When “Trip of a Lifetime” hit number one in multiple Amazon categories in September 2025, nobody was more surprised than its author, Benjamin Forest. The book climbed the charts without a traditional publisher, without a literary agent, and without a marketing budget. It was self-published through sheer persistence and strategic experimentation, built on top of an audience he had developed through his work. For a man who spent twenty-five years in the United States Air Force and had never written a book in his life, the question many asked was simple: how did he pull this off?
THE WORST TIME TO START OVER
Five years earlier, the idea of becoming an author was not even in Benjamin Forest’s imagination. At age forty-nine, his military career ended, his marriage collapsed, and his identity disintegrated. Within months, he was hospitalized for psychiatric care. The common advice from friends and colleagues was predictable. Get another government job. Do something stable. Stay safe. Instead, he decided to build something entirely new at the moment when he felt he had the least to work with.
MARKET RESEARCH IN THE DARKEST MOMENT
While recovering, Benjamin Forest began studying the coaching and psychedelic integration industry. He noticed a gap. Programs were either highly clinical or overly mystical. Nothing spoke to people like him. People who were skeptical, overwhelmed, hurting, and searching for grounded guidance. His insight was simple. He was his own ideal customer. This became the core of what he would later build.
BUILDING EXPERTISE BEFORE BUILDING A BUSINESS
Benjamin Forest spent two full years in training programs, integration methods, and coaching certifications before he charged a single client. He treated his own healing work as research and development. He understood that credibility comes before revenue. By the time he worked with his first paid client in 2021, he had a foundation strong enough to support real transformation.
THE MVP: ONE CLIENT AND A FRAMEWORK
Benjamin Forest’s first client paid him two hundred dollars for a session. That experience became the beginning of what would eventually become the Ten Invitations, his signature framework. He refined it through real feedback, careful iteration, and hundreds of hours spent coaching and listening. He did not scale before he understood what actually worked.
Image Credit: Benjamin Forest
THE DECISION TO WRITE A BOOK
Many coaches write books to gain credibility. Benjamin Forest wrote one to formalize his methodology. He spent eighteen months working on the manuscript, collaborating with a developmental editor and revising the text multiple times. The total investment was approximately fifteen thousand dollars, including editing, design, and pre-launch marketing support.
THE SELF-PUBLISHING STRATEGY
Instead of pursuing traditional publishing, he chose Amazon KDP for faster release, higher control, and better royalties. The print-on-demand model eliminated inventory risks. He released Kindle, paperback, and hardcover versions simultaneously. His pricing strategy focused on accessibility and reach rather than maximizing profit.
THE NINETY DAY LAUNCH PLAN
Benjamin Forest treated the launch like a product rollout. Three months before release, he increased content output, grew his email list, and began sharing excerpts. During launch week, he coordinated a focused posting schedule across multiple platforms. He distributed advance reader copies through NetGalley, sent press releases to more than fifty outlets, and appeared on over ten podcasts, including shows connected to communities like Creative Mornings and Alembic Urban. The strategy was simple but consistent, and consistency won.
THE RESULTS THAT MATTERED
“Trip of a Lifetime” hit number one in categories including Experimental Psychology and Transpersonal Psychology. Within the first month, it sold hundreds of copies, and his email list grew from two hundred subscribers to more than two thousand. Coaching inquiries tripled. Event organizers contacted him for speaking engagements in cities across the country. The visibility he gained expanded even further when his story circulated through networks connected to Global Psychedelic Week.
THE REVENUE STREAMS OF YEAR TWO
By the second year, Benjamin Forest had built a stable business. His income came from one-on-one coaching sessions priced between one hundred fifty and three hundred dollars, group programs, book royalties, speaking fees, and affiliate partnerships with retreat centers. The combined revenue allowed him to work full-time on his practice.
THE MONTEREY ADVANTAGE
Benjamin Forest chose Monterey, California, as his home base. The cost of living was lower than in San Francisco or Los Angeles, and the wellness community provided a supportive backdrop for his work. His coaching model was fully remote, allowing him to see clients nationwide through online sessions. He occasionally hosted in-person intensives in Monterey for clients seeking deeper work.
LESSONS FOR ASPIRING ENTREPRENEURS
Benjamin Forest’s path offers several lessons. You do not need permission to start. Your crisis might be the most authentic foundation for a business. Investing in yourself comes before asking others to invest in you. Sharing your journey builds trust. Collaboration opens more opportunities than competition. Most importantly, midlife reinvention is not only possible. It is strategic.
SCALING WITHOUT LOSING THE MISSION
Today, Benjamin Forest’s one-on-one practice is at capacity. His next move is a group coaching program designed to serve more people. Long term, he hopes to train other coaches using his methodology. Eventually, he imagines building a retreat center where his work can take place in a physical space. Throughout this growth, he commits to maintaining accessibility and integrity.
THE SECOND BOOK
Benjamin Forest is already planning his next book, focused specifically on men’s emotional healing. With the recognition from his first release, he has a strong foundation for another profoundly impactful book.
Image Credit: Benjamin Forest
ADVICE FOR MIDLIFE REINVENTORS
Benjamin Forest often tells clients that it is never too late to start. Your lived experience is an asset. Your failures carry market insight. You are not starting from zero. You are starting from a lifetime of skills. Small experiments lead to bigger opportunities. Reinvention is a process of testing, iterating, and scaling.
THE DEFINITION OF SUCCESS
For Benjamin Forest, success is measured by impact, freedom, and the legacy he hopes to leave. He has built a life that supports his creativity, his clients, and his mission. The question he poses to others is simple. What is your second act?
Trip of a Lifetime may be your guide. Dive into a voice that meets you where you are and carries you forward.
Written in partnership with Tom White
