Kevin Tumlinson's Blog, page 3

1 (just the one) Tip for Getting Better at Writing

“You don’t start out writing good stuff. You start out writing crap and thinking it’s good stuff, and then gradually you get better at it. That’s why I say one of the most valuable traits is persistence. ”

— Octavia Butler

Ain't writing cool? It can change the world with no bigger investment than a few minutes a day at a keyboard. It's a simple as typing "lol" in to a text message, and as complicated as writing a moving speech about cooperative business in Africa. You can tell a story about elves and trolls, or tell one about tech industry entrepreneurs and tycoons, and both stories can change the world. 

Want to get better at writing? Do more writing. Every day, no excuses, no delays. Sit with your thoughts, and put them on the page. Forget the trappings of how you write—don't worry about whether you should write on a computer or on a notepad. Don't worry whether you should be funny or serious. Don't fret over spelling or grammar either. That stuff comes after writing, not during. You fix mistakes when you edit, not when you write.

Writing is something else. It's immediate expression, without a filter. And you have to do it again and again, and make mistake after mistake, before you really, finally, honestly get good at it. 

3 Tips for Copywriting that Gets Results›

Ever wanted to be a copywriter? Or maybe just improve your copywriting skills for your own reasons? In this video I give you three tips for creating copy that really resonates with your reader. If you like this and want more on how to build a copywriting business, or any other kind of authority business, chat me up.

TL;DR - Or Using Telepathy to Control the World

I've been blessed with a pretty cool gift. It's kind of amazing, when I think back on it, how not only my whole career but my whole life has been shaped by this thing I do—this super power I have.

I'm telepathic.

It's true. I put my thoughts into the brains of others, and allow the thoughts of others to come into my brain. And sure, I use an intermediary medium to do it. But that doesn't make it any less miraculous. In fact, it makes it even more miraculous, because it means I can teach other people to be telepathic, too!

In fact, that's the business I'm in these days: Teaching people to be telepaths.

Not just telepaths. Exceptional telepaths. I'm teaching people how to take a thought from their head and make it manifest as something in the minds of others. And as an advanced class, I'm teaching people how to take those thoughts and manifest them as actual physical objects in the world. Some assembly required.

My secret to telepathy? Writing. It's that "intermediary medium" I was talking about earlier. And it's probably the most powerful tool we humans have ever created. It has literally stirred souls both to war and to peace, created new sciences and new fields of study, changed the course of history and created a path of destiny for those who needed one. It's built financial empires and inspired billions to hope. Pretty powerful. I should start wearing a cape.

Writing is taken for granted, because it's literally everywhere. The whole world is at least mildly telepathic. Tweets and text messages and posts, emails and blogs and websites, books and magazines and newspapers, billboards and street signs and those little warning labels on mattresses that no one in the history of anything has ever read—all of it is part of the big, boiling soup of mass telepathy we're all a part of. 

There's so much of it that most people think they don't need to develop this gift at all. They already know the basics. Communication happens naturally, so why hone that skill? Why put yourself through the stress of improving it?

Honestly? For most of the world, the ABCs of telepathy are good enough. They get the job done. No problem. But for you? That's never going to be enough.

See, I'm using telepathy on you right now. I'm reading your mind, and I know that you are keenly interested in developing telepathy of your own. You're intrigued by becoming better at it. You recognize that writing is the key to defining yourself, your business, your success.

How do I know?

Because you actually read this far. 

You could easily have said tl:dr — too long, didn't read. But you didn't, because you realized that I'm right. This telepathy, as natural and pervasive as it is, isn't enough. You have to be a telepathic master to get what you want out of life.

That's why I consult with entrepreneurs like you to help you develop better telepathy. Or, let's just boil this down to the pure power tools of it—I teach you how to use writing to define your career, define your business, even define your life. 

Writing—sounds tedious, right? And yet you do it every day. You write emails and tweets and text messages. You've probably written more words than are in this post just since getting up this morning, in the form of text messages and emails and social media posts. It's just that all of that was on autopilot. 

So let's talk about making you an Ace Fighter Pilot of communication.

Writing gives you control of ... well, everything

Having trouble figuring out the story of your business or your life? Writing will help you figure that out. In my interview with Marianne Cantwell (Wordslinger Podcast Episode 005), she summed it up like this:

 

“I know when we are at this stage of going either ‘who am I or where am I going or what is my business, what is my brand?’ it can be hard to know. And one of the best ways to find out is to write and publish regularly.”

 

If you don't know what your "brand" is, or you don't know what your "voice" sounds like, or you don't even know what your "offer" is, start writing. If you don't know who your audience is, start writing. If you don't know who you are, or who you want to be, as an entrepreneur or a person, start writing.

Publishing a blog or an email newsletter or even a regular series of social media posts can help you figure out not only your message but your audience, and will let you refine yourself and your skills as you go. 

You have one job (at a time)

When I talk to clients about writing, almost universally their first hangup is that they aren't perfect.

Isn't that crazy? Who on Earth actually is perfect? Can someone introduce me to these perfect people who seem to be shaming all the rest of us into not even trying? If they're so perfect, why wouldn't they want to help us be perfect, too? They'd be perfectly selfless, right? 

Nobody is perfect.

You just read that last statement in a kind of droning, schoolroom voice, right? Because it's a cliche. And yet, cliche as it may be, no one seems to believe it. We still all go around acting like we can't start, because we'll mess up. Perfection will be ruined. Failure is assured.

Have you ever been to a book store or surfed Amazon.com? Notice anything? There seems to be a few million books for sale, right? And I'm a pretty avid reader—I think I've dipped into a large enough sampling of those books to state that none of those authors is perfect. Well, there is that one book. But He's kind of an exception. He sort of created everything. He had home court advantage. 

But everyone else? At one point or another, all of them had to face the page and feel the stark existential emptiness it represented. And every one of them had to overcome the most powerful enemy any author ever faces: The Inner Editor.

The Darth Vader to your Luke Skywalker. The Voldemort to your Harry Potter. The Sauron to your Frodo.

If your'e going to get better at telepathy, you have to defeat your arch nemesis. It's you versus your Inner Editor in a showdown to the finish. ONLY ONE WILL SURVIVE.

Look, you have one job, when you're writing: Write. That's it. 

I tell clients, "Your job is to write. The editor's job is to edit. Don't do the editor's job. Until you're the editor. Then do the editor's job."

I know, I know—you're a perfectionist. You have OCD. You just can't stand typos. No joke. You're a professional. That's the kind of stuff a responsible human needs to be concerned about. After.

After you write. Not during. After you've finished. Not in the middle. After you've told the story. Not while you're telling it.

You can't keep looking at what you've written and expect to keep moving forward with more of it. You must turn off the Inner Editor. 

If it helps, think of it as giving him or her some time off. Let them recharge their batteries a bit, freshen up a little, get energized and ready to tackle editing after you write. 

But write first. Write often. Write every single day.

Even Luke Skywalker had Obi Wan Kenobi

Get a mentor.

Seriously. Get someone in your life you can turn to when you need advice, a little push, a bit of nudging. Get someone who will remind you that the key to mastering telepathy is following the program, writing every day and turning off the editor, and just committing to putting your thoughts out there in the most organized way possible, so that they get into as many brains as possible. 

Even I have mentors. Plural. I have a whole bunch of folks I talk to all the time about my writing, my business, my personal development. I have people on speed dial to help me "sharpen the saw." I can't do this all on my own. No one can.  Telepathy takes two people. Otherwise it's just you thinking really hard into the wind. 

Luckily, you don't have to look far to find someone to coach you through all this. Since you're here, and you've over come tl;dr to read this whole post, I'm going to assume you value what I'm saying. So start here. I can tell you more.

I consult with people about their writing all the time. Talk to me. I really can help. And I really want to. Because you'll pay me. But also, and more importantly, after decades of writing to discover my own brand and voice and audience and purpose, I've discovered that my role in the world is teaching telepathy to others, helping people build and grow their authority, helping people figure out how to build something better out of the good stuff they already have in their lives.

Even if it's not me ...

If you don't come to me for mentorship, go to someone. Don't just sit with your thoughts un-broadcasted. Don't sit with the fear or anxiety that comes from simply not knowing who you really are or what you're trying to say. Start talking to people who know what this is like, who can give you guidance. And start writing, right now. 

Swing by my Consulting page to set up some one-on-one time with me, if you need a place to start. We'll chat. We'll figure out what you need most. We'll get you a plan to start. And we'll teach you how to start developing your own telepathic super powers, one word at a time.

Kosmos Coffee and the Model Mission Statement

Yesterday I found a great little coffee shop that has officially made it onto  my rotation of "places where I will create stuff." Kosmos Coffee is a not-for-profit business in Cinco Ranch, Texas. Check out their missions statement:

“We seek to provide great coffee in the context of community — with all the profits benefiting humanitarian organizations both locally and globally.”

Don't forget to become a Slinger by Midnight (CST) Sunday, 8 March 2015, to be automatically entered for a chance to win a free Kindle fire HD6! Click here for details.

There's everything a growing authority entrepreneur needs in that one mission statement.

"We seek to provide great coffee ..." — the offer.

"... in the context of the community ..." — the tribe.

"... with all the profits benefiting humanitarian organizations both locally and globally ..." — the benefit that addresses a pain point.

All of that forms the why of your business. It's the reason you're in business in the first place. It's the purpose of everything you're doing and everything you're building.

You don't have to give all your profits away. Your product may actually be a service instead. Your tribe may be a specific segment of the community. But this is as good a format for your mission statement as you'll ever find. 

What's your missions statement? What do you provide, what problem do you solve, and for whom are you solving it? What's the why of your business?

Write it down, read it every day, and keep it at the very heart of your business. When you're confused about which direction your business needs to go, or why you should keep trying, look at that statement again and remind yourself. It will help you stay on track, and that means you're making steady forward progress, all the while.

What are your questions about Copywriting?

One of my favorite, go-to authority businesses is copywriting. I'm biased, of course, because the largest portion of my career has been in this field. But I have this belief that writing is the key to the discovery of your story—your brand, your message, even your self. 

But you don't have to start a copywriting business to get a huge benefit from better copywriting. All businesses can see huge improvements in their marketing and messaging, and in their profits, if time is spent developing and improving copywriting skills. 

Writing is hard. It requires you to convert thought into something tangible. And thoughts—well, they tend to be all over the place. So writing forces you to organize something that isn't easily organizable. A lot of people feel that good writing is a result of natural talent, and they're not entirely wrong. But it's also a skill that can be nurtured and grown and developed into the most powerful tool you have in your belt.

That's why I've decided to develop a series of products and services and books that are specifically aimed at helping people become better at copywriting, no matter what kind of business they're in. 

But I could use your help ...

I need to know what you think is the biggest copywriting need, hassle, headache, or weakness an individual or a business has to face. So I've put together a survey with just 6 simple questions, designed to help me find out what you need most, so I can build it for you.

Would you fill out this 6-question survey?

You can get to the survey here.

This shouldn't take more than 10 minutes to complete, and your answers are completely anonymous. I don't even ask for your name or email address. I just need honest questions from professionals like you, that will help me shape what I'm developing, so I can provide something that skyrockets your business!

If you have wanted to start a copywriting business, or you recognize how important effective copywriting is in your own business, here's your chance to help shape something that can help.

So please, fill out this survey and help me help you and so many others. Together we'll build something that can teach this vital skill, and help so many people do more with their careers and their lives.

Thank you! I'm incredibly grateful for your help.

How to Answer the "Hard Sell"

Question: How do you make selling benefit the other guy as much as it benefits you?

I'm asking for a friend.

Actually, I'm asking because I had an experience yesterday that brought the whole concept of "selling" into sharp focus for me, and I learned something from it that I think is good to share. Because I think a lot of us have "selling" all wrong.

I don't want to go into too many details about this experience, because I think that the person I spoke to does have good intentions. But the short version is that I did a consultation yesterday as part of my "sharpen the saw" efforts. I need consulting myself sometimes, with people who can give me a fresh perspective and new ideas I can apply to help the people I consult with. I got that out of this call, but not directly. I had to come to it on my own after walking away feeling low and pretty awful.

The thing that tipped the balance for me was that, first, this was a "free consultation" with someone I've followed for a short time now. This person has a business built around a ministry of sorts. I liked the idea of someone approaching marketing and authority building from a Christian perspective. You don't see that often. So despite some occasional feelings of hinkiness beforehand, I attended a webinar and then did the follow-up consult.

Things went well enough as this person asked about the goods and bads of my business. They complimented me on what I've built so far, and gave me some genuine advice that, though I'd heard it before, did serve to reinforce what I'm doing.

And then the pitch started.

I understand sales. Marketing and sales enjoy a sort of symbiotic relationship, and I've experienced both sides of the art of selling in my career. I'm a pretty good salesman, actually. Mostly because I only "sell" something if I believe in it, and can speak to its value personally. 

What I've never enjoyed, and try to avoid, is the "hard sell." This is when someone puts you in a corner, gives you a "yes or no" proposition, and won't let you walk away from the call or the meeting until you've committed one way or the other. There's the implication that saying "no" means you're not committed, or maybe not even worthy. Your sense of self worth is on the line with that one decision. 

You might be asked, "What would it take for you to say yes to this opportunity right now? What would it take to get past your objections? How much is your business worth to you? Is it worth making a commitment of $X in order to accomplish your goals?"

You see what's happening here, right? You're being asked to think about the yes. You're asked to commit, or forfeit this opportunity. Which, it's implied, is the opportunity to have what you want, if only you're committed enough to say yes. There's the implication that saying "no" means you are not committed, you will not succeed, you do not have what it takes.

I know this type of close. I've experienced it before, many times. This is something teachable—in sales training you are taught to think this way, to frame the conversation this way, to own the conversation and keep the prospect thinking about that yes, about what they want, and about the regret they'd feel if they don't say yes right now.

Objections that you have to talk to your spouse before you can commit that kind of money get met with statements such as, "If your life depended on raising that money right now, would you be able to do it?" 

In fact, any objection you could normally think of has already been accounted for and answered, in advance. The closer has everything in his or her head, waiting to draw on their ready answers to your predictable objections. Predictable, because they're common sense. Of course you would need time to think over a major purchase, to talk to your spouse first, to determine if this is a good fit for you and your business. Knowing that common sense will bring these questions into play, the closer can have counter statements ready to disrupt your thinking and pile on the pressure.

And then there's the leverage of regret and self doubt. You'll get comments such as, "I don't think you're a good fit for this right now, i don't think you're committed enough to your own success." Which forces you to defend yourself. "I'm a good fit! I'm good enough! I am committed!  I can do this!" You feel the anxiety of that, because in that moment you actually believe that there's an opportunity right in front of you that will disappear if you don't take it. You'll never see this again. You'll miss out on ...

Well, the language of the whole conversation has been about your goals and desires and wants. You're talking to this person about your level of commitment. This is, on its surface, a conversation about you and your dreams and your goals. So what feels like it's on the table, what you're about to lose, is the opportunity to do something good for your life. 

But that isn't actually the conversation you're having.

The real conversation is about the sell. The offer. This is a conversation about closing the deal. The person you're talking to has something to sell, and they want you to commit right now—of course they do—to giving them money, to signing up for their program, to buying their product. 

I should say this right now, to clear up any possible confusion: Selling is not wrong. It's not evil. It's necessary. We do it all the time, sometimes without even realizing it.

I'm selling to you right now, actually—asking you to buy in on my philosophy and my expertise and my authority. I want you to connect with me, agree with me, and come to me when you want to know or do more. I've mentioned a few times now that I'm a consultant, that I work with people building authority businesses, that I have books and programs and products for sale. This whole blog is a sales tool, at least in part.

So what's the key difference here?

For starters—and you'll have to decide for yourself if this is true—but my goal is to provide you with as much benefit, if not more, as I get out of this relationship. I want you to grow as an authority. I want you to be an amazing copywriter or a fantastic speaker or a brilliant author or an inspirational consultant or coach. I want to provide you with the tools and resources you need to be that, even as I learn more about it all myself. 

For this other tactic—the hard sell—can any of the above really apply? 

it's possible. The seller could actually have your best interest at heart, and has chosen this method because they really can't stand the thought of you not getting this information or this product or this help .They could be desperate to help you. 

But I think that's unlikely. 

There are some red flags in my conversation from yesterday that, now, I see I should have spotted immediately. I did, in some fashion, because I was thinking about these things during the conversation, while feeling the angst and anxiety and while saying "no." 

First, there's the immediacy. 

Big financial decisions should never be instant decisions. Of course, "big financial decisions" is a subjective term. For most people, spending $50K all at once is huge. For Donald Trump, maybe not so much. But if you're being asked to make a decision about something that could cause you some financial hardship, and you're told the offer goes away if you don't say yes right this minute, then I have some strong advice:

The answer is no.

You are, by far, much safer keeping your money than giving it away without the time to consider the pros and cons. This seems obvious now, in the comfort of wherever you're reading this, but in the moment of the hard sell, it's going to be confusing and difficult to focus. So just remember it as simply as possible: If you are asked to commit significant finances to something, but you must say yes right now, then the answer is always and emphatically "no."

You are not a coward. You are not a failure. You do not lack commitment to your goals or dreams. You are making a wise decision rather than a foolish one.

Second, there's your spouse (or anyone you care about).

Most of us have at least one person we're accountable to, in some way. We have responsibilities beyond ourselves. We have wives and husbands, children, parents. Making a huge financial decision on a whim can cause pain for those we care about as well as ourselves. 

So if you say, "I have to talk to my spouse about this," and there is any resistance at all, the answer is "no."

Again, in the moment, you're going to feel pressured and uncertain. You're going to worry that you're making a mistake, choosing to play it safe out of fear. in fact, if you make a decision without consulting the person who shares in your responsibilities, you are actually being irresponsible, and that's a sign you shouldn't make this decision at all.

So the short version: If you say you have to talk to your spouse, and they push you to decide now anyway, the answer is always and emphatically "no."

Are you making a mistake? Will you regret it?

Not likely. 

If this person really does have your best interest in mind, then the deal is never fully closed. They'll be there for you when you're ready. If this particular opportunity is time sensitive, so be it. Another will come around. You can show your interest in being a part of the next thing, and if they really care about you they'll accept that and keep you in mind.

So no, the reality is you'll only regret this if you're framing it as a "missed opportunity." If, however, you frame it for what it is, you'll come out better for the experience. And what it is comes down to this:

You are a responsible person, capable of making wise decisions. You do not need to commit to any deal that has to have an answer "now or never." Choose never, and go on to the next, better opportunity. 

So, how do you make selling benefit the other guy as much as it benefits you?

You're in business now. You will have to do some selling. So tell me, either in comments or (better yet) by calling 281-809-WORD (9673) — how do you do selling so that it helps instead of hurts? 

Leave me your answers and I'll read or play them on air during my Wordslinger Podcast. 

I look forward to hearing your answers!

"Can you believe it? We were all eggs yesterday."

There are days (maybe this is one of them) when you wonder if it's all worth the effort. You ask yourself if it's really worth putting in the time and energy to do what you're trying to do. Sometimes the answer you get back is "no." And you move on to something else.

More often, the answer is "yes." And that's when you have to stop and think about how far you've already come. At some point you had to start, and when you did you started with a lot less than you have today. 

Take stock of what you have. Look at your resources, your inspirations, your insights. List it out, and look it over from top to bottom. And do that again, when you start feeling that things are too heavy, and that you don't know how you'll go on. Remind yourself that you were an egg yesterday. Now get crackin'. 

Success vs Value

“Try not to become a man of success, but rather try to become a man of value.”

— Albert Einstein

How to Build an Authority Business RIGHT NOW

Building an authority business is a pretty brave decision. Mostly because you're proclaiming to the world that you are, in fact, an authority on a given topic. You're an expert, and your expertise has value. That's a bold statement to make.

Here's how you back it up.

Establishing authority in a field or industry requires a system. It's a pretty simple formula, when you look at it from the outside, but it can become ridiculously complex if you let it. Also, despite what I just wrote, there actually is no one formula for this. Your path to an authority business can meander all over the place sometimes. But here's a process you can follow (and modify to taste) to help you get started on your own authority business, right now.

Become an Expert

Are you an author? A speaker? A consultant or coach? A teacher or guru? Maybe you're all of these things. That would be your role, but it's not your expertise. 

As an author, you'll want to define what it is you write about. Do you write fiction or non-fiction? What genre, or what type of topic do you cover? Biographies? Science fiction? Economy? Zombie apocalypse? 

When I'm working with clients, I ask them to tell me about the thing they love doing most. What is it that they read about most often? What sort of films or documentaries or podcasts do they gravitate toward? These are all indicators of the field in which you might want to focus your expertise. As Joseph Campbell wrote, "Follow your bliss." Pick something you love, and immerse yourself in everything you can find on the subject.

There are some figures out there that you might want to know.

Tim Ferriss, author of The 4-Hour Workweek, wrote that in order to be an "expert" in a given field, you should read the top three bestselling books on the topic. That's it. Read what three of the top experts in the industry have to say, and you're already more knowledgable about a given topic than the largest portion of the population. Everything else you read or expose your brain to after that is just continuing education. 

Malcolm Gladwell, author of books such as Outliers, wrote that achieving "expertise" takes 10,000 hours of practice. That's not an exact, set-in-stone figure. It's a goal. If you spent just 5 hours a day studying a craft or practicing a skill, you'd achieve complete mastery over it in just under 6 years. But consider—while you're working toward that complete mastery, you're gaining expertise every day.

Five hours a day—if you think about it, that's not much. Maybe you spend two hours in the morning, an hour at lunch, and two hours in the evening. You read, you watch YouTube videos, you listen to podcasts. You write or you practice your skill. You come back to it again and again, and put in the time, working toward that 10K. Chances are, you're probably further ahead than "zero" already, even if you feel like you're just starting. How many books or podcasts or films or lectures have you already been exposed to on this topic?

Every day you put the effort into it, you're already ahead of most of the population, when it comes that field. You're already an expert, in comparison to everyone else.

You don't have to wait for complete mastery before you can start putting your expertise to work. Start writing, start speaking, start consulting and coaching, using what you know right now. Consider that part of your 10,000 hours of growing toward complete mastery, but start right now to add value to the world with your unique perspective. 

Get the credentials (or make your own)

Is there a special certification or credential you need? Get it. Don't wait. Don't hesitate. Go sign up for whatever course or program you need to be a part of. If it's expensive, immediately start putting the money aside to pay for it. Take action right now to get that road block out of the way.

However ...

Most authority businesses actually do not require any certification or credential at all. In fact, those things typically only apply for specialized fields. And, in most cases, they're not so much "required" as "recommended." Usually by people who work in that industry, and who have a vested interest in creating a barrier to entry.

Chances are, whatever it is you want to do will not require special credentials. In most cases, you can just start doing the work.

If it makes you feel better or more official to have something that establishes your credibility, I recommend two courses of action:

Build an audience — Start a podcast or a video blog, or write a blog on your website. Start posting regularly to Twitter or Facebook. Do all these things with the intention of "giving back" to your budding and growing audience, instead of asking them to come buy from you. In other words, have conversations with the people who are gravitating toward you, and offer them something of real value as they listen, watch, or read. This helps build loyalty, but it also firmly establishes you as an authority in your field.

Create a product — Create a workshop or course, create a workbook for your clients to use, or create a bundle of services you can offer. My personal favorite: Write a book. In fact, you don't even have to be much of a writer to get a book for your business. Swing by Happy Pants Books and my team can help you write and publish a book, and you might not have to write a single word.

These two things, individually, would be enough to help establish your credibility. Together they're two of the most powerful tools I give to my own clients. 

You don't need official credentials to show people that you know what you're talking about. You just need to know what you're talking about, and talk about it often, in as many ways as possible.

Hang your shingle

Don't wait. Don't hesitate. Don't drag it out. Once you decide that you want to do this work, start doing it. Start writing that book, start asking people if they need a speaker, start offering to coach someone or consult with someone about your topic of choice. 

You may or may not make any money doing this right away. Chances are, you have a day job you're trying to leave. Let that be your funding. Spend your time away from that job building this other part of your career, and keep refining it until it's "the thing you do." 

It's important to start telling people, right away, that this is something you're doing. You'll find that people can be incredibly supportive, and can often be a source of leads for clients, resources for your personal growth, or just moral support when things get tough.

It doesn't matter that you're not already successful at what you're doing. It only matters that you're telling others and yourself who you are and what your goals are. You're making this work part of your identity, and this is how you own it. Hang your shingle, and start doing as much as you can, right away.

Establish "Perceived Value" — ie Fake it 'til you make it

This step is really about bringing all the pieces together. As you grow into your expertise and authority, you'll find that there are some people who just don't buy it. They can't see you in this role. They don't consider you an expert.

You may actually be one of those people.

That's ok. Every expert started at zero at some point. Your value, in this industry, is going to come first from how you and others perceive your expertise. That's why it's important to start putting yourself out there right away, to claim ownership over your own authority. It's important to start.

As you move forward into this career, you will sometimes have to "fake it." You'll have to "fool yourself" into being confident in what you know. You'll have to keep telling yourself that you're a champ a this, that you really are an expert. You'll have to keep reminding yourself that you've read all the books, listened to all the podcasts, and absorbed all the wisdom.

The funny thing is, after a while you fool yourself so well that you suddenly realize it's all true. You really are an authority in this. You somehow became "ready" while you were pretending to be ready.

The important thing is to start.

Start reading those three books. Start putting in those five hours of practice each day. Start offering your expertise to an audience. Start asking people if they'd like to pay you for what you do. 

Small steps. Tiny improvements. But eventually you've walked long enough that you'll notice a few folks coming along for the journey. You'll see things suddenly change, and you'll find yourself marveling that there was ever a time when you weren't an authority on this topic. 

Go claim your authority. The world needs you.

"An entrepreneur defines himself (or herself) for a living."

"What do you do?"

It was maybe the 20th time I'd been asked that question since walking into the Global Writes Partner Summit. My good friend and fellow author, JoAnn Takasaki, had pulled together all of her vendors and partners and contractors so we could all meet and greet in one place. I had about fifty things booked for that same time on the same day, and almost didn't go. Now I'm ecstatic that I did.

"I help people build or grow authority businesses," I said, for maybe the 20th time. I explained that I work with entrepreneurs who want to build careers around their passion and expertise—people like consultants, speakers, coaches, and authors. I explained how I almost always start by helping them write or finish a book. I talked about how I have a network of affiliate partners who can do ... well ... anything. I told them that I add my "clients" to that list, so they can benefit from being a part of that network. Basically, it's this self-propagating organism that grows by helping others grow.

And I told them how I have this crazy plan—I want my business model to be "help people become crazy wealthy and successful as quickly as possible." Help people build something that makes them feel Christmas-morning excited when they get up every day. Help people create something they're passionate about, so they can go out and help other people do something amazing, too. Basically, I want my business model to be "Love others as you'd love yourself." And that involves a whole lot of connecting as many people as possible to as many more people as possible, and helping any way I can.

This isn't an easy business. It's just about the hardest kind of business there is. To some people, it's a completely counter-intuitive and maybe even counter-productive way to operate. How do you make money, if all you're doing is connecting people and helping everyone build their own business? "Do you charge for consulting?"

Yes, sometimes. More often, I do the "consulting" for free and take a cut of the revenue from the business I generate for someone else. I connect someone to a web developer, for example, and that developer pays me a cut of the profits from the web project that comes out of it. Referral fees. Affiliate relationships.

Is it stable? Sometimes. Sometimes I wonder where the money actually comes from, because it can feel like magic. Sometimes God just blesses me with a check out of nowhwere. That's how it feels. I don't remember doing anything for that particular entrepreneur, but they sent me a referral fee anyway. And I'm always grateful for it! And I always make sure to send them more business as I can.

My business—the business of helping people build or grow their authority business—is kind of "wiggly." Kind of hard to define. Kind of tough to predict. And I love it. 

I refine this as I go. I iterate. I evolve. I take wise counsel when I can find it, and I change. I pivot. I can do that, because my real business is me. I'm the brand. I'm the resource. I'm the thing I'm evolving and growing.

Is it scalable? Can it grow beyond me? I think so. I'm already looking at ways to do just that. I'm building products, writing books, creating stand-alone systems that can create income without my direct input all the time. 

I'm still defining who I am as an entrepreneur, but that shouldn't be surprising. An entrepreneur defines himself (or herself) for a living. We build a business because we love the challenge and excitement of it, and because we want to see some profit from it. But we don't stop with just that one venture. We can't. We have to iterate. We have to evolve.

The people I met at that summit are all fantastic. They have an energy that fuels me. I want to find a way to help everyone I met there succeed beyond anything they ever though was possible. That's my business model. That's a day in a Wordslinger's life.