James Woodfall: AI Can Write Your Book, But It Can't Live Your Life

James Woodfall built and sold a wealth management business, wrote two books with Rethink Press, and now runs Raise Your EI, helping professional services firms build emotional intelligence into their leadership and client relationships. In this episode, James and host Joe Gregory dig into: Why writing a book forces you to "stress test" your own thinking The health scare (aneurysms discovered via a full-body MRI) that led him to sell his business How his master's dissertation on financial advisors and emotional intelligence became his second book, The Heart of Finance Why he believes AI is a great thinking tool but a dangerous writing crutch The identity shift from "entrepreneur with a book" to "author and authority" Where professional services still beat AI — and where they don't Connect with James: raiseyourei.co.uk Chapters 00:00 — Introduction to James Woodfall 01:39 — Why he decided to write his first book 03:07 — How writing forces "thinking time" and articulation 04:58 — Realizing how much of his thinking was "borrowed" 07:00 — The real subject of Financial Planning for Entrepreneurs 11:11 — The health scare: aneurysms discovered during a preventative MRI 12:37 — Deciding to sell the business, with his wife pregnant 13:33 — The master's dissertation that became The Heart of Finance 16:45 — Co-authoring with Dr. Cliff Lansley 17:40 — How the book changed his speaking opportunities 18:49 — The "author identity threshold" conversation 21:35 — Why self-published books without an editor miss the mark 23:23 — On using AI to write books: "You're only cheating yourself" 25:16 — Why emotional intelligence matters more as AI commoditizes knowledge work 29:36 — What his current business, Raise Your EI, actually does day to day 33:22 — How the book functions as a business development tool 34:26 — Expanding beyond financial planning into new sectors 36:36 — The meaning behind The Heart of Finance title and cover 37:51 — Where to find James and get the book