Jeff Goins's Blog, page 37
July 21, 2016
Why Your Greatest Work May Die With You
Your greatest work will die with you… If you don’t do this.
Posted by Jeff Goins, Writer on Wednesday, July 20, 2016
Book study highlights
In this week’s lesson, we talk about:
What it takes to leave a legacy.
Why success can be dressed up like an enemy.
Identifying how you want to be remembered by your family and friends.
The point of discovering your calling.
How to know if you’ve fulfilled your calling.
Why you need a community to help you pursue your calling.
The importance of sharing what you know now with others.
Why your calling needs to be bigger than yourself.
Resources
Download The Art of Work Workbook for free.
The Art of Work Facebook Group.
Don’t forget to join the conversation that’s happening on Facebook. Go here to get started.
July 20, 2016
112: How Your Surroundings Ignite Your Creativity (And What To Do About It) with Eric Weiner
I used to believe that creative work was mysterious. That coming up with a good idea, finding inspiration, or writing a blog post or book wasn’t something I could plan for, but was something I had to wait to happen to me.
I’m not alone in this, either. There’s a shroud of mystery that surrounds creative work. And I totally get it. Creative ideas can at times appear out of nowhere. And when I’m most in need of creative inspiration, it can be hard to find.
So, is creativity something you can plan for?
Well, the answer is yes and no.
You see, there’s no exact science, formula, or process you can follow to successfully yield creative results 100% of the time. What works for some people doesn’t necessarily work for others.
However, you can teach yourself how to become more creative, learn how to identify good ideas, and even change your surroundings or the place you live to improve your creative work.
This week on The Portfolio Life, Eric Weiner and I talk about why creative work flourishes in certain places today and throughout history. Eric discovered in his research and travels a significant connection between the place you live, your surroundings, and the influence they have on your personal creativity.
Listen in as Eric shares the common elements that not only lead certain places to become more creative, but will also help you to improve your personal creativity.
Listen to the podcast
To listen to the show, click the player below. (If you are reading this via email or RSS, please click here.)
Show highlights
In this episode, Eric and I discuss:
The process Eric used to land on his book idea for The Geography of Genius.
Why you should maintain a balance of knowledge and ignorance when writing.
Celebrating and learning from your mistakes in life and work.
Finding creative inspiration in unlikely places.
Embracing the challenges in your life to grow in your creative work.
The three common elements that make places creative.
How to turn harness creativity in your home and family.
The importance of doing creative work in collaboration with others.
Why you need to possess courage in your pursuit of doing creative work.
Eric’s hypothesis on the world’s next most creative place.
Quotes and takeaways
“Nothing is new except arrangement.” -Will Durant
If it takes a village to raise a child, then it takes a city to raise a genius.
Learning from mistakes is an important part of the creative process.
As a creative person, you need to learn how to discern between good and bad ideas.
Successful creatives are engaged with people and their world; they’re not isolated from it.
Resources
The Geography of Genuis , by Eric Weiner.
The Wealth of Nations , by Adam Smith.
Download the full transcript here.
Is your creativity fostered or inhibited based upon where you live? Have you considered moving to a certain place to pursue creative work? Share in the comments.
July 18, 2016
5 Investments That Made the Difference in My Writing Career
I used to think that to be a writer, all you had to do was learn to write well. But that’s just not true. There’s a lot more to writing than that.
If you think all you need to do to succeed as a writer is practice writing, you are fooling yourself. Writing all the time is exhausting. It depletes your creative reserves and requires them to be full again before you can produce more work. So how do you replenish, then? You have to invest in yourself.
It wasn’t until I invested in my growth that I started to see measurable success with my writing. Now I don’t believe you need to “spend money to make money.” Nor do I think you should go into debt to pursue a dream. But I do believe the craft of writing is worth whatever resources you have to invest. If you don’t invest in your growth, who will?
Looking back, there are five investments I made (and continue to make) that have meant the difference between starving and thriving, and I hope they help you, too.
Investment #1: Get a Coach
Successful people do not succeed alone. They get help.
While working a day job, I found a group coaching opportunity I knew would help me, so I asked my boss to pay for it. He said yes. This program was where I first called myself a writer.
Today, I consider coaches essential to the work that I do – ranging from informal mentors to biweekly counseling sessions. Some of these people are paid, some are not. The point is that I have finally let go of my ego and asked for help and guidance in areas where I am less experienced. Without the insight and perspective of these guides, I wouldn’t be where I am today.
Coaching opportunities can take many forms, from small groups to one-on-one sessions with an industry expert. The challenge, then, is to begin. Here’s how to get started:
Action step: Find an opportunity that can help you get where you want to be. This should be more than an infrequent meal with a mentor, but it doesn’t necessarily have to be a formal coaching opportunity, either.
It does need to include time with a trusted expert who has succeeded in ways that you have not.
“Successful people do not succeed alone. They get help.Tweet thisTweet
If it costs money, find a way to pay for it. Some coaching arrangements may even overlap with the responsibilities you currently have at your day job, which means your organization may likely support you or even pay for it completely.
If you can’t afford it, find a more cost-effective or free alternative. Be sure to ask about scholarships and possibly trading services in exchange for some coaching.
And of course, there’s always the option to find a mentor who is willing to invest in you for free. Be sure to follow my 10-step process for approaching influencers and getting them to invest in you.
Investment #2: Take Smart People Out to Lunch
Successful people spend time with people who are smarter than them.
I learned this from Dan Miller who taught me that if you’re the smartest person in the room, then it’s time to find a new room.
When I was first getting started as a writer, I didn’t have much money. But I knew it was rude to ask an influencer out to lunch to pick their brain and not offer to buy their meal. So I set aside a few bucks once or twice a month and started asking people to coffee.
What surprised me when I started doing this was how many said yes, and how some even tried to pay. What I learned was this: it’s not paying for their meal that impresses an influencer; it’s offering in the first place.
I am not exaggerating when I say that my first book deal began with buying someone coffee. It sounds simple because it is, and because in the very noisy world we live in today, we’ve forgotten that human connection is always going to get you further than writing the perfect email asking someone to share your stuff.
Action step: If you want to pick someone’s brain, don’t start there. Instead, offer to buy their lunch or at least a cup of coffee and ask a few questions about the choices they’ve made and why.
Here’s one question that always works to honor the person in front of you and get the conversation going:
“What’s one thing you would do differently if you had to start over today?”
If you don’t live near the people you want to connect with, no worries. Start by showing up in the comments of their blog or find them on Twitter.
Get familiar with their message and make yourself available to serve in some way. Doing favors for people is the best networking there is.
Investment #3: Study the Work of Other Writers
Successful people are students of success. They study what others have done and pattern their own success after the masters who have come before them.
When I started out as a writer, I knew I didn’t know what I didn’t know, so I figured the best place to start was to learn about the lives and practices of other writers, creatives, and entrepreneurs.
It was Josh Kaufman who taught me that one of the best, most cost-effective investments you can ever make in your success is books. His Personal MBA book list consists of 99 business books that, yes, might cost a few hundred dollars—but that’s $100,000 cheaper than getting an actual MBA. And let’s not forget that compiling that list helped Josh secure his own book deal with a major publisher.
“Successful people spend time with people who are smarter than them.Tweet thisTweet
Books have the power to educate us and transform our lives. As soon as I realized that, and as my wife and I were able, I gradually increased my monthly book budget, investing in resources like Audible and buying more books as soon as people recommended them.
I read a mix of genres, all of which teach me different things about writing, but biographies of famous creative people have been the most inspiring to me in my own journey. There’s just something powerful about learning how Walt Disney built his company or Ernest Hemingway got his start.
Stephen King once said that if you don’t have time to read, you don’t have the time (or tools) to write, and it really is that simple. You must invest in the work of others if you expect others to invest in yours.
Action step: Make it a personal goal to read at least one book per month. If you’re already doing that, increase the frequency to once a week. And if you’re already doing that, then you can join me in my aspiration of reading one book per day.
Don’t have enough time to read? Try audiobooks. You can sign up for a free trial membership of Audible and get a free copy of any of my books.
Of course, you don’t have to spend money to read or listen to books. That’s what libraries are for. But I recommend you commit to a reading schedule and invest your time in working through lots of different kinds of books.
Investment #4: Continue Your Education
Successful people never stop learning. For them, life is an endless educational experience.
People often ask me if I studied English in college. I didn’t. What I did do, however, was get a job as a writing tutor, which forced me to stay current on grammar rules and continue to strengthen my writing.
After college, I took the advice of a good friend and kept learning – signing up for community classes and other opportunities where I could learn. When I got serious about writing, I took a few online courses and bought some eBooks on writing and blogging, learning from people like Darren Rowse and Corbett Barr who had an expertise that I lacked.
I learned a lot from these courses including what makes for a great online learning experience and what doesn’t, all of which helped me when I decided to create my own online course, Tribe Writers.
“People who invest in their success tend to succeed more than those who don’t.Tweet thisTweet
Are online courses expensive? Some are, some aren’t. But that’s the wrong question to ask. When considering investing in a course, you want to know how tailored the information is to what you want to learn, and how knowledgeable the instructor is.
Action step: Find an online course to take that will help you grow as a writer. A great course has the following: 1) relevant information on the topic you want to learn, 2) legitimate credentials (i.e. the teacher has actual first-hand experience with the material), and 3) access to the teacher and to other students.
Recently, I was talking with a friend who said his university is still teaching traditional marketing tactics that haven’t worked in the real world for a decade and there’s no discussion at all of online marketing. The online courses I’ve taken have been far more practical, timely, and relevant than most classes currently available in my community, and they can be taken from the comfort of my couch.
Compared to a university class, online courses are not only a steal; they’re a great way to continue your education.
Investment #5: Attend Conferences and Events
Successful people don’t wait for opportunity to come to them. They go where other successful people are.
This started for me with local free meetups, and eventually turned into a few yearly events that I would save up for and splurge on.
What I learned from conferences, and why I finally decided to throw one myself, is that they are an excuse for a group of like-minded people, a tribe, to show up in the spirit of connection, growth, and support. Especially for writers, it’s tempting to hide away while working on our masterpieces, but we know now that creativity doesn’t actually work this way.
Research tells us that we do our best work when working with and being inspired by others; it tells us that “group genius”, as Dr. Keith Sawyer calls it, is the answer to our frustrations about isolation, loneliness, and the pressures of producing work that endures. We must get out of the house and into the world if we want to connect with that world through our words.
The content of a conference is important, of course, but that is easily found on YouTube or in that same speaker-author’s book. The value of a live event is in the connections that happen between you and others who are present in the room with you.
These are connections that can continue for years, inspire your writing, and take your creative career to unimaginable places. I have made life-long friends at conferences. I met my first publisher at a conference. I connected with people who have made me lots of money (and I them) at conferences.
Something powerful happens when people get together and share their lives. If you haven’t experienced that yet, it doesn’t mean conferences aren’t right for you. It means you haven’t yet found your tribe. Keep looking, because they’re waiting for you.
Action step: Sign up for one conference in the next year. I’m biased, but I think the Tribe Conference is a great one.
Again, the point of all this is not for you to go spend a bunch of money you don’t have. There are ways to do each of these things on a dime, just as there are ways to splurge. But I do believe there is an important principle at work here: People who invest in their success tend to succeed more than those who don’t.
Forking up a little cash or committing a regular block of time to personal growth is an important means of forcing yourself to take your dreams a little more seriously.
For me, when I made these investments into my writing career, I was surprised at how much more I grew, simply because I was taking it more seriously. And in making these investments of time and money, I found others who were just like me. Others who could help me succeed in ways that I couldn’t on my own.
This was why I decided to launch the Tribe Conference last year. I wasn’t sure it would work, but when 150 people came, and when lives and careers changed, as a result, I knew we’d created something special—a place for writers and creatives to find the encouragement and challenge they need to grow the audiences they deserve.
We already have 250 committed to coming this year and have another 250 tickets available. But the price is going up in just a few weeks, so if you’re thinking about coming, I encourage you to check out the conference page and get a ticket before it’s too late.
If you’re still not sure what this is, here are some more details: The Tribe Conference is a two-day event (I’m calling it a marketing conference for non-marketers) packed full with inspiring speakers and practical content. You’ll hear from guest speakers like Asha Dornfest, Nathan Barry, Carlos Whittaker, me, and more!
The conference will be held at The Factory in Franklin, TN, from September 16-18, 2016.
Register for the Tribe Conference Today!
What’s one investment you’ve made in yourself and one you’re thinking about making? Share in the comments.
July 14, 2016
Why You Might Need to Reject Your Parents’ Career Advice
Why following your parents’ career advice won’t get you very far. #artofworkbook
Posted by Jeff Goins, Writer on Wednesday, July 13, 2016
Book study highlights
In this week’s lesson, we talk about:
What it takes to become great at something.
Processing good and bad career advice we’ve heard growing up.
The biggest misconception about finding your calling.
Why pursuing just one craft or trade may not be good advice.
Two ways you can know when you’ve discovered your calling.
A new kind of mastery.
Why becoming a master of some is a good thing.
The four different components of the portfolio life.
How developing a portfolio life will best prepare you for the future.
The myth of work-life balance.
Why your calling is more than one thing.
Resources
Download The Art of Work Workbook for free.
The Art of Work Facebook Group.
I hope you’ll join me live next week for The Art of Work book study. We will discuss why our calling isn’t about us as much as we thought it was.
Don’t forget to join the conversation that’s happening on Facebook. Go here to get started.
July 13, 2016
111: Unlikely Sources of Inspiration
There are days when I don’t feel inspired—at all. Some days I don’t want to write, and other days I feel completely empty without anything to give. Finding inspiration during these moments can be hard to come by.
Over the years, I’ve learned that inspiration isn’t something you wait for. Inspiration is something you have to fight for.
Though you will experience moments of creative bliss, many times you will have to push through the resistance life throws your way. At other times, your life will force you to stop and replenish yourself before you can move forward.
Regardless of what has led you to feel uninspired, it’s important to know where you can go to replenish your creative wells.
This week on The Portfolio Life, Andy Traub and I discuss creativity and unlikely sources of inspiration. We also talk about what you need to do to come up with compelling ideas, the best places to find inspiration, and the importance of just getting started.
Since fighting for inspiration comes with every type of creative work, I encourage you to listen in to discover new and unlikely sources of inspiration.
Listen to the podcast
To listen to the show, click the player below. (If you’re reading this via email or RSS, please click here.)
Show highlights
In this episode, Andy and I discuss:
Unlikely places I find inspiration.
Why I don’t tend to read blogs or listen to podcasts.
My greatest grammar faux pas.
What I’m looking for when I’m researching for blogs, books, and podcasts.
What it takes to create something that motivates someone.
Combining ideas from other fields to get new insights.
Why reading deep and wide is essential to finding inspiration.
The need for deadlines, processes, and feedback.
How just getting started on something will help you gain clarity.
Quotes and takeaways
You have to dig deeper than others to create interesting ideas that are going to move, motivate, and connect with others.
“What is obvious to you is amazing to others.” -Derek Sivers.
Don’t settle on your idea until you have time to explore it.
“Every block of stone has a statue inside it and it is the task of the sculptor to discover it.” -Michelangelo
Resources
Outliers , by Malcolm Gladwell.
Peak , by Anders Ericsson.
7 Things Professional Writers Know that Amateurs Don’t, blog post by Jeff Goins.
Download the full interview transcript here.
What are your sources of unlikely inspiration? Share in the comments.
July 11, 2016
How to Ethically Get My Book for Free
As a writer, I love books. They are fuel for any idea or pursuit I have. They help me do what I do better. But books cost both time and money. Wouldn’t it be great, though, if they didn’t?
Here’s a quick way to start reading and learning more — for free: audiobooks.
Books are an incredible investment in your continued education, personal growth, and awareness of the world around you. But most people have little time to crack open a book, and sometimes even the $25 you pay for a hardcover can feel like a big investment.
Admittedly, as much as I love to read, I was finding it increasingly difficult to find the time to get through a book as the demands of a growing family and growing business were requiring more and more of me.
Then I found Audible. Or rather, it was recommended by a friend. As I started listening to audiobooks, I was amazed at how many books I could get through. First, it was one a month. Then it was one a week. Now, it’s several books a week, and my goal is eventually a book a day!
Audiobooks are an easy way for you to start reading more books on a regular basis for as little as $15 a month.
On that note, did you know that you can download my best-selling book right now for free? Here’s how it works:
Click this link: The Art of Work.
Sign up for a free, 30-day trial to Audible.com.
Download the book and start listening!
So what’s the catch?
There is none. You get to download one book absolutely for free just for trying out Audible, which I happen to love and use daily.
If you don’t currently subscribe to Audible, you’re missing out on an incredible learning tool and resource. There’s a mobile app that allows you to stream or download the books and fun little badges so that you can keep track of how much you’re reading. This is the only way I am able to read multiple books a week while managing a demanding schedule.
Note: Audible is currently extending this offer only to non-members. If you’re already an Audible subscriber, my books are still valuable ways to take advantage of your membership credits.
If during your trial, you decide that you don’t like Audible, you can cancel the service and they’ll even let you keep the book! So it’s completely no risk. A word to the wise: this was how I got hooked on audiobooks years ago, so consider yourself warned. You are about to read a whole lot more. 
July 7, 2016
How to Make the Most of the Setbacks in Your Life
How to make the most of setbacks in your life. #artofworkbook
Posted by Jeff Goins, Writer on Wednesday, July 6, 2016
Book study highlights
In this week’s lesson, we talk about:
The one thing you need to succeed at finding your calling.
The difference between professionals and amateurs at any craft.
Dealing with setbacks and failures.
Finding the intersection of your passion and skills with what the world needs.
How failure prepares you for success.
Lessons we can learn from Groupon’s initial failure as a company.
The two main ways you can respond to failure.
Deciding when it’s time to quit.
Resources
Download The Art of Work Workbook for free.
The Art of Work Facebook Group.
I hope you’ll join me live next week for The Art of Work book study. We will discuss why our calling isn’t about us as much as we thought it was.
Don’t forget to join the conversation that’s happening on Facebook. Go here to get started.
July 6, 2016
110: Rob Bell on Creating a Life Worth Living, Creativity, and Writing
Your life is like an ongoing work of art. It is filled with characteristics from your family. It is brought to life by your experiences, triumphs, and setbacks. And as long as you live, it will continue to be a form of artistic creation.
Creativity is often defined by creative works, such as books, paintings, and movies. But creativity encompasses more than the works we create. Living a creative life also involves the thought, energy, and time we devote to creating the life we’ve been given to live.
This week on The Portfolio Life, Rob Bell and I discuss creating a life worth living, and how you have the ability, choice, and power to pursue your calling. During this conversation, you will also have the opportunity to peer into Rob’s creative rhythms and writing process, and how he balances life and work.
Listen in as Rob shares what he learned going through a difficult season of life, the power of making small changes, and when you know you’re on the right path to creating great work.
Listen to the podcast
To listen to the show, click the player below. (If you are reading this via email or RSS, please click here.)
Show highlights
In this episode, Rob and I discuss:
What Rob learned about life after experiencing his worst fear.
Why creativity is working with the material life gives you.
What it means to live a creative life.
How small changes can lead you to live an empowered life.
Why Rob expresses his ideas in the least amount of words as possible.
The elements of a good story.
Rob’s life and work rhythms.
Taking daily strides toward accomplishing big goals.
Quotes and takeaways
“What kind of life are we going to create and what kind of world are we going to create together?”—Rob Bell.
You know you’re on the right path toward creating great work when the good material doesn’t fit in.
“It’s not hard to fill pages. The hardest work is in what to eliminate.”—Rob Bell.
Saying less with words is far more difficult than saying something with many words.
Resources
How to Be Here , by Rob Bell.
Velvet Elvis , by Rob Bell.
NOOMA, complete video collection by Rob Bell.
Flash Boys , by Michael Lewis.
Flickering Pixels , by Shane Hipps.
Love Wins , by Rob Bell.
Download the full interview transcript here.
What small change can you make today in order to move toward creating the life you want to live? Share in the comments.
July 5, 2016
7 Things Professional Writers Know That Amateurs Don’t
For most of my twenties, I jumped from one dream to the next. But through it all, I secretly wanted to be a writer. I watched friends bridge the gap between amateur and professional, and I wished I could be them.
Because I was envious of my friends’ writing success, I would try whatever it was they were doing that I thought made them successful. But the problem was I didn’t know what I was doing.
One writer I knew had a satire blog, so I tried writing satire. It didn’t work out; I just came off sounding mean. Another wrote about popular events from a faith-based perspective, so I tried that. That also failed. In fact, I made just about every possible rookie mistake.
What was I missing?
Turns out, I was still acting the amateur, thinking success as a writer was about finding the right idea or a big break. But the truth is that success in any field is more about commitment to a process than it is about finding one magic trick that will make it all come together.
Sure, there are ways to expedite the process, but it is still a process. And for me, I didn’t start to succeed as a writer until I began shifting my attention away from the results. When I began to mimic the process of professionals instead of just chasing their success, that’s when I started to see real results.
If you want to be a pro, you’re going to have to break this terrible amateur habit of looking at what people have without paying attention to what they did to get it. Chasing the results without understanding the process will lead to short-lived success, if not outright failure.
A friend of mine, a hugely successful musician on his own terms, advises anyone who aspires to his success, “Don’t do what I do. Think like I think.”
How do you do this, exactly? Well, there are seven things I’ve discovered that professional writers do that amateurs don’t.
1. Amateurs wait for clarity. Pros take action.
You have to know what you are before you can figure out what you want to do.
Self-awareness is an important part of life, and it’s especially important for writers. Because so much of what you create is tied to who you are, you have to get clear on your identity. But there’s a right way and a wrong way to go about this.
“You have to care about legacy more than ego.Tweet thisTweet
In my case, I spent too long waiting for someone to call me a writer before I was willing to act like one. Now I’ve learned that clarity comes with action. We must perform our way into professionalism. We must first call ourselves what we want to become, and then get to the work of mastery.
This is where your voice comes from – your confidence in what you are, and your commitment to acting on that knowledge.
2. Amateurs want to arrive. Pros want to get better.
You have to become a student long before you get to be a master.
“We are all apprentices in a craft no one masters,” Hemingway once said. Great writers understand and appreciate this. In order to get good, you have to submit yourself to the teaching of those who have gone before you. You have to study their work and emulate their techniques until you begin to find a style of your own.
For the longest time, I just wanted to be recognized for my genius. It wasn’t until I started putting myself around teachers and around the teaching of true masters that I realized how little I knew and how much I still had to grow as a writer.
Hemingway did this, too—it wasn’t until he spent a few years at the feet of Gertrude Stein and Sherwood Anderson in Paris that he grew from a good writer into a masterful one.
If you don’t do this, you delude yourself into thinking you’re better than you really are, which is the fastest route to failure and anonymity.
3. Amateurs practice as much as they have to. Pros never stop.
You have to practice even, maybe especially, when it hurts.
It’s not enough to show up and write every day. You have to keep challenging yourself, keep pushing yourself beyond your limits. This is how we grow.
I used to write a few hours on a random Saturday every third week of the month. I never got better, and I couldn’t understand why. Then I started writing 500 words a day for as little as twenty to thirty minutes per day. Within a year, I had found my voice.
“You have to know what you are before you can figure out what you want to do.Tweet thisTweet
Frequency trumps quantity. It’s better to write a little every day than a lot once in a while. John Grisham knew this, too: he wrote his first novel in small pieces, during the only free hour he had before work every morning. By the time he was done, three years later, he’d created a new genre: the legal thriller.
What if he’d decided it was too painful to get up to write at 5:00am every day? What if he’d given into the overwhelming feeling of writing a novel on top of 70-hour work weeks? What if you decide the same?
4. Amateurs leap for their dreams. Pros build a bridge.
You have to build a bridge, not take a leap.
It’s not about the giant leaps of faith or big breaks that make a writer. It’s the daily practice. I recently spoke with a best-selling author who has sold tens of millions of books. Do you know when his career started to really take off? It was when he wrote his 125th book at age 45.
You have to put the time in, but it’s more of a marathon than a sprint. I took a leap every time I started a new blog. I did this eight times, every time I had a new idea. But none of those blogs stuck until I decided to stick with one, which happens to be the blog you’re reading today.
What’s the thing that really needs to “stick”? It’s not the idea. It’s the writer.
5. Amateurs fear failure. Pros crave it.
You have to fail your way to success.
What professionals know that the rest of us don’t appreciate is that failure can teach you more than success ever will. Failure is feedback, and truly successful people use it to move forward in their careers.
I used to think my failures prohibited me from success, that every time I failed I had to go back to square one. Now I know that failure is the only way you get to success and that each my failures has taught me something I wouldn’t have been able to move forward without.
Thomas Edison, in his efforts to invent a working light bulb, once said, “I have not failed. I have just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” How many times are you willing to get it wrong?
6. Amateurs build a skill. Pros build a portfolio.
You must master more than one skill.
This doesn’t mean you have to be a jack of all trades, but you must become a master of some. All the professional writers I know are good at more than one thing. One is a great publicist. Another is really smart at leadership. Another is a fantastic speaker.
Being a writer doesn’t mean that you just write for eight hours a day – at least not for most professionals. It means you will spend your time getting your message out there through a variety of channels and mediums, or that you’ll write for part of the day and master something else with the rest of your time.
Either way, you must develop your own portfolio.
“Failure is feedback, and truly successful people use it to move forward in their careers.Tweet thisTweet
For me, my portfolio consists of writing, marketing, and business. But for a long time I just waited for people to think I was a good enough writer, expecting the money to follow that one skill. It doesn’t always work like that.
I recently spoke with a creative professional in New York who makes a living as both a fine artist and a photographer. He knows, as all professionals do, that all our skills complement each other and, frankly, relieve us from putting too much pressure on ourselves to be the world’s best at any one thing.
7. Amateurs want to be noticed. Pros want to be remembered.
You have to care about legacy more than ego.
The best writers I know, the ones whose work reaches a lot of people and truly matters, aren’t just thinking about the quick win – the big book deal, the next speaking gig, the best seller list. They’re thinking about the long game, about what they want to write that might endure for the next 100 years.
The amateur is concerned with the big break, whereas the pro is more focused on delaying immediate gratification in exchange for long-term success.
When I began writing, all I cared about was my byline, whether or not people recognized me as successful or famous or important. Now, I understand that on the other end of the computer screen or book, there is a person’s whose life I want to impact.
When people started asking me how I became a professional writer, how I chased a dream and got the rare opportunity to do it for a living, at first I didn’t know how to answer them. So I rattled off some cliches – “I just got a vision and went after it” – but over time, I realized that wasn’t true. Looking back, I realize it was this process, these seven habits, that really made my career.
And these are things that I continue to practice today. They’re disciplines that you keep doing that allow you to keep succeeding. And if you don’t do them, you’re really just rolling the dice.
So if you want to be a professional at any craft, especially writing, I’d highly encourage you to start applying these habits today. And if you want help mastering them, I’ve got a great opportunity for you.
In The Art of Work Course, I share how you can bridge the gap between amateur and professional in seven practical steps.
So if you want to stop thinking about what it’s like to be a professional writer — or an artist or an entrepreneur or whatever it is you aspire to be — then join us. There are only a few more days left to sign up, and if you do so before July 6, you’ll get 10 free copies of The Art of Work to share with friends and a $30 discount off the price of the course.
Sign up for the course here.Have you been tempted to pursue results instead of a proven process in becoming a better writer? Share in the comments.
July 1, 2016
3 Ways to Successfully Connect With Influencers Through Gifting
Who are the most important people in an industry? Some would say the CEOs of leading companies, but for me, it’s the authors, experts, and consultants.
These guys might not have staffs of thousands, but they’re the people with tribes, and their followers are loyal. My most important contacts are people like Shep Hyken, Hal Elrod, and Derek Coburn. These guys have fewer than 15 employees each, but their influence stretches way beyond those small circles. When they talk, people listen. Maintaining good relationships with them means being connected to all of their followers.
How do I do that? With well-chosen gifts.
A little Brooks Brotherly love
Western culture has done everything it can to take the human element out of business, but we still crave personal connections. The right gift can bring that back to the table and get an influencer interested. In my new book, Giftology, I tell the following story about the importance of choosing the right gift — and how it can lead to a lifelong friendship.
Back in 2007, I attended the 25th anniversary celebration for the Entrepreneurs Organization in Las Vegas. Nobody I knew was going, and I was worried I didn’t belong in that kind of celebrated company.
Then, while wandering through the corridors of the convention center, I passed a room crowded with people. I was intrigued, so I stepped inside, and at the center of everyone’s attention was Cameron Herold, the business guru who grew 1–800-Got-Junk? from $2 million to $126 million in six years without spending a cent on advertising.
He was a great speaker, and I hung around for an hour afterward to meet him. I mentioned I was from Cleveland, and he said he was flying out that way soon to give a talk.
Here was an opportunity. So I asked him what else he’d be doing in town. He said he’d probably just go pick up some new clothes from his favorite store: Brooks Brothers. We arranged to meet up his first night in town, but before I left, I asked for his shirt size because I wanted to send him a dress shirt to say thanks for helping me.
The day he arrived, I went over to Brooks Brothers and bought everything the store had in his size. I dashed over to his hotel, arranged for it all to be laid out in his room as it was in the store, and I waited for him to get there to choose what he wanted. His flight was delayed, and he was exhausted, but when he saw what I’d done, he was blown away.
Now, he invites me to meet every client he has. He’s a mentor and a friend. And all it took was a well-chosen gift.
How some people go too far
But it’s important to target gifts correctly. People love the extra mile, but if you run a marathon instead, you’ll only look desperate. Gifts shouldn’t cost more than a nice dinner or a round of golf.
It’s usually best to avoid clothes and jewelry, too. That might sound hypocritical given what I said about Cameron, but I knew for a fact that he liked Brooks Brothers, and I didn’t just buy him a gift; I bought a range for him to choose from. You never know what colors and styles people like wearing, so it’s best to play safe with clothing.
It’s also inadvisable to slap a picture on something. We all love to see our names monogrammed on shirts or slapped on the sides of buildings, but our faces? That’s just creepy.
The same goes for gifts for the kids. Assistants and spouses are fair game, but buying toys for the kids starts to look stalker-ish.
The gift-giving sweet spot
Here are three golden rules to help avoid those faux pas:
#1: Keep it practical
People like useful tools they would never dream of buying for themselves, and they love it when those things are personalized. The Code 38 wine knife is one of my favorites. It might cost $200 to $600 depending on extras and personalization, but it’s a world-class wine tool that regular entertainers will value for years.
#2. Keep it classy
A $20 sports sweatshirt from Walmart is a gift for the thrift store. Avoid cheesy gifts, and choose something that represents both you and the recipient.
We worked with a startup that was trying to get noticed by Target, but the president of the electronics division was impossible to reach. A little research told us he was a University of Minnesota guy through and through, so we took a giant slab of cherry wood, carved the Gopher logo and fight song lyrics onto the front, and sent it over to the office. A meeting was set for the very next week.
#3. Keep it in view
Don’t just assume your gift arrived. Packages get lost and stolen, so follow up to confirm arrival. It can be tacky to ask the recipient if he or she received it; contact the company that helped send it instead.
You’re looking for a gift that has impact, and a thank-you note is the first clue that it was appreciated. But look for the deeper signs, too. Did the recipient post about the gift on social media? Did he or she mention it in conversation months later? Those are the signs that you nailed it.
How can using well-chosen gifts help you connect with key people? Share in the comments.
