Solis was interviewed on Finovate Podcasts’ “Breaking Banks” by guest host Brett King and co-host Dara Tarkowski about the concept and inception of his book “Lifescale,” which Solis called his eighth book overall but first “personal” book.

He explains that after years of advising tech startups and shape the direction of that industry, he realized he was not immune to the powers of distraction or the addictive nature of “persuasive design” in the apps and services we use every day. He says: “I didn’t know I had a problem until I couldn’t get past the proposal stage for the next book. I had to push pause on my life when I failed to even write the proposal for what was supposed to be my eighth book. I did some soul searching. I knew I had to fix the problem or risk completely losing any market stature or ability to do speaking engagements because books are a big deal as an industry calling card.”

Other quotes:

“Everybody’s constantly multi-tasking. It’s not uncommon for people to have at least 20-30 tabs open on their browsers and desktop. All of this is manifesting in our workdays and lives, and we are all carrying enormous cognitive loads. Then there’s how you feel when people post on Facebook and project this seemingly incredible life. You begin to feel less about your life and you try to manifest that stature. It’s a constant cycle where you’re never getting head, like a new normal.”

“I was constantly doing a million things at once and couldn’t dive deep into any innovative ideas. I chalked it up to writer’s block, but then realized I was doing too much reaching for my phone and was open to distraction where I was also proactively instigating it. The key is not really about balance as much as it is intention. It’s not about the device, but everything in your life. How we live online reflects how we live offline. The state of my relationships became more superficial, and the people who were closest to me were dealing with the same thing. We have to intentionally rewire our brain and body because we have been rewired through a very sophisticated and potent persuasive design – one that emulates a slot machine design. The book is about the journey I went on to rewire myself – not only to get back to where I was but to become better than that by taking the same persuasive design techniques and using them in a positive, productive and creative way.”

To listen to the podcast: https://breakingbanks.com/episode/introducing-finovate-podcast/