32 JANUARY 2024 By Mark Hays Twenty years ago, Arcadian Ron Mileti became an entrepreneur, launching a digital marketing agency called Vilocity. The company grew in success, working with companies like the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (the Emmy Awards people), Emergen-C Vitamin Drink Mix, American Greetings, Disney, and more. While his company was growing, however, Mileti realized he was destined for something more. More came in the form of writing self-help books… and his latest work flips the genre on its head. Mileti read his first self-help book – Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill – when he was 12. Since then, he’s continued reading and listening to the works of motivational speakers like Wayne Dyer and Norman Vincent Peale and participated in seminars by Landmark Worldwide, a personal and professional growth, training and development company. “This led to my work with Bob Proctor, a speaker, author, and most famously involved in the book and movie The Secret,” Mileti said. “It also led to my work with Kyle Cease, a comedian on Comedy Central who left entertainment to become a motivational speaker.” Mileti trained as a results coach, graduating from Robbins-Madanes Training and studying the discipline for “hundreds of hours.” He sold Vilocity a few years ago but continues to lead the company, writing and coaching individuals and teams. His latest book, Miserable You, is a satire novel that debuted in November 2023, reaching #1 New Release in Parody Books on Amazon in just two days. “The idea of coaching people on how to be unhappier seemed as opposite as it could be. But Miserable You has a stealthy goal of actually helping people be happier and live a life they love,” Mileti said. Miserable You is a parody of a self-help book. Within are 17 chapters, inspirational quotes and quirky illustrations that teach readers how to make themselves even more miserable – or, Mileti hopes – the book could have the opposite effect. “If they prefer, readers can use the book to realize how they’ve already been making themselves unhappy and learn how to stop doing that,” Mileti said. He explained that the book may be geared toward people who don’t like motivational and self-help books. Wherever readers are in life, whatever they’re feeling, the book suggests they consider they’re not miserable enough! “By the end of Miserable You , readers will see how they’ve been bonking themselves on the head with a proverbial sledgehammer and understand how to let go,” Mileti said. His ultimate goal is simple: helping people live lives they love – something he plans on doing for years to come. Miserable You is available on Amazon. miserableyou.com How to be more miserable A unique take on self-improvement Self-help aficionado Ron Mileti’s latest book gives readers a comedic take on the genre. (left) An excerpt from chapter one. PHOTOS COURTESY OF RON MILETI