My guest today is the entrepreneur and publisher Mr Tom Morkes who joins us on the very first episode of “Join Up Dots” with the title of a man who quite simply changed my life I don’t think that there are many people alive that I could say that about. But strangely enough until today I have never met him or spoke to him live either. Tom spent the beginning of his childhood in the Chicagoland and West Michigan areas, and then with all his Morkes siblings…three brothers and three sisters gained his education at the United States Military Academy at West Point NY. Upon graduating he decided that there was a further step to go in his military life and was deployed to Iraq as a gun truck platoon leader. You might have thought after so many years in an organised, structured environment such as the military, he would cling to a safe, organised future. But our guest thought otherwise and set off on entrepreneurial path that has seen him write three books, become the president of his own publishing company, and generally having a kick ass life. He travels the world with his lovely wife Courtney, his trusty laptop, and now on today’s podcast interview shares with us, the fears, achievements and success that has made up his life. I would like to welcome to show the one and only In The Trenches Tom Morkes   For more information on Tom's podcast go to: Podcast: In The Trenches With Tom Morkes Description:  In The Trenches with Tom Morkes tells the story of entrepreneurs, writers, artists, inventors, warriors, and leaders who are building disruptive, innovative businesses, who are doing hard, creative work each and every day, and who are impacting the people who matter (their customers, readers, supporters, and fans). These no-bulls*** interviews cut through the fluff and go right into the mindset of what it takes to be a creator, battle scars and all. Listen to In The Trenches and youll hear from best-selling authors, startup founders, people who turned their art into full-fledged businesses, self-made millionaires, and much more. Just some of the subjects weve covered in the past: how to start a business from scratch, permission marketing, how to create and deploy effective design, business development, how to turn your hobby into a business, product launches, copywriting that converts, and much more. A message from Tom: All interviews are unscripted and unedited because I believe conversations are better when they're natural. I hope you enjoy this show as much as I do creating it.