Jeff Goins's Blog, page 55

The Secret to Doing Brave Things

Earlier this week I hosted a webinar, and during that training, I asked people what was the main thing holding them back from pursuing their dreams.

Photo Credit: °]° via Compfight cc

Do you know what they said?

I’ll give you a hint. It was a four letter word beginning with the letter F. No. Not that f-word. Sheesh. Get your mind out of the gutter. It was a much worse one: fear.

That’s what holds us back from living the lives we’re meant to live. That’s what prevents us from finally going pro with our dreams. You probably knew that, though.

But did you know that not all fear is bad?

It’s true. Some fear is actually good. It helps you get to where you want to go in life. So how do you tell the good fear from the bad?

How I faced fear without overcoming it

Here’s how it works: Good fear leads to action. Bad fear leads to complacency.

Good fear — like the fear of never doing your dream or making a difference with your life — makes you move.

Bad fear — like the fear of messing up or getting rejected — forces you to stay stuck.

For years, people have been asking me to share my process of how I chased my dream and became a full-time writer. It’s something I’ve helped many others do, as well, but for some reason still felt unqualified to teach.

Who was I to tell people how to live their lives? What right did I have to tell people to chase their dreams?

But every time, I did, there was fruit. People would tell me, “that’s amazing!” Or, “thank you so much!” Or, “this changed my life!” I couldn’t believe it. But then again, we are often the ones most oblivious to our greatest contributions

So after waiting for the right time, I finally realized that time was never going to come. I was never going to be ready. I was never going to not feel afraid.

So finally, I just did it. And here’s my secret: I was afraid every step of the way.

What’re you afraid of… really?

We are all waiting, I think, to not feel afraid before we attempt great things. But that’s not the way it works.

When you’re afraid of what people might say or of totally bombing it, that’s when you play it safe. That’s when you fail.

The secret to doing brave things, then, isn’t to not fear. That’s a myth. We’re all shaking in our boots when we attempt great things. The secret is to do it afraid. [Tweet that]

So when I opened a new course to help people beat fear, find their passion, and start doing it for a living, it’s no surprise some said they were afraid to take the next step. That’s normal.

The question, though, is what kind of fear is it? The kind that will leave you stuck? Or the kind that could set you free?

That’s a question you’ll have to answer for yourself.

Let’s face fear together

Recently, I launched a brand-new course about what it takes to turn pro as a writer — based on the concepts in my best-selling book, The Art of Work.

Honestly, this was something I was afraid to do. It felt risky and audacious. Again, the voices of accusation came, and I started to feel like an impostor.

But finally the fear of failure just wasn’t enough to not try. What I realized was I was more afraid of not doing it than trying and failing.

That’s the difference between good fear and bad fear. So I recognized it for what it was, counted the cost, and pulled the trigger. I think we all have the power to do this. You can do it, too.

To learn more about this, check out the webinar I mentioned earlier. In the replay below, I share everything I’ve learned in the past severals years of becoming a full-time writer (and how you can make a similar transition):

The 4 Keys to Finding Your Calling as a Writer

That replay will only be available for the next few days, so be sure to carve out some time and listen to it before I take it down. And remember that brave people don’t wait to feel brave. They do it afraid.

Was there ever a time when you felt afraid and did it anyway? Share in the comments.

052: The Secret to Living a Remarkable Life [Podcast]

What do you do when the life you wanted to live looks nothing like the one you end up living? Maybe that’s not such a bad place to be.

In this episode of The Portfolio Life, my co-host Andy and I discuss whether or not there is a specific process to finding your calling and how we should look at trials, difficulties and obstacles along the way — not as things that prevent us from our purpose but actually help us get there.

We also talk about how your calling isn’t something you plan. It’s really what happens when the plan goes horribly wrong.

This week, we’re taking a break from the usual programming to give you a taste of my new podcast, which you can find out more about, including how to get the next several already-published episodes, below.

But before you do that, give the show a listen.

Listen to the show

You can also listen via iTunes or Stitcher.

Ever feel left out?

Most of us, I think, feel like we’re missing out on life. That there was some big opportunity and it slipped through our hands — or we never got lucky in the first place. Now, we’re left with a life that feels less than ideal. What do we do?

In The Art of Work, I share the story of a five year-old boy who gets cancer and then goes on to defy the odds and lead an extraordinary life. And the lesson I learned from this little boy was this:

Maybe what makes a remarkable life remarkable aren’t the chances we get, but what we do with them. [Tweet]

What if your vocation was hidden somewhere in those inconvenient and sometimes even confusing parts of your life? What if the struggle was a necessary part of the path to your purpose? What if every difficulty was actually an opportunity?

Show highlights

In this episode, we discuss:

Why you can’t plan your purpose, but you can prepare for it
How your calling can change, or evolve, over time
The essential mindset shift you must make in order to discover what you were meant to do
How we can make sense of our lives by paying attention to our less-than-ideal circumstances
Why we need tragedy and catastrophe to sometime wake us up to our purpose
Why difficulties are not impediments but prerequisites for a meaningful life

Resources mentioned

The Art of Work Conversations (my new podcast!)
The Story of Garrett Rush-Miller
Rush Miller Foundation
The Art of Work: Amazon | BN | IndieBound

If you want to move down the proven path to discovering what you’re meant to do, I encourage you to pick up a copy of my new book, The Art of Work. You can go to book site to get your copy and claim $250 in free bonuses.

I hope you’ll join us in the next installment of new podcast, which you can listen to right now, where we discuss why listening to your life is an essential habit in the search for your calling. And if you don’t want to miss a thing, subscribe here (it doesn’t cost a thing):

iTunes | Stitcher | RSS

We’ll return to the regular schedule on The Portfolio Life next week.

How has pain taught you something important about your purpose? Share in the comments.

What I Learned from Launching My First Best Seller

My new book, The Art of Work, launched a few weeks ago and immediately became a Publishers’ Weekly, USA Today, and Washington Post bestseller. It also hit #1 in all its categories on Amazon and was #7 of all books overall.

Photo Credit: Snipergirl via Compfight cc

Soon, I want to peel back the curtains to show you what we did, how we did it, and what I learned. But before we talk about that, we need to talk about the book itself.

This is the fourth book that I’ve launched, so you would think I’d know how to do this by now. But the truth is this was the first book that I feel like I launched the right way. And there are three important reasons why that is. Here they are below (or you can scroll to the summary at the bottom to get the gist).

Writing a good book is not enough

As an author, I try my very best to not write bad books. Hopefully, that goes without saying. However, I always thought the way publishing worked was you wrote the best book you could, tried to promote it, then left the rest to fate. But that’s not the way it works. Not really.

I’ve written good books before and then struggled to promote them, because I overlooked an important step in the process. Determined to do things differently this time, I asked a book marketing expert how he helped best-selling authors launch their books into the stratosphere. And he told me his secret:

90% of the marketing is done once the book is finished.

What I’ve learned from watching other successful authors is it’s not enough to write a good book. You have to write one that’s interesting. I wanted my book to be one that people would talk about for years to come. And the way to do that is to bake the shareable concepts of your book into the actual book.

What ensued was an additional month of edits in which I took every idea and story in the book and tried to turn them into what my friend Lysa calls “sticky statements” — that is, phrases that stick in people’s minds and get them to share your work.

What I learned in the process is that there is a difference between writing a good book and an interesting one. No amount of marketing can save you from a boring book.

Launching takes more time than you think

I hate planning. I’m a fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants kind of guy. Sadly, though, I had seen the fruit of such planning strategies with previous book launches, and I wanted this one to be different.

When I met Chris Guillebeau in person six months before my book launch, he asked me how it was going. Sheepishly, I told him I hadn’t done anything yet. “Oh,” he said. Well, we need to get to work.

I remembered hearing Jon Acuff saying once at a conference that after he hit The New York Times Best Sellers list that he had all these people calling him asking how they could do what he did.

“When do you launch?” he would ask.

“In a month,” they would say.

“I’m sorry,” he’d reply, “but I can’t help you.”

Why? Because, according to Jon, it takes a year to launch a best-selling book. So I had some catching up to do.

What I ended up doing was meeting with my publisher in December, quickly hammering out a simple but powerful plan that gave us the best shot of hitting a best sellers list.

You don’t need a team, you need an army

With previous book launches, I’ve tried to do nearly everything on my own. I’ve had launch teams and early reviewers, but that was about it. I completely underestimated how many people you need to get to talk about your book to make it a success.

Inevitably, following this strategy, I would run out of time, energy, and resources, and have to throw in the towel, frustrated that I couldn’t do more. The launch always ended with me having a long, unfinished to-do list.

With The Art of Work, I was committed to doing this differently. So I pulled out all the stops and gathered an amazing group of people to help me launch the book well. And lest you think you need some big budget to do this, I should point out that most of these people were volunteers.

If you write an interesting book that’s good, people will want to share it. But you’ll still have to ask them.

Great marketing will only get you so far

You can only tweet, email, and Instagram about your book so much before you begin to exhaust your audience.

“At a certain point,” a best-selling author friend told me, “magic has to take over.” People have to start talking about the book without you. That’s why making sure your book is interesting (I followed this set of criteria) is so important.

A book is a conduit for an idea. In the case of The Art of Work, the idea that each of us was put on this Earth to do something meaningful was a compelling one. When people bought the book and started reading it, many were excited to share it. Why? Because the book helped the reader help someone else.

This is what Jonah Berger calls “social currency,” which he says is one of the secrets to viral content. If you can give somebody something that makes them look smart when they share it (like the interesting facts beneath a Snapple bottle cap), more people will want to pass it on.

In the end, the book has to solve a problem or address a felt need. This goes for both fiction and nonfiction — whether the need is the need to feel not so alone in this world or to believe that another future is possible. We read books to not escape this life, but make sense of it.

At least, that’s what I think.

Summary

So to boil it all down, if you’re a writer wanting to launch a book the right way, don’t do what I did for three previous books and try to cram too much into too short a window of time or foolishly think you can do it all on your own. Instead do this:

Write an interesting book, following these criteria. Bake your marketing into the product itself. This will make it way easier (and more fun) to promote.
Give yourself enough time. Plan your launch at least 3-6 months in advance, preferably a year. Here’s a framework worth following.
Get your team together, including a launch team as well as a team of influencers who can help you spread the message. Michael Hyatt explains how he did this here.
Focus on the long game. Having an instantly best-selling book is great, but most books launch and then disappear. The best books gain momentum over time. And that is usually the result of the author not giving up on the book.

What’s next?

This is the number one question people have asked me: What’s next? And the answer I give surprises them: Nothing.

Of course, I already have an idea for the next book (I can’t help coming up with new ideas — it’s a disease), but honestly I don’t want to rush it. This is a mistake I’ve made in the past. I’ve spent a year writing a book, then invested a whole week into launching it before moving on to the next thing.

“If you want to sell more books,” Tim Grahl once told me, “keep talking about your current book.”

That’s the plan. I intend to focus on this book for the foreseeable future. Why? Because I believe in it. Because I want to continue the conversation that it began. And because I still believe there are more people out there who need this book.

Which is why I’m doing a couple of webinars next Wednesday (April 22) for to groups of people (click the one that best describes you (one will be for writers and the other for non-writers):

Group 1: “I Want to Become a Full-time Writer”
Group 2: “I Want to Learn More About Finding My Calling”

So that’s what’s next. I intend to keep going with this book and this message, helping people find the work they were born to do.

One more thing…

Lastly, I just wanted to say thanks. I am so grateful for all you’ve done to help spread the word about this book. None of this would have happened without you. I’d be honored if you’d leave a review on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or Goodreads telling me what you thought of the book once you’re done with it.

And if you haven’t yet had the opportunity to read The Art of Work, have no fear. It’s available for the cost of a few Starbucks Venti Orange Mocha Frappuccinos. When you pick up a copy at your favorite retailer (my preference is the local book store), submit your receipt at the book site, and get $250 in free resources.

So that’s what I learned (and in a future post, I’ll share with you some more details on exactly what we did, tactically). But for now, I want to encourage you to register for the free writer webinar or the calling webinar. If you can’t make the webinars, we will do our best to record them, but the only way to make sure you don’t miss them is to be on the live call.

When it comes to finding your calling, what’s your biggest struggle? Share in the comments.

051: An In-Depth Look at Medium: the Benefits and the Drawbacks [Podcast]

You’ve got a message worth hearing. But maybe your audience isn’t that big — or maybe it’s nonexistent. So what’s the best way to get your words heard?

Should you build your own platform or should you share your work in places where the traffic is already established? In this episode of The Portfolio Life, my co-host Andy Traub and I talk about the pros and cons of using Medium.

Medium is an open source publishing powerhouse. They have a huge audience and generate a ton of traffic — millions of visitors each month. Even the President of the United States pre-released the State of the Union Address on Medium.

And if the goal is to get our message heard, should we be publishing our words on Medium? Listen in as I share my thoughts on the subject and some secrets on how I’ve been using this growing content network.

Listen to the podcast

To listen to the show, click the player below. (If you’re reading this via email, click here).

You can also listen at iTunes or on Stitcher.

Show highlights

In this episode we discuss:

The value of publishing to Medium
How I use and recommend using Medium
The dangers of not having your own platform
Two things every writer needs to have
Whether or not it’s okay to use re-published content for Medium
Why I propose a blend of the two approaches in which you use other networks to drive more traffic to your own online platform
What this all means for you

Resources mentioned

Medium
What platishers, like Medium, mean for unknown writers by Aileen Gallagher
The Truth About Going Viral (my ironically viral post on Medium)
The Art of Work Essay Collection (my exclusive series published to Medium to promote my latest book)
How to set up a self-hosted blog in 8 minutes
Obama’s State of the Union Address
The Myth of the Lone Genius by Walter Isaacson

I hope you enjoyed this week’s episode. If you know someone who would benefit from it, feel free to download and share it. Also, we’d appreciate it if you would leave a review on iTunes.

Oh, and if you’re interested in finding your life’s work, check out my new podcast.

What do you think about using other platforms, like Medium? Share in the comments.

The Sleazebag and the Magician: A Tale of Two Marketers

I’ve been thinking a lot about marketing lately. I know, I know. You hate advertising. Can’t stand self-promotion. I get it.

But guess what? If you’ve got a message that deserves to be shared, you need to care about marketing. There are two ways to go about this, to spread an idea or promote a project.

One is the Way of the Sleazebag

You beg, plead, and generally cajole people into paying attention to you. You rant and annoy and put a lot of pressure on the people who love you.

The problem with this method, ironically, is it works. Which is what makes it so dangerous. Through bribery, shame, or some other questionable tactic, you got what you were looking for. And now you have to continue making compromises in order to keep the attention.

Talk about something that will drain you.

The other is the Way of the Magician

Some people just have a certain charisma about them. They’re cool. Everything they touch seems to turn to gold with little to no effort. But their secret sauce isn’t magic. Not really. No, it’s something even more mystical: patience.

They practice subtlety, wait for just the right moment, learning and listening the whole time, and finally speak up. And when they do, we listen.

Really, that’s the difference. Between jerks and geniuses. Between the brilliant communicator and the broke one. It’s all about patience, about taking your time and earning trust.

Trust and permission

When I look around at people succeeding, it’s usually those with a long-term approach who are doing the best.

These people don’t give in to the temptation to compromise their work to earn a buck — or a “like,” for that matter. Instead, they demonstrate integrity. They stick around and keep showing up, knowing that little by little is how influence is earned.

Millionaires will tell you the same thing: There’s no such thing as overnight success. The only way to “get rich quick” is to do it slowly. The same is true with all creative work.

If you have something you’re just dying to promote, take your time. Don’t neglect promotion, but be patient. The last thing you want to do is appear desperate.

How do you feel about marketing? Share in the comments.

050: How to Do a Do-Over: Interview with Jon Acuff

Doing something well requires time and focus. There are always other tasks competing for our attention. It’s the job of an artist to focus on the right things and ignore the distractions.

This week on The Portfolio Life I talk with my friend Jon Acuff about his new book Do Over. Jon and I talk about starting over and how that doesn’t mean you’re necessarily starting from scratch.

Listen in as we talk about being brave, starting new things, and what it really takes to do a do-over.

Listen to the podcast

To listen to the show, click the player below. (If you’re reading this via email, click here).

You can also listen at iTunes or on Stitcher.

What a “do-over” looks like

Jon Acuff is a New York Times bestselling author and someone I’ve followed for years. He’s also a good friend.

Jon’s story is that he got his dream job, wrote a book about it, and then walked away from it. Through the challenging and confusing experience of beginning again (which he shares in his latest book), he learned what bravery is all about.

During our conversation, we talked about comparison and the fear of missing out. In being a writer, there’s always the temptation to watch what others are doing and think you ought to be doing that, too. But just because something is working well for someone else doesn’t mean it’s right for you.

We often overfill our calendars and say yes to any opportunity that comes our way. But pretty soon, we’re no longer doing our best work. The way we get back to putting first things first, according to Jon, is to be honest.

Sometimes, it’s easier to tell people what they want to hear than to tell them the truth. Jon is an honest writer who cares about people. Relationships aren’t always easy, he admits; they’re often awkward and messy. But connecting with others is worth the struggle — there’s value in community.

Jon’s writing is full of humor and truth that’s presented in a way that’s easy to digest. “I share intuitive ideas in counterintuitive ways,” he told me. And I couldn’t agree more. That’s never been more evident than in his latest book, Do Over, released earlier this week. If you’re feeling stuck, this book will give you what you need to begin again.

Show highlights

In this episode, Jon and I discuss:

Why Jon walked away from his dream job
The struggle between telling the truth and saying things that will be shared
The benefits of community
The single most important thing authors need to remember
Jon’s biggest fears he’s currently facing
And so much more!

Resources

Jon’s blog
Do Over
Start
Quitter

Have you ever been stuck and in need of a do-over? Share in the comments.

Two Essential Ingredients of Success

Don’t only practice your art, but force your way into its secrets; art deserves that, for it and knowledge can raise man to the Divine.

–Ludwig van Beethoven

I had the opportunity to speak with a writer’s group the other day. They asked a lot of questions, and I did my best to offer honest answers. But if I could do it again, I’d summarize my advice in two words: passion and practice.

How do you get good at writing? What does it take to publish a book? How can you get the world to hear your message? 

Here’s how: Love what you do. And hustle. That’s it. Simple, but not easy. And there’s way more to each of those than meets the eye.

You have to love the work

When I took my first job, my boss-to-be asked me one question:

Is this something you can get excited about?

I was in food service that summer and didn’t understand the question. Wasn’t this just a job? Why did I need to love it? He wouldn’t hire me until I could say, “Yes, I want to do this.” So I did, and shortly after that conversation, he hired me.

The job was far from ideal. First, I wrote email copy and then proofread brochures. After that, I edited my boss’s blog and taught our staff how to tell stories on the Web. Then, I was promoted to help other departments with their email copy. Eventually, I started my own team, which taught me many important lessons.

Looking back on that job I almost didn’t take, I now realize it was the perfect apprenticeship. Seven years on the job taught me first-hand what’s required to take a passion and turn it into a reality. I put that same knowledge to work to launch my career as a writer.

And it all began with a shift in attitude. I had to learn to love the work.

If you’re going to do work that matters (which is something we all should long for), you need to be able to love it. In a sense, it should drive you but not own you. This doesn’t mean you can’t get tired or worn out from the demands of the job, but if you don’t wake up excited every day, you need to be doing something else.

Of course, that’s just the beginning. Let’s not forget practice.

Passion is not enough

Life without practice is dangerous. Just watch American Idol. Every season, they have someone (a lot of someones, actually) who didn’t practice, who didn’t put in the work and somehow believed they were good enough. They were wrong.

At some point, someone lied to these people, convincing them that all they needed to succeed was passion. And they failed, sometimes without knowing why or what they did wrong. Nobody wants to be that person, but rarely do we realize when we are that person. The safeguard is to not give your passion too much credit.

Finding your passion isn’t some fleeting feeling of pleasure. It means understanding the core of who you are and tapping into what lights you up inside. Typically, these pursuits are not new things, but old ones. They require us to listen to our lives and take decisive action. It means looking at what you love, but also finding where that intersects with your skills and the needs of the world.

In other words, don’t just practice anything; practice the right thing. Find your true gifts, the things you were born to do, by putting them through the crucible of practice. Forget 10,000 hours of mediocrity; this is about deep practice.

Intensity and frequency matter more than mere quantity of hours.

And let’s be clear: Doing something a few times a month is not practice. It’s a hobby. Practice means pushing yourself to the utter limits of your abilities. It means getting up every day to do the work, because that’s what’s required of you. And because that’s what you love.

What this doesn’t look like

In The Art of Work, I wrote about my failed plans to become a professional musician. Before I could learn what was the right path for me, I had to get good enough at music to realize it wasn’t my true passion.

Turns out, we don’t find our passion and then practice it. Rather, practice is what helps us discover what we ought to be doing in the first place. Discovery accompanies dedication; it doesn’t precede it.

For most of us, this discovery process looks like disciplining ourselves to love the work we do (or changing the situation if we don’t) and undergoing a rigorous regimen of practice. You have to start somewhere, but sticking with something is essential. Otherwise, you drift through life, wondering what to do next.

This process of integrating passion and practice helps us not only grow the skills we need to achieve excellence. It also helps us develop the discipline we need to deepen our awareness so that we know where to focus our efforts.

Passion and practice. They work together. Without passion, the work will feel rote and mundane. And without practice, it will get sloppy. You need both. And when you combine them in just the right way, something magical can happen.

Note: My latest book, The Art of Work , is available for 40% off on Amazon. I have no idea how long that will last, so if you wanted to pick up a copy (or a second one), grab one while it’s available. If you’ve already ordered a copy, it should be on its way later this week.

Are you practicing what you love? Share in the comments.

The Promise Every Author Should Make

“If you don’t like my book, I’ll buy it back from you.”

Photo Credit: The Shopping Sherpa via Compfight cc 

That’s what I tell every single negative Amazon review I’ve ever responded to.

If you bought a car and it didn’t work right, you’d bring it back to the dealership. If you bought a cell phone, and it didn’t do all the amazing things the ad said it would do, you’d want a refund. Right?

So why don’t authors do this with their books when people don’t like them?

I would never want someone to keep a book that didn’t live up to the promises I made as the author. Which is why I tell people, “If you buy one of my books and don’t love it, send me your Paypal address, and I’ll pay you back..” I’d rather get the book into the hands of someone who might love it.

Yes, this is a little risky, but I think every author should do this. Why not give your readers the kind of guarantee they deserve? If you don’t love this book, I’ll give you your money back. Do you really want to make a royalty off someone who doesn’t love your work? That just seems wrong.

Offering dissatisfied readers a refund just makes sense. Here’s why:

It’s best for the customer (because who wants a book on their shelf that they don’t like?).
It’s best for the author, as such a promise will engender greater trust from the reader.
It’s best for the books, as it will force authors to write better books (because you don’t want your readers sending you a bunch of “I hated this” emails).

A crazy experiment

So, I’m doing this right now for my latest book, The Art of Work. Since the book came out last week, over 150 people have reviewed it. A couple of them didn’t like it. I offered to give them their money back if they ship it to me, so I can give it to someone else.

I sincerely hope they take me up on it.

If you haven’t bought the book yet (or taken advantage of the bulk deals that are going on this week), I want to offer you the same deal:

Get the book this week at any retailer, including Amazon, B&N, BAM, or iBooks.
Submit your receipt here to get four digital bonuses worth $250.
Read the whole book and email me if you don’t like it. I’ll Paypal you back the money you spent on it and give your copy to someone else. You can even keep your bonuses.

It just seems like the only honorable thing an author can and should do.

Another way you can help

Many readers have written in, asking how they can help with the launch. Usually I say, just keep doing what you’re doing. It helps — a lot. But recently, something came up.

Yesterday, my publisher told me this book has a good chance of hitting The New York Times Best Sellers list this week if things continue to go well. So if it’s not too much to ask, I’d love your help in getting the word out.

If you’ve already picked up a copy of the book and would be willing to spread the word, that would be great. And if you grab an extra book or two, that’d be amazing.

Don’t forget: There are limited bulk bonuses available this week that are going away soon. And if you want to help spread the word about the book, click here to tweet about it.

You can grab a copy of The Art of Work today for 40% off the list price at Amazon and Barnes & Noble. Be sure to get it soon; I’m not sure how long this price will last.

What do you think about this promise authors should make? Share in the comments.

049: Filtering Life Through Story: Interview with Donald Miller [Podcast]

Part of being a good writer is being emotionally healthy.

–Donald Miller

The writing life is difficult. There’s no question about that. But you don’t have to be special to be a writer. You don’t even need to be healthy. That doesn’t mean it’s the best approach, though.

If you have a good work ethic, a reasonable amount of talent, and are pretty driven, you can be a writer. With a little bit of luck and lot of hustle, you can even make a lot of money.

The problem, though, is just because you succeed doesn’t mean you’ll be happy. And that’s where most of us get tripped up.

In this episode of The Portfolio Life, best-selling author Donald Miller shares what he learned in his decade-long journey of becoming a popular author and why being known isn’t the same thing as being healthy. It takes a lot more than book sales to make a meaningful life.

Listen to the podcast

To listen to the show, click the player below. (If you’re reading this via email, click here).

You can also listen at iTunes or on Stitcher.

Telling stories versus living them

Donald Miller has spent the last several years of his life studying story and teaching how it can help people live better lives. I’ve attended both Don’s Storyline Conference, as well as his StoryBrand workshop for businesses. Both events have been important growth opportunities for me.

In Don’s own story as a writer, he realized that he didn’t want to just write words that brought attention to himself. He wanted to help people. During our interview, he debunked the myth of the lone genius who succeeds on his own, as well as the stereotype of the moody writer.

Really what it takes to be a great writer, Don says, is to have healthy relationships and a good outlook on life. It’s not that you can’t be a writer if you have an addiction or suffer from mental illness. It’s just that those things don’t amplify the quality of your work. If anything, they hurt it.

Don and I also talk about how he’s shifting his focus from just being a writer who spends all his day sitting around in his boxer shorts, writing stories, to running a company. To him, building a business is just another creative expression and one he gets to do in community with some of his best friends.

I really enjoyed this interview and think you will, too. Be sure to check out Don’s new book, as well. I think it’s his best work yet.

Highlights from the show

In this episode, we discuss:

How Don spent years apprenticing in the publishing industry before becoming a successful author
What Don had to do to get his second book to start spreading before it became a New York Times best-seller
The connection between mental illness and creativity (is it a real thing?)
Why being emotionally healthy can make you a better writer
Whether or not most writers should start a business
Why good art still needs to be marketed well

Quotes

“The writing life is difficult but it’s not like it takes a special person to do it.”
“Everybody thinks you get ahead by winning the lottery, and that’s absolutely true. But the more lottery tickets you buy, the better.”
“A lucky break mixed with standing in line and sending out books
“These writers are too proud… they don’t make it.”
“I’m liking my life and that’s changed my voice.”
“The real struggle to write a great book is figuring out who you are.”
“Being a writer is part writing and part being a salesperson.”
“We don’t have to be emotionally unstable to be creative.”

Resources

Here are some of the resources we mentioned in the show:

Scary Close : Don’s latest book about how he finally became an emotionally healthy person.
Story Brand: the two-day workshop I attended that revolutionized my business and marketing.
Storyline: the conference Don puts on every year to teach people how to live a better story.
How to Tell a Story : a free ebook in which Donald Miller shares his seven-part story structure that has helped him write best-selling books and build profitable businesses.
Storyline Blog: the community blog that Don and friends co-author.
Write Drunk, Edit Sober” Is Bad Advice
A Million Miles in a Thousand Years : Don’s previous book about living a good story.
Blue Like Jazz Audiobook: Don’s second book which eventually became a New York Times best-seller and sold over a million copies.

What makes your favorite story your favorite story? Share in the comments.

The Top 3 Excuses for Not Chasing Your Dream (and Why It All Comes Down to Fear)

For the longest time, I wouldn’t chase my dream. I’d regularly give objections for why I wasn’t doing what I was meant to do. And it ate me up inside.

Photo Credit: spartanjoe via Compfight cc

We all face the same excuses in moving towards our dreams, and when we stare those enemies down, they become powerless — or at least a lot less intimidating. Here are the top three excuses we use for not chasing our dreams.

“I don’t know what it is.”

This really means, “I don’t have it all figured out yet.” Which is another way of saying, “I’m human.”

Join the club. Who does have it all figured out? The idea that “you just know” what you’re supposed to do with your life is a myth. You don’t just know. You act, anyway. Discovery is a product of decision. Your dream will appear when you take action.

“I’m not ready.”

This just isn’t true. You’re more ready than you think. Your whole life has been preparing you for what’s to come. What’s easy for you isn’t easy for everyone. The things you find effortless and easy are sometimes clues to your calling.

When you begin to answer those clues, clarity comes. So does confidence. No, it’s not easy but you don’t need to have it all figured out. You can act on what you know. And in that respect, you’re always ready for something.

“I can’t afford it.”

The world doesn’t owe you anything, and money doesn’t always follow passion. You’ll have to work to earn your keep when it comes to chasing a dream, and it won’t always be easy or lucrative.

But in the end, the sacrifice will be worth the journey. And it costs far less than you think to take the first step.

What’s really behind the excuses

When we say these things are keeping us from our calling, what we’re really saying is we’re afraid. And that’s completely understandable.

Fear is a normal reaction to decisions that require change. But what I’ve learned from those who’ve found their dreams is they never stopped feeling fear.

Courage isn’t about overcoming fear. It’s about doing it afraid.

While we’re on the subject of fear, have you considered an even greater fear than that of failure or rejection? What happens if you stay stuck doing something you were never meant to do, if you settle for a life that is comfortable and good — but not great? What if you succeed at the wrong things?

Fear isn’t always a bad thing. The trick is to fear the right thing. Don’t be afraid of losing; be afraid of playing the wrong game. And I think we can all agree that staying stuck in a job you hate, complaining about your situation and saying you don’t know, aren’t ready, or can’t afford it is not the right game.

Reminder: My new book, The Art of Work , which is all about chasing your dream the smart way, launched last week. If you order it now, you’ll get $250 in free bonuses. Click here to find out more.