Jeff Goins's Blog, page 67
June 5, 2014
Three Critical Steps to Writing Success
There are three things I wish somebody would have told me when I got started writing. It would have saved me a lot of grief. But before I share those keys with you, I have to tell you about a mistake I was making that held me back for years.
The mistake is simple. You focus on wanting to be good enough instead of finding the audience that’s already waiting for you. A lot of writers I talk to tell me:
I don’t know if I’m good enough.
That’s the wrong question to ask.
Tell me this: Is Ernest Hemingway a good writer? Because in some people’s books, he’s not. And what about James Joyce, whose own wife said he didn’t write books people could understand? Now, Joyce is considered one of the most important people of the 20th century. Genius is rarely recognized by its contemporaries.
So here’s an alternative strategy…
Stop worrying about being good
Good writing is relative. What one person thinks is great, someone else gives a 1-star review on Amazon. It’s less important to be good and more important to be effective.
How do you write a message or story that’s going to connect with an audience? Some people will like it, and some won’t. That’s the nature of having something important to say. And it’s true for the world’s most popular communicators.
Each person’s definition of good is different, especially when it comes to art. Start focusing, instead, on being effective.
And how can you do that?
By following these three steps I discovered when starting my writing career a few years ago. And the first step that I learned was the one that changed everything.
I became a writer.
Become a writer
I know that sounds kind of silly, because how do you become a writer? For me, it meant calling myself a writer, even if I didn’t feel like it.
When I began to do this, something funny happened: Other people did the same. And they began introducing me to their friends and relatives, saying, “Meet my friend, Jeff. He’s a writer.”
I didn’t have any business cards, and I didn’t have a job description that said writer, but it was who I wanted to be. So I started owning my identity, and slowly I began to believe it.
Over time, this dream became more of a reality. And as it unfolded, I thought, “Man, I’m calling myself a writer. I had better act like it.”
This led me to write more than I had ever written before. I began getting up every morning at 5 AM to put my fingers to the keyboard, groggily typing away. I didn’t want people say, “Well, you call yourself a writer, but you’re not writing anything.”
So I got to work.
The unexpected fruit of this habit was I got better. I began to bring my “A game” every single day, which allowed me to focus and hone my craft — something I sorely needed.
That was the first step for me, and maybe it will be for you, too. This writing life begins not with grandiose moments but with a simple affirmation: you are a writer; you just need to write. You must believe you already are who you want to be.
Activity always follows identity. (Tweet)
Share what you know
When I launched my blog, I didn’t know what to write about. What would people be interested in? What could I talk about? So I started sharing what I knew.
What did I know? Not much. All I knew how to do was help other writers, something I had done at my day job for seven years. I also wanted to become a better writer and was reading a lot on the subject, so it seemed to make sense.
This was a passion I could share.
By no means do I think every writer needs to write about writing — that’s a common misconception amongst bloggers. That was something I fell into. It was also something I knew, something I had been practicing for years. So it just made sense.
That’s what you need to do. If you’re trying to figure out your calling as a communicator, what your purpose in writing is or what your subject you should, you need to write what you know. And for me, that was writing.
As I shared what I knew, I eventually released a manifesto. It was a short statement of purpose, which basically said, “Here’s what I’m about, and I hope it can help you.” When I put more content out there, I paid attention to what resonated with people. And when I noticed that something struck a chord, I would explore that topic a little more. It was an iterative process.
Over time, more and more people started reading my blog, which surprised me. I was just writing what I knew, but it seemed to be helping people. And as more people showed, I realized what was happening was this: I was building a community.
Before releasing my manifesto, I had an email list of 75 people. After I released it, that number grew to over 1000 people in a week — all because of a decision to be generous. I also encouraged them to be generous, offering free articles or e-books or whatever I thought might help. And I would say, “Feel free to share this with your friends.”
One of the things I learned through that process is generosity begets generosity (tweet). If you help other people, they are going to use that information to help even more people. And that help is going to find a way back to you.
“What goes around comes around,” my dad used to say. And it’s true. You can attract attention by being generous and encouraging other people to do the same by sharing your content. Which ultimately allows you to reach more people and helps your influence multiply.
Build a community
The last key is to build a community by being exclusive. Now I say that and winc, because what I don’t mean is you should build something based on who isn’t allowed. That’s wrong.
However, if you say, “Hey, this is for everybody,” or, “I want everyone to read my blog,” then no one will.
But if you focus on a single topic or idea, if you target an area of passion, you will find people who agree with you, who resonate with your worldview. And they won’t be able to wait for what you have to say next. They’ll want to tell others about it, too.
Here’s the really interesting thing: even though you think you’re special, there are actually a lot of people out there just like you who think similarly about certain things that you think, feel, and believe.
When you draw that line in the sand and say, “Here’s what I believe,” there is a certain amount of unavoidable exclusivity. Not because you are trying to push people away, but because you are trying to take a stance. And it will attract an audience.
When you stand for something, people will stand with you. (Tweet)
In conclusion…
When it comes to writing success, don’t focus on being good. Instead, focus on being effective. And how do you do that? By exploring these three keys:
By becoming a writer through a declaration: “I am a writer. I’m going to start acting like it.”
By sharing what you know. Not just writing what you know, but sharing it, putting it out there, and finding ways to help people.
By building a community through generosity and exclusivity by saying, “Here’s what I’m about, and if that’s not for you, that’s okay because it’s for somebody out there.”
And I guarantee you, it is. Because if you are one in a million, and there are over 7 billion people in the world, then that means there are 7000 people, a powerful tribe of followers, waiting for you to connect with them.
The question is, are you going to reach them? Or are you going to wait, like I did, for too many years? I hope not.
That’s why I started my online course, Tribe Writers, to help writers use their words to reach the audience their messages deserve. To find out more about that, check out TribeWriters.com and there plenty of information there.
Which of these three keys do you need to implement? And how can you get started today? Share in the comments.
May 30, 2014
4 Copywriting Techniques Every Good Storyteller Already Knows
Quick: What do F. Scott Fitzgerald, Salman Rushdie, and Joseph Heller have in common? Yes, they’re all renowned novelists. But would you have guessed that, before they were novelists, they were all copywriters?
While they may not credit their time spent in advertising as the foundation of their literary skill set, it’s undeniable that it had some influence on their writing styles.
As a writer, copywriting forces you to do three things:
Understand the importance of every single word.
Master the art of working within deadlines.
Get inside your readers’ heads.
Beyond making you a better writer, learning copywriting also comes in handy when it’s time to implement some of the strategies Jeff recommends the most on this site, such as building your tribe, creating an email list, and learning how to effectively market to that email list.
In this post, we’re going to explore four copywriting techniques/tips that can also make a world of difference in your creative writing. Let’s get started.
1. Creativity is overrated
When discussing creativity, legendary ad man David Ogilvy once wrote,
I have to invent a Big Idea for a new advertising campaign, and I have to invent it before Tuesday. ‘Creativity’ strikes me as a high-falutin word for the work I have to do between now and Tuesday.
The biggest problems I’ve seen over and over for creative writers — whether you’re writing a short story, a novel, a memoir, or anything else—are terms like “inspiration,” “writer’s block,” and “creativity.”
If you have not signed a publishing contract saying you will have a certain number of words complete by a certain date, the only deadline you might have is one you’ve given yourself — a deadline the aforementioned three words have a bad habit of pushing back.
Could just one more week of revisions improve your project? Perhaps. But you know what the best kind of story is? The kind that actually gets read, because the writer finished it.
2. While curiosity kills cats, it rewards writers
Let’s bring this full circle, all the way back to another one of my favorite pieces of advice from Mr. Joseph Sugarman:
The best copywriters in the world are those who are curious about life, read a great deal, have many hobbies, like to travel, have a variety of skills, get bored and then look for other skills to master.
Guess what? Those are the exact same habits you’ll find in the vast majority of great writers. The best part? You don’t have to born with a single one of those habits to possess any of them.
Need to get more curious about life? Ask questions. Listen closely. Dig deep beneath the surface of everyday life.
Need to read more? Try one of these five strategies.
Need a new hobby? There are about 18 million how-to videos on YouTube on any subject you can imagine. Pick something and give it a shot. Learn to fly fish. Cook a bowl of beef pho. Start a vegetable garden.
Wish you could travel more? Don’t let time or money slow you down. I once drove 70 miles down I-24 east because there was a tiny town called Bucksnort and I wanted to find out why it was called that. I ended up eating lunch at an antique pinball museum.
I wrote a story about it that I later used as a writing sample to get my first job as a professional writer. All that trip cost me was a couple hours and a quarter tank of gas.
3. Tiny details breathe life into your story
The tiny details are the ones that bring the story to life. They are what allow you to show instead of tell. To illustrate this technique, let’s pay another visit to our friend, Mr. David Ogilvy.
While writing an ad for Rolls-Royce, Ogilvy spent three weeks doing nothing more than reading about the car. That research process, although tedious, allowed him to find the one magic detail he needed to craft a headline that has lived on in advertising lore ever since:
At 60 miles an hour, the loudest noise in this new Rolls-Royce comes from the electric clock.
As Ogilvy said, “[The ad] ran in two newspapers and two magazines, at a cost of $25,000. The following year, Ford based their multimillion dollar campaign on the claim that their car was even quieter than a Rolls.”
Tell me, do any of the following statements communicate as effectively as the original headline?
The Rolls-Royce is the quietest car I’ve ever driven.
The decibel level of the Rolls-Royce at 60 miles an hour is lower than any other car at 60 miles an hour.
The Rolls-Royce allows you to go fast and still hear yourself think.
Nothing compares. And so it goes with storytelling. The underwater mass of Hemingway’s iceberg only becomes clear when the tiny details provide shreds of evidence that it might exist.
4. Keep a swipe file
What’s a swipe file? Nothing more than a collection of thoughts, ideas, useful information, and things you like. Basically, it’s what you open when you need an idea.
Now, let’s stop for a second because I know what you’re thinking: This guy wants me to steal other people’s ideas and pass them off as my own? Not at all. Let me explain.
The idea of a swipe file is very similar to an idea Roy Peter Clark introduces in Writing Tools, one of the most useful books on writing ever written. What we copywriters call a swipe file, Clark calls “saving string.”
I’ll let him explain:
I will be struck by a theme or issue in politics or culture… I lack the time and knowledge to write about this topic now, but maybe I will someday. My chances will improve if I begin to save string.
What Clark means by “saving string” is that he will collect every little piece of useful knowledge about a particular topic he stumbles upon and set it aside in a file box.
Yann Martel used a similar method when he wrote Life of Pi. He would collect all sorts of information on various topics useful to his story, such as surviving at sea, the Bengal tiger, Christianity, Hinduism, the nature of zoos, and put that information into a corresponding envelope.
When he reached the point in the story where he needed to write about one of those topics, he opened the envelope and was rewarded with all the “string” he had saved.
Never underestimate the power of a well-researched story. While the tiny details may bring it to life, the research ensures all those details make sense.
Start a swipe file. Save some string. In the long run, it always pays off.
These four copywriting tips are just the beginning. Truth is, there’s so much more to be learned about storytelling and the writing process from writing words designed to sell or inspire action.
And although copywriting is not immune from hucksters who — like Sith lords using the dark side of the force — harness its power for evil, its purest purpose is to connect people to resources that will add value to their lives.
There’s a lot to be learned from copywriting. Now’s the time to dive in headfirst.
Where are you going to start? Share in the comments.
May 29, 2014
008: Brad Lomenick on Authentic Leadership [Podcast]
I’m standing just offstage. I adjust my mic and hop up and down – the adrenaline is pumping. I hear the emcee: “…about the latest advances in astrophysics, please welcome, Dr. Jeff Goins!”
Doctor? Astrophysics?
I wake up in a cold sweat.
Photo credit: Max Wolfe via cc
We all fear being “found out,” being outed as a fake. And now, more than ever, people can see through the facade. So what if we took a different approach? What if we decided to come clean? Be real. Show our authentic selves.
In this episode of the podcast, Brad Lomenick, President and Lead Visionary of Catalyst and author of The Catalyst Leader, shares wisdom for the next generation of communicators and leaders.
Click to listen
To listen to the show, click the player below (if viewing this in email click here).
You can also download it at iTunes or on Stitcher.
Are you ready to lead?
At some point, Brad says, you have to transition from protege to mentor. And you won’t feel ready. Don’t we all feel that way, sometimes?
When I started this podcast, I didn’t feel ready. But even through my doubt and insecurities, I knew I needed to do it.
The podcast wasn’t the only thing I didn’t feel ready for. I didn’t feel ready when I published my first book. I didn’t feel ready when I launched my first course.
The truth is, you never feel ready, even when you are. (Click here to tweet that)
So even if you don’t feel ready, you know something valuable. You’ve been through something, and you can guide someone else who is facing something similar.
You’re ready.
The most essential essentials
In his book, The Catalyst Leader: Eight Essentials for Becoming a Change-Maker (affiliate link), Brad and his team have identified eight key qualities to being a great leader in our culture.
They’re all important and interrelated, but I asked Brad to pick the cornerstone. The one quality without which it would all fall apart:
Authenticity.
Brad says it’s hard to fake it. You’ll be found out. (Tweet that)
So we should stop trying to puff ourselves up and rest in who and where we are right now, not who we want to be 10 or 15 years from now.
Live what you say
In our connected world, it’s easier than ever to create a facade, to craft an identity that’s not true to yourself, But the millennial generation has a great radar. We can no longer get by on appearances and half-truths.
To be a successful leader, you must be yourself and you must be about your community.
A catalyst is defined as “a force for change that leaves no residue of itself.”
That’s what Brad wants to be as a leader. And that’s what I want to do with this podcast. If I’m pulling it off, if I’m helping inspire you to change, I’d love for you to leave an honest review.
You can also copy and paste this URL into the podcast player of your choice: http://feeds.feedburner.com/ThePortfo...
Also, if you have any questions for future episodes like this one, let me know (just shoot an email to jeff at goinswriter dot com).
And if you’re enjoying the podcast, please tweet about it or share it with your friends on Facebook.
Becoming the leader you want to be
What does all this mean for us? For you?
I know for me, it means starting scared. It means doing things I don’t feel ready for but my community needs. It means asking about your struggles, opening the curtain on my own struggles, and sharing the lessons I’ve learned along the way.
What about you? What makes it hard for you to be authentic and lead your tribe? Share in the comments.
By the way, opening next week, Tribe Writers can help you find your authentic voice and connect with the tribe that’s waiting for you to lead them.
May 26, 2014
What Does a Great Leader Look Like?
I have been fortunate enough to sit under a few great leaders in my lifetime, and it has been a goal of mine that as my influence grows, to try and emulate them as much as possible.
Photo Credit: FMG2008 via Compfight cc
One of the great leaders I’ve had the privilege of meeting is my former boss and mentor Seth Barnes. Seth hired me a year after I graduated from college and was the first person to call me a writer.
In fact, he hired me to help him figure out how to use blogging to grow the brand of his organization. Social media had just become a new trend, and he was certain that the future of online marketing lay in great storytelling. He was right.
What ensued was a seven-years apprenticeship not only in marketing, but in writing, business, and leadership. I am forever grateful for the opportunities he gave me, and there is not a day that goes by that I don’t use a skill I learned from him or as a result of his hiring me.
So when I think of leadership, of what it takes to be an influencer, I think of Seth, and I do my best to mimic him. What I learned from him is that a great leader is generous — but not always in the ways we think.
Here are three lessons I learned from him:
Great leaders share their time
Remarkable influencers give their time and talent, almost recklessly, away. Seth’s philosophy of this was simple: keep showing up in people’s lives, and eventually you will win them over.
Leadership isn’t about charisma or any special personality traits; it’s just about showing up. [Tweet that]
The challenge, though, is that you can’t be generous to everyone. If you are a person of influence, someone who merits the attention of others, chances are that the supply of your time won’t meet the demand. So what do you do?
Seth had a saying — “go with the goers” — and the way he practiced it was by being available to any young men who showed great potential. When he spoke into their lives and they responded, he took the relationship, and his investment in their lives, a level deeper.
Great leaders share what they know
Leadership is not only about sharing your time. It also requires opening up about your past, giving insight into processes that otherwise could only be learned through experience.
This is difficult, because it requires a certain amount of humility and vulnerability. You have to be willing to “go there,” talking about your failures and the things you could’ve done better.
Surprisingly, many leaders struggle to do this. They are driven more by ego than a desire to serve, and because of this reluctance, their influence is limited. A great leader understands that wisdom is only powerful when shared with someone else.
Great leaders share their power
It’s not enough to share your time and knowledge. To give away wisdom without providing the context to apply it is not leadership. It’s advising. And there’s great value to being an advisor; it’s just not all a leader does.
Great leaders understand the law of legacy, that on their own they can only be so good. They know what makes them great is not them, but what they leave behind. So what determines the success of a leader is their ability to invest in others and multiply themselves.
This means more than making little mini-me versions of yourself. It’s about helping others fail faster than you’ve done so they can get to success even faster. And this, dear leader, is your legacy.
Your greatness is directly related to your ability to let go of your own power and authority.
So how do you put this together?
When I think back to how Seth intentionally raised me up to be a leader, I can see a design that was hard to recognize at the time (which may have been his intent all along).
Nonetheless, now I see how he affirmed something in me that I struggled to embrace — my passion for writing — and gave me challenges that would cause me to grow. At times, it felt frustrating, but now I understand why he did it.
There will come a time for every leader when the student must go out on his own. In fact, this is an essential part of apprenticeship — the understudy must leave the master’s shop and go in search of his own personal greatness. At which point, he eventually proves himself and starts the process all over again.
Which is another way of saying leadership is about multiplication. And how, exactly, do you begin such a process? By doing what Seth did:
Notice something special in someone else (or just plain notice them as a person).
Affirm gifts and talents as you see them develop.
Empower and entrust others, giving them opportunity to fail, learn, and eventually succeed.
If you do those three simple things, you will be surprised by how quickly people are attracted to you and how much they will grow as a result of knowing you. And you will be, whether you realize it or not, a leader.
(By the way, the next class of Tribe Writers, which is all about using your words to become an online influencer, opens in a week.)
Join me this weekend in Dallas!
If this is a topic that interests, you, I suggest you check out this leadership and life-planning conference I’m speaking at this weekend in Dallas. Here are three ways you can be involved:
If you’re in the area, you can join us live at the event on Friday.
You can also attend a private VIP dinner for free on Thursday. Seats are limited, so please register — we may not have enough spots for everyone. If there’s enough interest, though, I might do another meet up Friday night.
If you’re not in the area, you can follow along via the live stream.
I’ll be speaking on how we achieve our goals when life doesn’t turn out the way we expect. Hope you can tune in!
What do you think a great leader looks like? Share in the comments.
May 23, 2014
Help Me Choose a Cover For My Next Book
For the past several months, I’ve been busy finishing my next book, and my publisher recently sent me two potential covers. I’d love to get your feedback on them.
The book is called The Art of Work: A Proven Path to Discovering What You Were Meant to Do.
It’s a book about calling and finding the work you were meant to do, and it’s full of inspiring stories and practical application that will move you in the direction of your life’s work.
Here are mockups of the two cover choices. Please take just a second and choose your favorite in the survey below.
Concept #1
Concept #2
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What do you think makes for a good book cover? Share in the comments.
May 21, 2014
007: Three Simple Steps to Starting a Writing Career [Podcast]
You see it when you close your eyes. A log cabin on the shore of a lake, the forest rising high on the mountains all around you. Just you and your trusty Underwood.
(OK, you can keep the MacBook.)
Photo credit: David Goulart via cc
If you’re holding down a day job, fitting writing into the cracks and crevices of your life, it’s easy to dream of making a dramatic change. It’s even easier to think you need to.
But the truth is, you don’t have to abandon everything to build a career as a writer.
In this episode of the podcast, we tackle three key questions from reader Arlen Miller submitted through my Facebook page.
Click to listen
To listen to the show, click the player below (if viewing this in email click here).
You can also download it at iTunes or on Stitcher.
The three simple steps to a writing career
Arlen jumps to the good stuff early when he asks:
What are the bare basics for launching a writing career?
I get asked this question a lot. And the answer is simple, but it’s not easy.
It starts with the art, but it overlaps with the business. And before you start crying “I just wanna do my art,” those things are not in conflict. Because all a business is, is helping people.
The business side of your art is helping by providing value — whether it’s entertainment or inspiration or education or whatever — and allowing people to compensate you for that value.
The three basics:
Build your craft.
Build your brand.
Build your business.
We don’t make movies to make money, we make money so we can make more movies.
- Walt Disney
So who are we helping?
Arlen then takes us a step further, asking:
What are the keys to engagement with your audience?
Engaging your audience is really about building a community, starting with your current relationships.
You have people in your life who care about what you’re doing. By connecting with them in ways that serve them well, you can leverage those relationships to reach more people and get your work the attention it deserves.
Simply focus on growing to reach:
Friends
Fans
Patrons
Friends and fans aren’t hard to connect with. It just takes time.
But patrons?
They are mentors. Friends who have influence. Building relationships with these people is hard, but worth the effort. Show them your teachable spirit — prove that you’ll take their advice and apply it. Show them you’re worth investing in.
There’s nothing new under the sun
Then Arlen asks about one of the most common fears new writers share:
What about the bane of being a copycat?
I’m not sure this is a bad thing. It’s inevitable, really. So embrace it.
Some of the greatest artists and authors, people whose work is timeless and revered, started by literally copying the classics. Painters traced and copied paintings to learn. Writers typed out pages of classic books to get the rhythm of the language.
Ultimately, it’s impossible to be original, yet we still see work we find interesting and original. Because each artist is unique.
You are unique.
And when all your various influences come together, they transcend what you’re trying to do and combine the inspiration into something fresh.
So, now what?
Don’t over-think this. It’s hard work, but it’s not complicated to build a career as a writer:
Grow as an artist and a business person
Serve your friends, fans, and patrons
Don’t worry about being unique, because you already are.
I’m working to apply all this to growing the community around this podcast. And I’d love for you to leave an honest review. I want to know what you think.
You can also copy and paste this URL into the podcast player of your choice: http://feeds.feedburner.com/ThePortfo...
Also, if you have any questions for future episodes like this one, let me know (just shoot an email to jeff at goinswriter dot com).
Lastly, I want to hear about the community you’re building. Leave a comment below. And if you’re enjoying the podcast, please tweet about it or share it with your friends on Facebook.
How is this podcast helping you move forward? Share in the comments.
May 18, 2014
The Illusions of Money, Power, and Fame: Why Fitting in Is Overrated
If I could go back in time and give my awkward, chubby, baggy-T-shirt-wearing, 14 year-old self some advice, it would be this: fitting in is overrated.
Photo Credit: Photochiel via Compfight cc
Even then, with my grunge music and superfluous flannel shirts, I believed it could be true. That the promises of this world are not worth what we have to trade to get them. But now, as an adult, I know this to be true.
Things are not often what they seem.
Take money, for example…
Now I know that having money and being rich are not the same thing.
I have met people who made more money than most of us would know what to do with it and then spent it all. These people finance their houses and lease new cars all to maintain an image.
And I have met those who drive beat-up old trucks and wear worn-out baseball caps and are worth millions.
What we see, or rather what we think we see, is not always what is.
…then there’s power…
I wish I could go back and tell myself that bullies are not big. They are, in fact, quite small.
I would also remind the teenage me that they never go away, so you had better start facing your giants now.
There will always be those who want to squash your creativity and belittle your uniqueness, but this is not power. It is the pinnacle of weakness and cowardice, and it’s waiting to be exposed.
So gird yourself, and get ready to be brave. It will be a lifetime requirement.
…and let’s not forget fame
Some of the most famous people I know are also the most lonely. In fact, many of these people have traded success for fame, content to be known over doing something that mattered.
I know people who have millions of fans and don’t know where next month’s rent is coming from, whose names you would recognize and yet whose own families have forgotten their faces.
This, sometimes, is the cost of a “cool” membership card.
To be liked and accepted by the masses is not all it’s cracked up to be. Fame is a fickle mistress whose never quite satisfied. She will, in time, rob us for everything we have.
But there’s good news, too
If I sensed my younger self getting depressed or starting to roll his eyes, I would tell him one last thing: what makes you weird is what makes you you (tweet that).
So embrace it.
All these urges to fit in and conform and be liked, these won’t get you very far in life. And soon, you will see that the weirdos, the misfits, the outcasts, these are the people who get things done. Who truly change the world.
There is a downside to being too popular and a cost to having too much money. And there is a peculiar sort of wealth that accompanies struggle and lack, sometimes.
Don’t fight these things. Don’t dream of another reality or try to be someone you’re not. You will eventually regret the effort you spent on such pursuits and wish you would have stood up to to more bullies, stopped worrying so much about status, and got on with being the strangest, strongest version of yourself you could be.
Pin this.
And as you move towards to your calling, that special thing you were born to do, you will find yourself accessing all the skills you once thought were weaknesses, those embarrassing quirks and personality traits you used to hate, and you will find a use for them all.
The things you wanted to wish away will become your greatest assets.
So now that you know these things, that everything that once seemed to matter actually doesn’t, what’re you going to do? Will you embrace your weirdness, or will you keep trying to fit in?
That’s what I would tell my younger self (in addition to what I already said). And I would ask you the same.
Today is my dad’s birthday, and I know of no one who has better taught me these lessons than him. But since you don’t have the privilege of knowing him, here are a few books that explore these topics:
David and Goliath by Malcolm Gladwell: This is a great read, especially when it comes to debunking the myth that you need power or authority to make a difference.
The Freaks Shall Inherit the Earth by Chris Brogan: This is a business book about why misfits, or “freaks,” are the ones primed for success.
The Obstacle Is the Way by Ryan Holiday: This is a motivational book about how you can turn weakness and failure into power. It’s a quick read with inspiring vignettes from some of history’s greatest leaders, and it’s currently on sale.
You can also get one of the above books for free when you join Audible (which is a service I use, recommend, and am a proud affiliate for).
Reminder: I’m hosting a free live training on podcasting with my friend Jeff Brown who has over 26 years of radio experience. Click here to sign up to join us at 2:00 p.m. CST.
What’s something that makes you not fit in that you need to embrace instead of avoid? Share in the comments.
The Illusions of Money, Power, and Fame: Why Fitting in Is Over-rated
If I could go back in time and give my awkward, chubby, baggy-T-shirt-wearing, 14 year-old self some advice, it would be this: fitting in is over-rated.
Photo Credit: Photochiel via Compfight cc
Even then, with my grunge music and superfluous flannel shirts, I believed it could be true. That the promises of this world are not worth what we have to trade to get them. But now, as an adult, I know this to be true.
Things are not often what they seem.
Take money, for example…
Now I know that having money and being rich are not the same thing.
I have met people who made more money than most of us would know what to do with it and then spent it all. These people finance their houses and lease new cars all to maintain an image.
And I have met those who drive beat-up old trucks and wear worn-out baseball caps and are worth millions.
What we see, or rather what we think we see, is not always what is.
…then there’s power…
I wish I could go back and tell myself that bullies are not big. They are, in fact, quite small.
I would also remind the teenage me that they never go away, so you had better start facing your giants now.
There will always be those who want to squash your creativity and belittle your uniqueness, but this is not power. It is the pinnacle of weakness and cowardice, and it’s waiting to be exposed.
So gird yourself, and get ready to be brave. It will be a lifetime requirement.
…and let’s not forget popularity
Some of the most famous people I know are also the most lonely. In fact, many of these people have traded success for fame, content to be known over doing something that mattered.
I know people who have millions of fans and don’t know where next month’s rent is coming from, whose names you would recognize and yet whose own families have forgotten their faces.
This, sometimes, is the cost of a “cool” membership card.
To be liked and accepted by the masses is not all it’s cracked up to be. Fame is a fickle mistress whose never quite satisfied. She will, in time, rob us for everything we have.
But there’s good news, too
If I sensed my younger self getting depressed or starting to roll his eyes, I would tell him one last thing: what makes you weird is what makes you you (tweet that).
So embrace it.
All these urges to fit in and conform and be liked, these won’t get you very far in life. And soon, you will see that the weirdos, the misfits, the outcasts, these are the people who get things done. Who truly change the world.
There is a downside to being too popular and a cost to having too much money. And there is a peculiar sort of wealth that accompanies struggle and lack, sometimes.
Don’t fight these things. Don’t dream of another reality or try to be someone you’re not. You will eventually regret the effort you spent on such pursuits and wish you would have stood up to to more bullies, stopped worrying so much about status, and got on with being the strangest, strongest version of yourself you could be.
Pin this.
And as you move towards to your calling, that special thing you were born to do, you will find yourself accessing all the skills you once thought were weaknesses, those embarrassing quirks and personality traits you used to hate, and you will find a use for them all.
The things you wanted to wish away will become your greatest assets.
So now that you know these things, that everything that once seemed to matter actually doesn’t, what’re you going to do? Will you embrace your weirdness, or will you keep trying to fit in?
That’s what I would tell my younger self (in addition to what I already said). And I would ask you the same.
Today is my dad’s birthday, and I know of no one who has better taught me these lessons than him. But since you don’t have the privilege of knowing him, here are a few books that explore these topics:
David and Goliath by Malcolm Gladwell: This is a great read, especially when it comes to debunking the myth that you need power or authority to make a difference.
The Freaks Shall Inherit the Earth by Chris Brogan: This is a business book about why misfits, or “freaks,” are the ones primed for success.
The Obstacle Is the Way by Ryan Holiday: This is a motivational book about how you can turn weakness and failure into power. It’s a quick read with inspiring vignettes from some of history’s greatest leaders, and it’s currently on sale.
Reminder: I’m hosting a free live training on podcasting with my friend Jeff Brown who has over 26 years of radio experience. Click here to sign up to join us at 2:00 p.m. CST.
What’s something that makes you not fit in that you need to embrace instead of avoid? Share in the comments.
May 16, 2014
Waiting to Be Published? That’s a Stupid Strategy
Earlier this week on Twitter, I asked a question about self-publishing and got more responses than I expected. Turns out, many people are still waiting for permission to publish their work. And I think that’s a shame.
Photo Credit: TheeErin via Compfight cc
They’re still looking for a magic bullet, some special secret that will allow them to finally share their message with the world. They want someone to pick them — and that’s just a silly, if not downright stupid, plan.
Sorry if that comes across as strong, or even offensive, but sometimes you’ve got to be blunt. And I see a lot of people spinning their wheels with strategies that won’t get them anywhere.
After my recent podcast on self-publishing, I was curious how many writers out there were still waiting to be published. So I asked a question, figuring with all the resources now available for indie authors that self-publishing would be something people already knew was an option.
Boy, was I wrong.
I got questions and comments about how much it cost and what it would take and why some writers still think a traditionally published book is more “legit.”
I couldn’t believe it.
Now, don’t get me wrong. I don’t want to knock publishers. There’s nothing like have a team of professionals to help you create your best work. I’ve worked with a traditional publisher for my last two books, and I’ve also self-published. If you have the chance, I recommend you try both, too.
Ah, but there’s the rub. What if you, like a lot of writers, don’t have the chance? Or what if you simply choose to not go with a publisher and try to do it on your own? Do you have another option?
Of course, you do. The problem is most people who want to write a book act as if they don’t.
Many would-be authors are just waiting. Waiting for the right opportunity. For their big break. For someone to come affirm them.
And some will be waiting for the rest of their lives.
The illusion of the waiting place
You can get so confused
that you’ll start in to race
down long wiggled roads at a break-necking pace
and grind on for miles across weirdish wild space,
headed, I fear, toward a most useless place.
The Waiting Place…
—Dr. Seuss
In spite of the fact that I wrote a book about the lessons we learn in the in-between moments in life, I am not a fan of waiting.
Waiting is hard. Waiting is frustrating. Waiting is unnecessary.
Wait, what? Unnecessary? But I thought we all had to wait at various times in our lives. Ah, yes. Allow me to explain…
There is a difference between waiting and stalling.
If you are waiting to marry the right person and won’t compromise certain values, that’s honorable. In fact, a good friend of mine recently married a great guy after waiting for decades, and she would say he was worth the wait. Some things are.
But if you are waiting without a plan or understanding of what you’re waiting for, if you’re hoping things will turn around without doing anything to prepare, then you aren’t waiting. You’re stalling. And you, my friend, are headed nowhere.
The truth is life is always moving. So when we wait, we aren’t stuck in one place; we’re actually going backwards. We’re regressing.
This is true for you and your big break, your chance to show us what you’ve got. If you are waiting to be discovered without doing anything to put the hours in, to practice and network and look for any possible gig to prove yourself, then you’re kidding yourself.
That’s not the kind of waiting that produces results. It’s fear taking the wheel of your life.
A better way to wait
Think of it like this: when a baby is growing in its mother’s womb, it’s waiting. But the reason for the wait is the child is not ready to face the world. It couldn’t survive without those nine months of preparation.
It’s not stalling; it’s growing. And that’s not a bad strategy. We all need to grow and get better, and waiting sometimes provides the context for that growth, provided we take it.
If you find yourself in the valley of waiting, I think there are three options available to you:
You can just keep writing.
You can do something interesting and generous to get attention.
You can build a platform, sharing your best work with the world, and watch as people take notice.
Or you can do all three: focusing on your craft while not taking it for granted that sometimes you’ve got to stir people out of their slumber to acknowledge important work. And you can do this all on borrowed attention or do the difficult work of earning your own audience. I recommend the latter.
Whatever you do, you can can’t sit still, hoping for a shot at success. There’s no guarantee it’ll come. That’s the bad news. The good news is you don’t need it come. You have everything you need to get started right now: your fingers, your ideas, and a generous heart.
Now, it’s just a matter of getting on with it.
If you need some help getting started with self-publishing, check out this article: The Complete Guide to Self-Publishing a Book That Doesn’t Suck.
Be honest: Are you waiting to be published? What’s something you could do right now to change that? Share in the comments.
By the way, if you want to see a couple of guys who are picking themselves, doing something interesting, and rewarding those who pay attention, check out this Kickstarter project where you can have front-row seats to the writing of a novel. What a cool idea! I highly recommend supporting this project. Check it out.
May 14, 2014
006: Guy Kawasaki Interview: Stuff Does Not Sell Itself [Podcast]
You have to stand by the side of the river a long time before a roast duck will fly into your mouth.
–Japanese Proverb
If you’ve written a book or even thought about writing a book and you haven’t a received a big fat advance check, then you’ve probably considered self-publishing at some point. But is it all it’s cracked up to be?
Guy Kawasaki, Author, Publisher, Entrepreneur
Recently, I had the privilege of interviewing Guy Kawasaki, who is the co-founder of Alltop.com, the former Chief Evangelist for Apple, and the author of 12 books. He is also a huge fan of self-publishing.
So we had a conversation about why Guy recently self-published a book and what he learned through the process. I think you’re going to enjoy it.
In this episode of The Portfolio Life podcast, we talk about self-publishing, entrepreneurship, and the many reasons you don’t have to wait to share your words with the world.
My interview with Guy Kawasaki
To listen to the show, click the player below (if viewing this in email, click here).
You can also download it at iTunes or on Stitcher.
Guy Kawasaki wrote his first book in 1987 during his time at a small software company. The book, The Macintosh Way, was born from his belief that there had to be a better way to do business.
When Guy self-published his book What the Plus, he discovered that publishing a book was hard to do well. So after he figured it all out, he wrote APE: Author, Publisher, Entrepreneur – How to Publish a Book to share the lessons he learned and make self-publishing a little more accessible to all of us.
Interview highlights
Guy and I talked about:
What it was like to work with Steve Jobs
How authors can self-publish great work
Why writing (eventually) gets easier
The good (and bad reasons) to write a book
The advantages of self-publishing and the responsibilities that go with them
The most important part of publishing
Guy sees self-publishing as “artisanal” publishing, and sees authors as craftspeople.
And he is clear: Writing a book is not a trivial task.
You throw up on the page, then you invest your real effort refining it. But if you’re doing it for the right reasons – to add to the body of knowledge, to further a cause, or for the challenge of just doing it – it’s worth the effort to do well.
But he points out it’s not just about writing the content. To self-publish, you also have to be willing to market it.
Because, as Guy has learned, stuff does not sell itself. (Click here to tweet that.)
The roast duck does not just fly into your mouth.
A writer needs to make a lot of things happen in parallel. The moment you start writing your book is the moment you should start building your marketing platform. You need to consider eBook formatting, cover and interior design, print vendors, and more.
But the payoff can be great.
You can pick up a copy of the book on Amazon (affiliate link). And Guy shares more tools and resources on the APE website.
I hope you enjoy the interview. Feel free to download it and share with friends. And I would love for you to take a moment and leave a review on iTunes. This podcast is a work in progress, and I value your feedback.
Have you ever considered self-publishing? Share in the comments.
