Wow. That's what I do in my career right now. A book can help. He goes, yes. A book is a giant calling card. This is who I am. This is what I stand for.

Dwight Heck: I'm opening up the book of my life and letting you read what, who I am. I'm going to be genuinely vulnerable with you, and maybe I can make a difference in your life. And that's why I wrote the book.

Mike Capuzzi: So give me a little more insight on who the book is for. When you had this epiphany to write the book, were you thinking about a certain type of reader? Were you just writing it for yourself? Who should read your book?

Dwight Heck: Well, when I first sat down and I started writing the template about it to go to the publisher to see if it could become a reality, I did think about my life. Right? Great question. I thought about where have I been? How many nights of quiet desperation did I lay in bed at night? And I get up in the morning, Mike and I'd fake it with my kids, I'd put a facade on a shield, and I go to bed at night like that. And I did that day after day. Even though I had a successful financial practice, I had got trapped into back into that hamster wheel. Even though I knew all these things have been using with my clients, I stopped utilizing it on myself, brother. And I knew I needed to reach people. So it's designed to reach people that are in quiet desperation.

Dwight Heck: It's not just designed to help people financially. It's designed to help them with their life skills, how to have better associations, how to learn, how to goal set, and then tied into it. The book talks about, this is, this is how you goal setting, this is how it ties to budgeting, and this is how you can live an intentional, purposeful life. So the whole design of it is really for anybody. I had somebody as a quick sideline, she’s now 21, 22. Her name is Emily. Her dad bought the book for himself and a copy for her. She was 18, in high school, and she wrote an article.

Dwight Heck: First off, he sent pictures of her watching my podcast on YouTube. Then he sent pictures of other things of her. And then he sent me a link and said, you need to read this article. She wrote an article for her school paper about her two favorite authors. One of them was me. She said, so I impacted an 18-year-old. Fast forward. I've had people that were going, a gentleman, that's good friends of mine.

Dwight Heck: Now he's reached out to me many times, read my book. He was having a struggling life, read my book, didn't know how to goal set, didn't know how to budget. Utilized those chapters to springboard himself to. Now he has such a successful business based out of Texas automotive pro shop. Prior to that, he was working for somebody else. His marriage was falling apart. He needed something to grasp onto, Mike. And that's why, that's who the book's for.

Dwight Heck: I don't even want to pick an age range because it can really help anybody that has six inches between their ears. That's cloudy, that needs to get rid of that fog. That makes sense.

Mike Capuzzi: It definitely does, Dwight. And here's what's so amazing. I can get chills just listening to you say it. Is that what you just shared is the profound effect of writing a good book, a great book, a profound book that can help people. And that's, you know, this podcast is about encouraging people. You know, like you were maybe five, six years ago, you never even thought about a book or maybe you know, you wanted to write a book, but you weren't sure what kind of book or whatever. So we're trying to inspire people to do what you've done. To do what I've done.

Mike Capuzzi: And I think what you shared there, Dwight, is such a powerful testimony to what I call the author factor. Right? I mean, you would never have helped Emily, you would have never helped the gentleman in Texas had that book never gotten published, right?

Dwight Heck: Absolutely I wouldn't have. And it gives me. It gives me chills. I got chills right now just thinking of it. And because I've had many other people reach out to me, too. You know, one of the weaknesses of the reader is the fact that they're not, they don't give reviews, which is unfortunate, but I get people sending me messages, or I'll be in a group, and somebody will say, hey, I read your book. It was awesome. It helped me do that.

Dwight Heck: Oh, great. Do you mind giving me a review? You know what I mean? But it gives me chills when I think about the lives that I've impacted, and then I think back, and I take away the vanity metric of the fact of how it makes me feel good. And I think about all the books that I've read, Mike, that have changed my life. When I started my personal development journey, it was actually in 1993, but I didn't take it seriously enough. It wasn't until I got into this industry that I really took it seriously. But I think about those books, and I think about the words within side of those books and how they mesmerized and made it so that I had a purposeful existence. I didn't realize it was what it was doing until I created my own brand and my book. But, yeah, books give us the intentionality and the purpose.

Dwight Heck: Obviously, nonfiction books, I'm not against fiction books, but nonfiction books, they can totally elevate you and take you into a world that you've never thought you had a possibility. They give you a hope, and that's dead in so many people today.

Mike Capuzzi: So, Dwight, I want to ask you. I want to ask you a slightly different question. And knowing your background and your book's topic, chances are there are people listening to this podcast right now who want to write a book. They have a message to share. They have a story to share. They can teach someone how to do something, whatever it might be, but they're stuck. They're in their own way. Now.

Mike Capuzzi: I know how I encourage those people because we help them publish books, but I'd love to hear from your point of view and your background and all that you're about. What words of encouragement would you give to the person listening who feels like they're not qualified to write a book or they're not a good enough writer who's going to read it, whatever it might be? What words of encouragement would you share?

Dwight Heck: The words of encouragement I'd give somebody, Mike, is if you are a person that has knowledge that you have shared in just a conversation with somebody and you've seen them make a difference, or they comment, reach out to you and say, thank you for that advice and that pit in that stomach that you have some days, if it goes away or you feel like you're, you know, the world is collapsing around you, but you want to make a difference, and everything's cloudy and that cloudiness disappears. When you help somebody, when you're kind, you're empathetic, you give them knowledge. You share from your heart. You're vulnerable, and you're not afraid of the repercussions of it. That book will help you. It's very cathartic. When I wrote my book, Mike, it literally was a healing process for me. It allowed me to let things out that I had been holding in for most of my life.

Dwight Heck: Did I share everything? Absolutely not. I'd have, like, the book would be ten times bigger than it is, but, you know, it was impactful. I would encourage anybody that's thinking about writing a book, just think if you're a book reader yourself, and most authors I've found are, if you're a person that reads books or even listens to them on audible, because I do a lot of that. If that book has changed your life, just think about any book in your life. If it's changed your life, if it's elevated, if it's made you feel glad inside and have a little bit of spring in your step, you're the person that needs to share your knowledge, could do the same thing. And really, at the end of the day, it's not painful. It's very cathartic. I had many nights where I cried reviewing my own book, but I'm telling you, it was one of the best things I ever did, and I would highly recommend it as a healing process.

Dwight Heck: And if you're not somebody that has anything to heal then you're just perfect. You know what? There's still somebody out there that needs to be healed by you, and you owe it to them and to yourself, because if your life has planed, it's flatlined, you can now elevate it and start to climb in your mental mindset. And your life itself will continue to get better if you share your knowledge with others, even if you don't have any challenges. Trust me, it'll make your life better again.

Mike Capuzzi: Dwight, we're 200 plus episodes in, and it's amazing. Not every author I interview has a book that has helped them heal. However, there's been many guests on this podcast that have written a book, and it's. They articulate just like you did. The amazing cathartic experience. It was how powerful it was. One woman, I remember in particular, she was saying how her son, when he read the book, he was, got very emotional, right? And I remember thinking as she was sharing this, how her son sort of crying as he read her book, his book. The book of his mom, and sharing her story.

Mike Capuzzi: So it is, it is one of those amazing benefits, you know, business owners that are writing a book, one of the benefits is they get to articulate and formulate, you know, maybe a more tactical teaching method of a book. But in your case, it was more about the, your history and, you know, what you've experienced and how you're sharing that. So again, very profound. Dwight, before we wrap up here, two questions I want to just ask you, because I guess from your personality, we were talking earlier. I'd love to hear your feedback. This was your first book, right?

Dwight Heck: Yes.

Mike Capuzzi: Do you think there's going to be any more in the future?

Dwight Heck: Absolutely. Actually, I was just talking to my friend. We were discussing the fact that give a heck is the main title of the book. But when you. How to live life on purpose, not by accident, is the subtitle. I could do a whole series, right. And every so. Absolutely.

Dwight Heck: It's. But for those listening, doing a book is great, but you better be invested in the process. Right? Are you going to be that person 2310 years later that, oh, you got, you're on chapter five and you know what I mean? It is something, if you're going to do it, it may sound harsh, but I think if you're going to do it, you need to be committed and, and put that effort in. And right now I have other things going on within my branch structure that I've been utilizing and working on. And I don't want to commit to writing a second book unless I'm actually committed. It took five and a half months before my book came out, and a lot of nights of reading, reviewing, sending new stuff to the editors. And at the end of the day, I don't regret it. All I'm saying is take it serious if you're going to do it.

Dwight Heck: And that's why I haven't started my second book yet.

Mike Capuzzi: Yeah, I again, totally understand that and can relate to that. And Dwight, without a doubt, I mentioned it when I was, I mentioned your book title at the beginning. It is a great brand and it gives you such flexibility. You could have so many different, as you said, subtitled books for different topics and stuff. So, yeah, it's a great brand. In fact, it's like, it's like the.

Dwight Heck: Dumb books or whatever they call, you know. Yeah, the dummy books. It's similar. That's what I've been told. I never even thought about.

Mike Capuzzi: But the fact that you're using your name, that's so cool. You're playing off of that too. It's from a branding standpoint, I love it. So, Dwight, last question. And you've already shared this, but I want to get it captured in a nice, concise statement that people can really grab onto. What has it meant for you so far to be a published book author?

Dwight Heck: Oh, wow. It's, what has it meant for me? It's meant, it elevated my mindset, Mike. It actually changed my emotional connection to individuals because of the fact that now I've made myself so raw and vulnerable about my life. It's helped people connect to me and it's helped me connect to them. Because here's what I mean by that. The publishing process, when those people read these books and that Emily I talked about, or, you know, the other gentleman I mentioned and quite a few other people, when I'm having conversations with them, whether it's over text, email, or video call, phone call, we connect closer. And it's made me feel that much. It's let me drop my shield that I had up for so many years and only letting people in what I thought I was letting them in, when really in reality I was only, it was superficial.

Dwight Heck: It wasn't really the connection that we all want, we strive to have. So that book, as an author, has made me share my vulnerability and get it back. It's allowed people to connect with me in a way that I never ever thought would happen. So it's been an absolute pleasure. Again, highly recommend anybody do it because it builds relationships. If it's dealt with the right way, obviously.

Mike Capuzzi: Very good, Dwight. Well, again, I appreciate your time today and I appreciate you sharing your story. How can our listeners, Dwight, learn more about you? And where's the best place to get a copy of give a heck the.

Dwight Heck: Best place to research me is just go to my website, giveaheck.com. on that site you will see. You can check out my book, you can click on a link in there, you can get it for paying the shipping. You can read about me, you can find out about my speaking. You can check out some speaker reel I have on there. You can check out my finance education, my coaching. Everything about me is on give a heck. I wanted to make it really easy for people.

Dwight Heck: Even if you want to check out my social media, all the links are on there. You don't have to go search for me. Just go to giveaheck.com. that's a one stop shop to experience, to give and myself.

Mike Capuzzi: Well, Dwight, thank you very much for your time today and definitely appreciate all the insights you've shared.

Dwight Heck: You're welcome. Mike, thanks so much for giving me the opportunity to share with others and hopefully connect with one more person to help them give a heck about their lives and live it purposely instead of, you know, with a life without intention, which so many of us do.