Dominic Colenso: How Writing a Book Changed His Life (and Career) Forever

Joe’s guest today is Dominic Colenso — a former Hollywood actor and RADA teacher who now helps leaders and sales teams cut through the noise and perform when it matters most. He’s the bestselling author of Impact (Rethink Press, 2019) and his latest book, Cut Through — currently shortlisted for Business Book of the Year.

In this episode they cover: why Dominic wrote his first book, the “six ingredients of Impact” methodology, adapting his acting skills for the camera during lockdown, the real ROI of becoming an author, why AI can’t replace lived experience in writing, his “pinch me” author moments, and the wild story of playing Virgil Tracy in the Hollywood Thunderbirds movie — including the lost sequel deal and getting fired from an X Factor drama by Simon Cowell himself.

Connect with Dominic: dominiccolenso.com | YouTube | LinkedIn
Books: Impact (2019) & Cut Through (2025)

What You’ll Learn

• Why visibility — not sales — was Dominic’s real reason for writing his first book
• How writing *Impact* forced him to codify his “six ingredients” methodology
• How he adapted his acting/on-camera skills into a virtual training business during lockdown
• The actual business ROI of becoming a published author (bigger clients, higher fees, easier trust)
• Why he believes AI can draft words but can’t replicate the authority of lived experience
• How he uses physical copies of his books as a sales and speaking tool
• His “pinch me” moments as an author, including a Business Book of the Year shortlisting
• The story of playing Virgil Tracy in Hollywood’s “Thunderbirds” — and why the $1M sequel deal fell apart
• How he got fired from an X Factor drama by Simon Cowell, and what happened right after
• How “Impact” and “Cut Through” work together as a two-book system for communication and pitching

Chapters
00:00 Cold open — spaceship, $1M, fired by Simon Cowell
00:51 Meet Dominic Colenso
01:12 Why he wrote his first book: visibility
02:41 The surprise: writing forced him to codify his “six ingredients of Impact”
04:41 Adapting acting skills for the camera / lockdown pivot to virtual training
07:24 The real business ROI of being a published author
09:28 Why AI can’t replace the “identity shift” of writing your own book
12:59 How he deploys his books to land speaking gigs
14:49 Books as gifts — using signed copies to build authority
17:04 “Pinch me” moments: Business Book of the Year shortlist, seeing Cut Through face-out in Waterstones
18:39 Being recognized by readers
20:20 The spaceship: playing Virgil Tracy in Hollywood’s Thunderbirds
21:35 Losing the million-dollar sequel deal
22:50 Why Thunderbirds flopped (release date moved into Spider-Man 2 / Shrek 2)
24:38 Fired by Simon Cowell from an X Factor drama
27:32 Fame vs. being a recognized author
29:02 How Impact and Cut Through fit together
32:24 Where to find Dominic (website, LinkedIn, YouTube)
33:11 Outro