❀New Self-Help Book Alert❀: The Life-Changing Power of One Question by Holly Hurd

Title: The Life-Changing Power of One Question
Author: Holly Hurd
Publication Date: November 25, 2025
Pages: 236
Genre: Personal Growth

One Powerful Question Can Change Your Life.

In this empowering guide for women, Holly Hurd explores the transformative power of asking the right question at the right moment to unlock self-worth, confidence, and clarity.

Whether you’re navigating personal crossroads or professional change, this book will guide you to the breakthrough you’ve been seeking. With stories, prompts, and real-life examples from women who have radically changed their lives, this book reveals how a single, thoughtful question—posed to yourself or others—can help you find purpose, deepen relationships, and create connection. A former hedge fund founder turned women’s empowerment advocate, Holly Hurd combines business acumen with emotional insight to offer listeners a framework for self-reflection, personal growth, and bold action.

This book isn’t just about finding the right words—it’s about discovering your voice. Through guided inquiry and inspiring anecdotes, listeners will learn how to identify the question that could open the door to healing, opportunity, or reinvention. Whether it’s a whisper of curiosity or a cry for change, asking that one question may be the first step to a more courageous, connected, and fulfilled life.

Inside, you’ll find:

• Empowering questions to ask in moments of doubt, change, or opportunity
• Real stories from women who found clarity and purpose by asking just one question
• Simple yet powerful tools for reconnecting to your intuition and taking the next step

If you liked How Successful People Think, Supercommunicators, or How to Become a People Magnet, then you’ll love The Life-Changing Power of One Question.

The Life-Changing Power of One Question is available at Amazon.

Book Excerpt

PROLOGUE

What is the question that changed your life? It’s there. At first, many people struggle to pinpoint their question. But if you reflect deeply, you’ll likely uncover one—or even several—questions that have altered the course of your life in meaningful ways.

Each of us has experienced moments where a single question has led to a new path, a significant decision, or a profound shift in perspective. Maybe it was a question you asked yourself in a moment of self-doubt or clarity. Perhaps you turned to someone else for advice, and their answer illuminated a path you hadn’t considered. Or maybe you reached out to the universe, asking for a sign to guide you in an uncertain time. Whether the impact was fleeting or long-lasting, the power of that question remains undeniable.

My theory is that a question can help you take the next step. By asking thought provoking questions, we can find a way to the other side and a happier life. As women, we have spent our entire lives taking care of others, now it’s time to ask: What makes me happy? What do I want out of my life? Is there something I really want to do? How do I want to spend my life?

I’ve spent the last fifteen years interviewing women at inflection points in their lives. Maybe they were recently widowed or divorced. Maybe they were new empty nesters. Perhaps their parent has passed, or they lost a job or retired. There are so many transitions that can be difficult to walk through. These women found a way to move forward by asking a question that led to a business, venture or pursuit. You may not be looking to start a business but rather begin a different lifestyle after an inflection point.  Regardless of where you are, I believe questions can lead you to what’s next.

Why write this book? In my life recently I’ve noticed what makes me happy, what makes me smile, what gives me fulfilment, and what gives me peace. Connecting with other people is my answer.  And recent studies have shown it’s important to everyone and everyone’s health. Three recent studies and countless research articles have shown that connecting to the people in your world brings happiness. In fact, studies have shown that connecting with other people leads to a longer healthier life. Given that, connecting with others should definitely be on your health to-do list.  This book will show you how questions help you connect and find your happiness.

Let me be clear: I don’t claim to have all the answers to the questions you may ask yourself or others. I am not a therapist, psychologist, or psychiatrist. If you are facing challenges such as anxiety, depression, or other mental health concerns, I encourage you to seek the guidance of a licensed professional. This book is not intended to diagnose or treat mental health conditions. Instead, it is an exploration of how the right questions—asked with intention and clarity—can serve as powerful tools for growth, connection, and transformation.

Through extensive research and reflection, I’ve gathered insights from experts in communication, relationships, and personal development. My goal is to share their wisdom and offer a framework for uncovering the questions that can lead to greater happiness and fulfillment in your life.

I’m not a scholar or teacher but I believe happiness is the ultimate currency.  Our world just went through a period of extreme disconnectedness, and we are at a major point of dividedness in our world. How do we get back to connectiveness and ultimately, more happiness? A question can give you that connectiveness and change your life and the lives of those around you, maybe only for a moment, maybe for a little while and maybe for a lifetime.

In your daily life, people want to connect and to be seen. How easy is it to connect? Something as simple as saying “It’s busy today, right?” “Quiet in here today?” “So cold outside, right?” It can be anything that gets the person to see you and lets them know you see them. Rather than just go through the motions of checking out, picking up your order, or walking to your desk, you can turn your workday or errand into an exchange that improves your health.

And in your personal life, whether in your relationship with others or your relationship with yourself, questions are amazing at getting you to examine where you are, where you want to go, and how you want to live your life. You will see examples of multiple stories throughout the book where questions led others to happiness You can use these questions to guide you to a clearer picture of what makes you happy and ultimately begin a journey to a happier life.

Your relationship with your boss, your employee, your partner, your mate, your parents, your friends, your child can all be improved with a single question. In this book you’ll learn what question to ask, and you’ll learn how to ask that question to work towards a better relationship with everyone you encounter and everyone you know - leading to your happiness. 

Here’s my promise to you, my reader: by the end of this book, you’ll discover the value of asking the right questions—not just of others, but of yourself. You’ll learn how to start a meaningful conversation with a question that could spark change. You’ll identify the life-changing question you need to ask yourself right now. Whether you’re seeking a new career, a deeper purpose, stronger relationships, or greater overall joy, one well-chosen question could be the key that unlocks it all.

So, let’s begin this journey together. Let’s uncover the life-changing question that’s waiting to guide you toward your next chapter.

– Excerpted from The Life-Changing Power of One Question by Holly Hurd, Maison Vero, 2025. Reprinted with permission.

About the Author

For the last 15 years, Holly Hurd has interviewed and profiled hundreds of women entrepreneurs through her platform VentureMom.com. This gives her unique insights into how women create successful ventures from scratch. Her website serves as a source of inspiration and guidance, showcasing stories of women who turned ideas into thriving pursites and businesses.

Holly’s first book, VentureMom: From Idea to Income in Just 12 Weeks, became a bestseller, offering readers a step-by-step blueprint to start a business in a short period of time. Now, her highly anticipated new book, The Life-Changing Power of One Question, will draw on her experience with women who are at inflection points This book explores how asking the right question at the right time can transform lives. Aimed at women at pivotal moments, it serves as a powerful guide for those seeking to redefine their happiness and create a fulfilling new chapter.

Holly began her career managing her own hedge fund at just 23 years old, specializing in futures and commodities trading. This experience sharpened her strategic mindset and entrepreneurial spirit, ultimately leading her to her true mission: empowering women to lead happier, more fulfilled lives.

Visit her website at VentureMom.com.

Connect with her on social media at:

╰┈➤ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VentureMom/

╰┈➤ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/venture_mom

╰┈➤ LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/hollyhurd/

Book Cover Junkie Interviews Self-Help Author Giselle Mascarenhas

Giselle Mascarenhas is the founder of BECOME™, creator of the BECOME Methodology™, and author of She Forgot She Was Free. An entrepreneur, speaker, and transformational guide, she has dedicated her life’s work to helping people reconnect with who they were created to be so they can live with greater purpose, freedom, and intentionality.

After years of building businesses, leading organizations, and walking through seasons of personal growth, Giselle recognized that lasting transformation does not begin with external success, it begins with remembering one’s authentic identity. That realization became the foundation of the BECOME Method™, a proprietary methodology designed to guide individuals through a transformational process of self-awareness, healing, alignment, courageous action, and embodied growth. Unlike a framework that offers guidelines for achieving a specific outcome, The BECOME Method™ is a comprehensive method of personal advancement that can be applied across every area of life, leadership, and purpose.

Her debut book, She Forgot She Was Free, is both a deeply personal memoir and an invitation for readers to embark on their own journey of remembrance. Through honest storytelling, reflection, and faith, the book explores the universal experience of losing ourselves beneath expectations, fear, pain, and performance, and the courageous journey of rediscovering the freedom, identity, and purpose that have always existed within us. Rather than simply telling her story, Giselle invites readers to see themselves in its pages and begin writing the next chapter of their own lives.

The book became the catalyst for the broader BECOME movement, an expanding ecosystem of transformational experiences designed to help people move beyond inspiration into intentional action. Through immersive workshops, retreats, leadership development, educational programs, community experiences, publishing initiatives, and speaking engagements, Giselle equips individuals with practical tools to create meaningful and lasting transformation. Every experience is grounded in the belief that personal growth is not about becoming someone different but remembering and embodying the person God uniquely created each of us to be.

Known for her ability to blend heartfelt storytelling with practical application, Giselle creates spaces where people feel seen, challenged, and empowered to take meaningful action. Her presentations combine vulnerability, strategic thinking, and actionable guidance, allowing audiences to leave not only inspired but equipped with a clear path forward. Her work resonates with entrepreneurs, leaders, professionals, educators, faith-based communities, and individuals seeking deeper purpose and authentic fulfillment.

Beyond her work as an author and speaker, Giselle is passionate about developing leaders who create ripple effects within their families, businesses, organizations, and communities. She believes transformation is contagious, that when one person remembers who they are and chooses to live courageously, they give others permission to do the same. This philosophy continues to shape every initiative within the BECOME movement.

Through future books, collaborative publishing projects, leadership academies, retreats, and global speaking engagements, Giselle’s mission is to help millions of people reconnect with their God-given identity and become the fullest expression of who they were created to be. She envisions BECOME as a worldwide movement that empowers individuals to live intentionally, lead authentically, and create lasting impact for generations to come.

Giselle lives in Texas with her family and continues to write, teach, speak, and expand the global reach of the BECOME movement. Whether on stage, in the pages of a book, or through transformational experiences, her message remains the same: the person you are searching for has never been lost, you have simply forgotten who you are. Remember. Rise. BECOME.

Visit her website at www.thebecomemethod.com.

Connect with her on social media at:

╰┈➤Twitter: https://x.com/giselleempowers

╰┈➤ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/giselleempowers

╰┈➤Instagram: https://instagram.com/giselleempowers

╰┈➤Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/21957760.Giselle_Mascarenhas

How did you choose the title for your book? Did it come to you right away, before you started writing it, or did it come later?

My husband named it!

I had just come home from this extraordinary discovery session with my publisher at Mija Media House. I had walked into that session with absolutely no idea what I was going to write, we prayed, and about twenty minutes later the entire framework of the book was on a whiteboard.

But I still didn’t have a title.

That night, my husband Ruben and I started workshopping ideas together. When he said, “She Forgot She Was Free,” I knew.

That was it.

Because that was the entire story.

I hadn’t become free.

I remembered that I already was.

Tell us about the cover design process. Did you have a basic idea of what your book cover would be like?

The cover came to me almost like a download from God.

I love experiences. I love creating things people can participate in rather than simply observe. And I’ve always found coloring incredibly soothing.

Then I started thinking about how every one of us has this vivid life made up of moments that helped shape who we became.

I thought, What if the cover could be part of the experience?

I didn’t want someone simply looking at my life on the cover. I wanted her to be able to participate in it.

So the front and back covers bring specific moments and imagery from the chapters to life in the style of a coloring book. There is intentionally a lot of white space because the cover isn’t finished.

The reader gets to finish it.

She can color my moments while she’s reading about them, but in doing that, I hope she begins thinking about the colors and moments of her own life.

The cover becomes hers, too.

Who is your cover designer and how did you find him/her?

The final illustration was created by the illustrator my publisher, Mija Media House, works with.

I was very involved in the concept. I actually created my own mockup and gave the illustrator a detailed list of the moments and elements I wanted represented.

And she absolutely nailed it.

Which is almost miraculous because I am VERY visual and VERY particular. LOL.

There was only one edit!

She understood that I wasn’t asking for a traditional illustrated cover. I wanted something intentionally unfinished because participation was part of the concept.

What has been the readers’ response to your cover?

The thing I hear most is:

“This is different.”

And I LOVE that.

People pick it up. They look at the front. They turn it over. They start noticing the different elements. Then they realize they can actually color it.

One of my favorite moments happened when I was speaking in New York at the Boss Babes Brunch Conference.

A woman came up to me who had purchased my book about two weeks earlier. She had been looking for something motivational and had several choices, but she chose She Forgot She Was Free because of the cover.

Think about that.

Before she knew my story, the cover made her curious enough to pick it up.

That is exactly what I wanted it to do.

Activate something.

What tips would you give to authors who are looking for a cover designer?

Know what you want the reader to feel before you decide what you want the cover to look like.

That would be my biggest advice.

Don’t begin with, “I like this color,” or “I saw another book that looks like this.”

Start with the experience.

What should happen inside someone when they see your book across a room?

What should make them reach for it?

And once it’s in their hands, what should make them turn it over?

Then find someone who is willing to understand that vision instead of simply making something pretty.

I was able to give our illustrator a mockup, specific imagery and the reasoning behind what I wanted. That gave her something much deeper to interpret than, “Make me a beautiful book cover.”

A beautiful cover is wonderful.

A cover that continues telling the story is something else entirely.

Anything else you’d like to say about your book?

The woman illustrated on the cover is Gi today.

She’s free.

She’s vibrant.

She’s living in vitality through the messy parts of life, not because she somehow created a life without them.

That’s an important distinction.

She Forgot She Was Free is a journey through the patterns we create to keep ourselves safe and the moments that can leave us stuck long after the danger has passed.

But those same moments can become something different when we look at them again through love, compassion, faith and truth.

They don’t have to remain weights.

They can become wings.

That’s why I could never imagine this book with a polished photograph of me on the cover.

This isn’t a book about looking at Giselle.

It’s about looking at your own life and recognizing that every messy, beautiful, painful, joyful piece of it has color.

So I intentionally left some of mine blank.

You get to choose the colors.

Book Cover Junkie Interviews Christian Speculative Fiction Author Randy C. Dockens

Dr. Randy C. Dockens has a fascination with science and with the Bible, holds Ph.D. degrees in both areas, and is a man not only of faith and science, but also of creativity. He believes that faith and science go hand in hand without being enemies of each other.

After completing his bachelor’s degree in pharmacy from Auburn University he went on to graduate school at Auburn and completed his first doctorate degree in Pharmaceutics. He began his scientific career as a pharmacokinetic reviewer for the Food and Drug Administration and later joined a leading pharmaceutical company as a pharmacokineticist, which is a scientist who analyzes how the human body affects drugs after they have been administered (i.e, absorbed, distributed, metabolized, and excreted).

Through the years, he has worked on potential medicines within several disease areas, including cardiovascular, fibrosis, and immunoscience to seek and develop new and novel medicines in these therapy areas.

He has also had his attention on the academic study of the Bible. He earned a second doctorate in Biblical Prophecy from Louisiana Baptist University after receiving a master’s degree in Jewish Studies from the Internet Bible Institute under the tutelage of Dr. Robert Congdon.

Randy has recently retired from his pharmaceutical career and is spending even more time on his writing efforts. He has written several books that span dystopian (The Coded Message Trilogy), end-time prophecy (Stele Prophecy Pentalogy), science fiction (Erabon Prophecy Trilogy), uniquely told Bible stories (The Adversary Chronicles), speculative fiction (Cities of Light Series), and a combination of science fiction / speculative fiction (Parallel Universe Saga). All his books, while fun to read, are futuristic, filled with science to give them an authentic feel, have a science fiction feel to them, and allows one to learn some aspect of Biblical truth one may not have thought about before. This is all done in a fast-paced action format that is both entertaining and provides a fun read for his readers.

He has also written some nonfiction books as well. One is to show how all humans are connected from God’s viewpoint by looking at biblical prophecy (Why is a Gentile World Tied to a Jewish Timeline?: The Question Everyone Should Ask). This book shows how all scripture is connected and inclusive of everyone. In addition, he and his editor have written two books about writing. The first is on writing techniques themselves and is entitled Mastering the ABCs of Excellent Writing: Creating Vivid and Colorful Stories that Readers Want to Read. This book not only addresses the techniques of writing, but what makes writing unique to each author. It conveys not only how to better hone one’s craft of writing but also the brand an author wants to portray. This helps an author make their writing unique as well as captivating for his/her audience. The second is a companion book to this one entitled Mastering the ABCs of Excellent Self-Editing: Framing Your Colorful Masterpiece to Keep Readers Engaged in Your Story. This is best used in conjunction with the first one. Yet, self-editing, though intricately connected to writing, is a distinct event. The better the quality of a writer’s draft manuscript when it is delivered to one’s editor, the higher the final quality of the manuscript will be for readers, and that is extremely important.

Dr. Dockens still has creative ideas to share so stay tuned! 

Dr. Dockens’  latest books are Retrieving the Future & Resolving the Future (Books 1 & 2 in the Parallel Universe Saga Series)

Visit his website at https://www.randydockens.com.

Connect with him on social media at:

╰┈➤ X: www.x.com/RandyCDockens

╰┈➤ Facebook: www.facebook.com/Randy.C.Dockens

╰┈➤ Instagram: Randy C Dockens (@randydockens) | Instagram

╰┈➤ Goodreads: Randy C. Dockens (Author of T-H-B) | Goodreads

How did you choose the title for your books? Did it come to you right away, before you started writing it, or did it come later?

The titles came after I thought about what I wanted the story to be about but before I started writing. The title of the first book, Retrieving the Future, I think fits the storyline of the book as the main character, Declan, is traveling to parallel Earths to gain advanced technology he can bring back to his Earth so his company can reverse engineer it and market that specific technology. This brings some kind of advanced technology forward before its time. Therefore, it is like he is retrieving a future for his world. The cover design shows several Earths in a line getting smaller and smaller to represent there are many Earths for Declan to choose to visit.

In the second book, Resolving the Future, Declan and his girlfriend, Rose, travel to a parallel Earth to discover why their company sends Declan on these missions. Therefore, it is as if he is resolving the reason for the future he is helping to create for his world. This cover is like the first, but with specific differences. It shows a man and women entering a portal with several Earths again shown that can be visited. Yet, these are more out of focus to represent the time dilation field they will need to pass through.

Tell us about the cover design process. Did you have a basic idea of what your book cover would be like? 

The way my covers work is that I typically have an idea for how the cover should look and my cover designer will make it look better than my original idea. This can take several back-and-forth conversations via email before we completely gel on the winning cover design. I will find pictures that she can use on the cover. She may use those or find others that better enhances the ideas I had for the cover. She adds finesse to the cover art and often produces a cover that is similar to what I first imagined, but usually much better in both design and color.

Who is your cover designer and how did you find him/her?

My cover designer is Suzanne Lawing. She also formats the book’s interior as well. My publisher is the one who introduced me to her. She is quite talented and typically gets on board with my vision for the book cover fairly quickly. There have been times that it has taken several back-and-forth messaging for us to gel creatively, but that is how a creative process works. From more than two dozen books she has helped design, I can count on one hand when there was significant frustration in getting her to envision my design ideas. She typically is on board almost from the get-go. She has a great eye for getting the vision to be even better than my first thoughts about the cover’s design. She takes my ideas and then makes them “pop.”

What has been the readers’ response to your covers?

To be honest, I haven’t received a lot of feedback from readers but the few who have commented said the covers were very intriguing. I have received more feedback from those who have helped me market my books in some way. They stated that the covers were very striking and notable.

What tips would you give to authors who are looking for a cover designer?

You need a designer who can get on board with your vision but still not yield to everything you say. The back-and-forth conversations between you and the designer is what makes your cover design come to life and become something bigger and better than you had at first envisioned.

Anything else you’d like to say about your books?

I would like to say that I think my covers are eye-catching and interest people so they will at least take an initial notice of my work. While the genre may not be for them, I think it at least piques their interest.

Most of my books have a science fiction feel to them and I think my covers reveal that aspect about them. While the stories themselves go from dystopian, to speculative, to science fiction, I do think the covers give that vibe to them and in some way complement the plot of the story itself.