Jeff Goins's Blog, page 94
July 1, 2012
When We Stop Believing the Stories We Tell
A few years ago, I found myself at a personal impasse.
Working for a nonprofit organization, my job was to help missionaries tell their stories. With a few colleagues, I launched an online magazine, and every week we shared accounts of how people were changing the world.
There was just one problem: I didn’t believe any of it.
Photo credit: David Goehring (Creative Commons)
Telling all these stories and promoting all these causes, I began to experience some serious cognitive dissonance. I no longer bought into the message I was preaching.
Why? Because life happened. And at some point I had grown cynical.
What was a thrill for some had become a desk job for me. What was a life-changing adventure in the lives of others was nothing more than a series of spreadsheets in mine.
Stuck at a computer for eight hours a day while others had the time of their lives, I finally gave up. I complained to my wife, telling her it wasn’t fair.
Not one to be patient with whiners, she said, “Well, go do something!” So I did.
The plight of storytellers
This is a common occurrence among marketers and mobilizers, people whose roles are more “behind the scenes” tend to struggle with their work at some point. It’s hard to serve someone else’s vision for so long without having one of your own. It feels like you’re unappreciated.
The reality, though, is much harder to swallow.
For me, the irony of working for a mission organization but rarely getting to travel outside the country was too much to bear. I was telling an amazing story but living a mediocre one. Something had to change.
The temptation here is to blame your boss or your job or the entire organization — for not caring, not paying attention, not knowing. But the truth is it’s no one’s fault but your own.
I was the one to blame for being boring. I was the one holding me back. And I was the one who had to do something about it.
The cure for disillusionment
Living vicariously through the adventures of others is what we scribes, writers, and bards do. Frankly, it’s your job, and somebody’s gotta do it. But sometimes you just gotta get out there and live your own story.
That’s what I did, and it changed everything. Here are three ways I learned to live the stories I used to only talk about (and how you can, too):
Embrace the extraordinary nature of ordinary life. Look around you — you’re living a miracle. Every day is a gift; treat is as such, even when it feels like a discipline. Remember: Without the people in the dark, the person in the spotlight doesn’t shine.
Find ways to be remarkable, wherever you are. Mother Teresa said, “We can do no big things, only small things with love.” Take out your neighbor’s trash; go for a walk. Don’t just sulk; seek ways to make today amazing.
Live a better story. Ditch your excuses and find a way to travel, even if it’s only across town. Serve the less-fortunate through a mission trip or service project, even if it’s in your own back yard. Do something unexpected, like skydiving or planning a surprise date for your spouse. You have opportunities; use them.
If you feel like the work you do is taken for granted, you’re probably right, but that’s what you signed up for. That’s what it means to serve, to tell somebody else’s story. Deal with it, or be done with it.
Make no mistake, though; you do have a choice. You can find ways to make your work incredible — like my friend Jeremy, a doctor, a dad, and a blogger who finds a way to take trips to Africa in his free time — or you can do something else.
What isn’t an option is for you to sit around and whine about it. That was never an option.
Come see me speak on this topic at the ECHO 2012: A conference for artists, geeks, and storytellers. It’s in Dallas, TX on July 25-27. Use the promo code “JEFF” when you register to get a 15% discount. Sign up here.
Have you stopped believing the stories you tell? What are you doing about it? Share in the comments.
*Photo credit: David Goehring (Creative Commons)
June 29, 2012
One Paradigm-shifting Idea That Will Change the Way You Communicate
It’s something professional speakers do. It’s something the best storytellers and broadcasters do. It’s something your favorite bloggers and writers do, too.
But for some reason, I was neglecting it. I thought I was better than it, that I was somehow above the system. I was believing a lie.
Photo credit: Andre Chinn (Creative Commons)
The phrase that changed my mind
Earlier this week on a webinar, I heard Derek Halpern say this:
Stop writing lists. Write one tip that helps you get one result. (Click here to tweet that.)
Of course, this applies to more than tips and tricks. It applies to ideas and stories, too. We communicators need to stop cluttering our messages with too many inane details.
Sure, a blog post with “101 ideas about X” is catchy, but is it memorable? You may get people saying, “I’ll bookmark that!” but are they going back to read it? Or are they forgetting about it? Probably the latter.
How to be remembered
I’m sure I’ll still do the occasional list post (because they’re kinda fun), but I’m much more interested in providing one idea that sticks than seven forgettable ones.
Does this mean that you only have one point? Not at all. It means you have one objective, one goal — something you want to accomplish.
Here are some possibilities:
To encourage
To convince
To notify
To inspire hope
To warn
To explain
To empower
To demonstrate
And so on. Once you’ve got your “one thing” (whether it be an idea, a story, a detail, or a tip), take that and back it up with a few rationale.
Why this makes sense
Be honest. Your memory isn’t that good. Neither is mine. Think about it:
Most people are busy. They don’t have time to remember something more complicated than one sticky idea.
Most people are distracted. Your message is competing with thousands of others. You can stand out by being remarkable.
Most people are forgetful. This is a byproduct of busyness and distraction. Strangers simply don’t have time to remember what you said, so keep it simple to stay at at the forefront of their minds.
I’m always forgetting appointments and meetings (heck, I lose my keys on a regular basis). I need to write things down to remember them. And it helps if they’re not too complicated.
Most people are like this. They need help understanding why what you’re saying is worth remembering. So that’s why you limit your talk or essay or blog post to one key idea worth remembering.
Finding your “one thing”
If you had one thing to say to the world, what would it be?
Mine would be something like this:
You are an artist; now go create.
You can tweet that, if you like, but I’d really like you to come up with your own.
It’s time for you to decide what one thing you want to say, and then say it. So let’s do that:
If this were your last day on earth, and you only had one song to sing, one tweet to share, one sentence to shout, what would it be?
Share your answer in the comments.
By the way, Derek posted the replay to that webinar I mentioned if you want to hear him explain this more from a blogging perspective. Check it out here (this link expires at 5pm EDT today).
*Photo credit: Andre Chinn (Creative Commons)
June 28, 2012
8 Tips for Waking Up Early & Conquering the Alarm Clock
For years, I wanted to wake up early. It seems almost all successful people get going before sunrise, and I wanted to be one of them. But when my morning alarm would go off, all the good intentions in the world couldn’t pull me out of bed.
Photo credit: Florian (Creative Commons)
I understood the benefits of waking up early. I made plans to wake up early and write, just like the recent challenge in the 15 Habits series. But that discipline was gone in the morning.
The groggy person hitting the snooze button wasn’t the same clear-thinking person that had set the alarm the night before.
When I realized waking up early is a battle fought on two fronts, everything changed We must prepare our bodies, but we must also trick our sleepy minds.
Here are eight tips to help you win the fight and wake up early:
1. Take the first steps
The toughest part of the morning is simply getting out of bed. An alarm across the room is an old trick, but I don’t want to wake up my wife in the process. So I have my iPhone next to my bed with a soft alarm that I can turn off quickly.
To keep myself from falling back asleep in the morning brain-fog, I have another alarm across the room set for a few minutes later.
It’s extremely loud and will jolt my wife awake if I don’t walk across the room and turn it off first. Even my foggy mind understands that, and the fear of a startled and cranky wife drives me to take those first few steps out of bed.
2. Cultivate a mental environment
Here are a few ideas to wake your brain up (and keep it alert all day long):
Listen to podcasts related to waking up early.
Read about people who were early risers.
Remind yourself about the importance of writing every day.
Fill in the cracks of your day with inspiration on how and why to wake up early.
You can rationalize a lot when your alarm goes off. But if you’ve immersed yourself in this environment, even your hazy morning mind will feel compelled to wake up.
3. Develop a “get to” attitude
Get excited about your day, and you’ll jump out of bed. Don’t drive yourself with guilt about why you have to wake up early. Make waking up early something you get to do.
Of course, the joy of creating can drive you. But don’t be afraid to motivate yourself by doing something fun in the morning. Play some games or indulge in some leisure reading.
Better yet, think of the benefits that others will receive from your work. You can also keep track of your progress and reward yourself when you reach a milestone.
4. Create some accountability
Recruit a friend to hold your feet to the fire. You can have weekly meetings or even call or text each other when you wake up.
There are great online groups — such as the fellow artists here on this community, the upcoming Tribe Writers community, or groups such as the Hello Mornings Challenge for mothers on Facebook and Twitter.
5. Sleep well
The struggle isn’t all mental. There’s a strong physical component and the amount — as well as the quality — of sleep you get is the most important factor.
Although it’s obvious, make sure you go to bed at a reasonable time if you want to wake up early. Also, pay attention to your diet and exercise. General physical fitness greatly impacts your sleep habits and energy levels.
6. Never snooze
Hitting your alarm’s snooze button doesn’t give you more of the restful REM sleep. Your body and mind aren’t recuperating youíre just wasting time.
Personally, I noticed that regularly hitting snooze made my thinking even cloudier when the alarm went off. Your mind starts to ignore the alarm bells.
7. Stick to your wake time
Wake up at the same time every day.
Your body becomes conditioned to this and regulates your sleep patterns accordingly. You get more of that precious REM sleep and when you have a regular wake time, your body actually begins the process of waking up long before your alarm sounds.
8. Build momentum
After you wake up early, the challenge is to stay up. Maybe you’ll love to relax and sip your coffee. But for me, getting too comfortable is dangerous.
I used to start my mornings by reading the Bible and praying. It was a fight to keep my eyes open. Now, the first thing I do is exercise. My heart gets racing, and afterwards I can give what matters most my best focus and attention.
Move through your routine quickly:
Have the coffee ready.
Set out your exercise clothes.
Keep a vigorous pace and you won’t feel as drowsy.
When I depended on discipline and willpower alone, I had limited success waking up early. But I’m mastering my mornings now — all due to a few simple tricks. I hope they help you, too.
What are some tips that have helped you wake up early? Share in the comments.
*Photo credit: Florian (Creative Commons)
June 27, 2012
The Essential Guide to (Not) Responding to Critics
Face it. Life is full of critics. If you’re going to do work that matters, you’re going to endure criticism. Call them “haters” or skeptics or just downright jerks — the bottom line is these people are inescapable.
Sooner or later, if you’re doing your job right, you’re going to find someone who disagrees with you. And that’s fine. Because what you do with criticism is what really counts.
Photo credit: Allan Henderson (Creative Commons)
Two types of people
There are two types of people when it comes to responding to critics:
People who try to please everyone.
People who try to fulfill their mission in life, even if it means ruffling feathers.
The first group is the one that I belong to. I am a recovering people-pleaser; I want to be liked by everyone, which, I’ve found, is a mathematical impossibility. But that doesn’t stop me from trying.
The problem with this type of person is that satisfaction rests solely on the happiness of others. If someone else is unhappy, so are you.
And let me tell you a depressing fact of life: Someone else is always unhappy.
The cure for the criticism addiction
Those of us who are dying for people to love and adore our work — and I’m one of them — have an addiction. We hear 99 positive reviews and one negative critique, and guess which one sticks?
This is what Jon Acuff calls “critic’s math,” and it only makes you miserable.
When our obsession with appeasing audiences continues, things get out of control. Our fixation with approval turns into an appetite for affirmation — and that’s when things start to get really hairy.
Fortunately, there’s a cure for this malady. A simple solution that we are wont to avoid: Stop listening to people who aren’t saying anything.
“I don’t say nuthin…”
When I first moved to Nashville, I spent a day a week volunteering at the rescue mission, where hundreds of homeless men were fed every day.
I had the privilege of working alongside an older African-American gentleman, who was the picture of humility and wisdom. At 70 years old, Ed was exactly who I wanted to be in about 50 years.
One day, Ed and I were walking through the courtyard, and a man stopped us. He tried to give Ed a high five and started using what I can only describe as “urban slang.” He seemed to think that since he and my friend shared the same skin color that they would understand each other. He was wrong.
My friend smiled and nodded but kept walking. When he did, the man started cussing him out. This didn’t seem to bother Ed.
The next week, we saw the man again. He was downright belligerent, and Ed didn’t even stop to talk this time. When I asked him why he didn’t defend himself or explain his actions, Ed said something I will never forget:
I don’t say nuthin’ if I don’t hear nuthin’.
That mantra has become a staple for me in how I respond to criticism. It should be for you, too.
When this matters
Do you have a troll who unfairly blasts every word you write?
An impossible-to-please skeptic who questions every sermon you preach, every song you play, every lesson you teach?
Maybe just a neighbor who gives you a hard time every time you cut the grass?
We all have them. The question is: When do you respond to these people, and when do you ignore them?
There is one simple way to know the answer: Are they saying something or nothing? Are they giving you a helpful critique, because they care? Or are they just picking a fight?
If the latter, move on.
Isn’t all criticism beneficial?
Some say all criticism is useful. I disagree.
This is the same group that came up with the “sticks and stones” chant — it’s not true. Names do hurt, and criticism can be deadly to your creativity. So stop giving it the power it doesn’t deserve; stop responding to people who aren’t saying anything.
Certain critics can’t be pleased. And in the grand scheme of things, they shouldn’t be the ones you’re trying to impress, anyway.
If you’re going to worry about people hating your work, why not entrust that responsibility to those who deserve it? Like your friends and family? Sadly, this is something few performers, authors, and artists do.
But what if we stopped trying to impress strangers and responding to people who aren’t saying anything? Well, then, we might actually be creating art and not just entertaining the masses. Good luck with that (you’ll need it).
Don’t forget: Today I’m doing a webinar with Derek Halpern on how to build a blog that converts — sign for free here! (If you’re not sure if you can make it, go ahead and sign up anyway and we’ll try to send you the replay.)
By the way, I’m guest posting on The Minimalists today: Downsizing Your Life to Live Your Dream. Check it out.
What about you? Do you waste time responding to people who aren’t saying anything? Share in the comments.
*Photo credit: Allan Henderson (Creative Commons)
June 26, 2012
The Tragic Mistake Most Bloggers Make
Most bloggers miss the boat. And they don’t even realize it.
Photo credit: “tiggy” (Creative Commons)
They write and write, hoping to attract attention. They read A-list blogs and dream of the day they’re discovered, when they’ll suddenly be congratulated for their genius.
These people join Twitter and start a Facebook page. They get a cool-looking header for their website and make sure all the branding on their blog is consistent. And they wait.
And wait…
For what?
For that “big break.” For that one post to go viral. For the stars to align and the Fates to agree to send some sweet traffic your way.
But there’s just one problem: this moment never comes. And if it does, you have no idea what to do when it arrives.
Sure, if you work hard enough and get a little lucky, you might get a bunch of people to visit your blog.
But what then?
What your blog is missing (it’s not what you think)
You don’t need more traffic; you need better traffic. And you need to do something with the people that are already showing up at your doorstep.
Most bloggers don’t have a strategy. They type away at their keyboards with no idea where they’re headed — in essence, word-vomiting at no one in particular. Once they build an audience, they don’t know where to take it.
That’s a problem. A big problem. Because people won’t stick around a community if there doesn’t seem to be a point or a direction.
So what’s missing? A plan. A way to take that traffic and convert it into something that matters.
But how do you do that, while avoiding all the hype and fluff that seems to proliferate the Internet? (Don’t worry; there’s an answer to that.)
The opportunity you’ve been waiting for
If you’re looking to build an audience and turn it into something more than mere numbers, you need help. And that help should come from someone who knows what they’re talking about, don’t you think? That’s why I’ve invited my friend Derek to speak to our community.
This Wednesday, I’m hosting a free webinar with Derek Halpern at 2PM Eastern (11am Pacific) on how to build a blog that converts.
Derek is the founder of SocialTriggers.com, one of the guys behind DIY Themes, and a well-respected authority on online marketing and traffic conversion.
He’s the guy that Brian Clark and Chris Brogan call for blogging advice. And he’s going to share with us the exact strategies we need to build a blog that gets a massive amount of readers who will stick around.
Here’s what you’ll learn
The #1 reason why most blogs struggle to get just one comment.
Three dumb pieces of advice that “experts” give — and what to do instead.
The single worst pitfall that trips up new and experienced bloggers (and how to overcome it).
How to build a popular blog without having to create a TON of content.
And more!
Did I mention this was absolutely free? I’ll be there, and I’m looking forward to learning a few things myself.
(Note: This webinar is specifically about blogging and traffic conversion. We won’t be talking about book publishing or author marketing, so set your expectations accordingly.)
Are you ready to turn your blog from tragedy to triumph? Spaces are limited, so don’t put this off.
Sign up HERE for the free webinar. See you tomorrow!
Addendum: Some of you have mentioned this isn’t a good time. I encourage you to still sign up, and if we do a recording (which I’m looking into), we’ll send it just to that list. No guarantees, so if you can make it, really try to be there!
*Photo credit: tiggy (Creative Commons)
June 25, 2012
Great Writers Serve Their Readers
This is Day 15 in the Great Writers series. To see the other challenges, click here.
It takes more than words to make a writer great.
A great writer is selfless. He doesn’t look to his own needs, but finds a way to help others. He’s a servant.
If you’re going to take your writing to the next level — to be truly great — you’re going to have to learn to do the same.
The big question
One of the biggest questions other writers ask me all the time is, “What do I write about?”
The wrong answer is whatever you want to write about. Now this is tricky, because every writer needs to write first for herself. That’s where your writing begins, but it’s not where it ends. As Stephen King says,
Write the first draft with the door closed and the second draft with the door open.
How do you tackle that second draft and do the work that others will see? Simple: You serve.
Serve your audience
You need to reach out, be a resource, offer to use your words to help someone in need. Here are three ways to do that:
Solve problems. Not just any problems, but the ones people don’t know they have. If you have to ask, “What can I do for you?” you’re asking the wrong question. You need to know what your audience needs before they do. This means creating a new sub-genre, addressing issues in a way nobody else has, or maybe just telling your story.
Answer questions. If you don’t know where to begin, look at the questions you want answered. Be observant. This applies to writing fiction and nonfiction alike. Put yourself in the seat of the reader, and guide them where they don’t know they need to go.
Help people. Do favors without being asked. Be generous (think over-the-top here). This doesn’t mean giving away a free chapter of your book — that’s predictable. Do something remarkable, something truly outstanding that will get noticed. And do it for someone else. Like how Seth Godin wrote and gave away a million copies of Unleashing the Ideavirus before selling it.
The challenge
Are you ready to be generous and start serving your audience? Here are a few ideas to get you started (pick at least one):
Do a giveaway of a product or service. Find authors or organizations wanting to partner with people like you, and ask them for donations. Do this to build trust with readers, and make sure whatever you give away adds value.
Conduct a survey. Find out what readers (or perfect strangers) want, what they struggle with, and create something just for them. This can be a blog series or an eBook or a whatever. Just make sure there’s a need for it before you make it.
Write something important and give it away. Publish an eBook to Amazon and distribute it through the KDP Select Program. Or offer a free PDF in exchange for people subscribing to your blog.
Answer all correspondence. Respond to every single email, phone call, tweet, etc. Do this until you can’t possibly keep up anymore. This is how tribes are formed — through accessibility.
Why we do this
We do this because we can. Because we’re trying to overcome anonymity. Because art, at its core, is about generosity. Not profits — passion.
We serve our way into an audience’s affections, because this is the only way influence is earned: gradually, over time, little by little through permission.
We don’t give because we get, but if we do this enough we’ll learn that what goes around does, indeed, come around. This isn’t the point of why we do this, but it’s a nice byproduct.
Put people first
Everything you do from now on should be geared towards helping others.
When you write, don’t begin with a “get” mentality, seeing how many readers you can get or how much money you can get. Instead, put the giving before the getting. Because if you’re going to leave a legacy, your work will need to about others.
This is where most people fail. They stop finding ways to address what people need, especially when it gets hard. They quit before realizing their potential: to push back despair and bring hope to a world in need of their words.
They fail to be writers. (I hope you do better.)
Update: I’ve decided to extend my weekend promotion of You Are a Writer through today, so that those who missed it can still get it.
This eBook has been my most popular work yet. It was downloaded over 15,000 times in the past two days, which is more than a lot of New York Times Best Sellers do in a week, and it’s still available for free till midnight.
If you haven’t gotten a copy yet, get it here. Please tell your friends.
End of the series
Lastly, the 15 Habits of Great Writers series is now officially over (sniff, sniff). Did you stick through the whole thing? Congratulations. I’m thinking of turning it into some kind of eBook or guide. Let me know what you think about that.
In the meantime, grab yourself an achievement badge to embed on your blog or use to brag about your mad writing skills to your friends.
Thanks for doing this with me. I had a blast, and I hope you did, too. We’ll do something like it again maybe in a few months.
What’s something you could do to serve others with your writing? Share in the comments. If you blogged through the series, make sure you link up here.
June 23, 2012
Why I Did the Unthinkable and Gave My eBook Away for Free
This weekend, I did the unthinkable: I priced my eBook at $0. It had already made a decent number of sales, but I wanted to experiment with giving it away to see how many more people I could reach.
Crazy, huh?
My goal is to get You Are a Writer into as many people’s hands as possible, and I don’t want money to be an excuse for anyone to not have it.
Last night, I entered Amazon’s KDP Select Program, which means that for the next 90 days, my eBook will be available only on Amazon. As part of the promotion, I get a select number of days to give the book away for free, two of which are this weekend: June 23 and 24.
Why I did it
This may be crazy, but I’m glad I did it. Here are a few reasons why:
Because I care more about spreading an idea than making money. If you’re an new author, you should, too.
Because anonymity is a writer’s greatest enemy. And the best way to beat it is through generosity.
Because giving away a book is actually a great strategy to sell one. My friend Sarah Mae taught me this when she gave away 2000 copies of her eBook and sold 20,000.
(A few more reasons here.)
I hope those who haven’t been able to get a copy will take advantage of this promotion — and that it’ll reach a whole new audience of readers.
A lot early adopters already bought the book. Thank you; I appreciate your support (diapers ain’t cheap these days). If it’s not too much to ask, I’d love your help in getting the word out to those who haven’t had the chance to read it. After all, I’m more passionate about the message than the money (but again, I am grateful for the diaper cash).
What can you do?
If you want to participate in this experiment, here are a few things you can do:
Pick up a free copy. Download it here (if you don’t already have one).
Tell your friends. Here’s a message you can post to Twitter, Facebook, or wherever: Grab a FREE copy of @JeffGoins’ new eBook #YouAreaWriter — just this weekend! http://amzn.to/K9HpIM
Leave a review. Or you can email me with your thoughts. I’d love to hear what you think of it.
Don’t own a Kindle? No problem. You can download one of the free Kindle apps for your web browser, desktop computer, or any mobile device you have. I’ve read lots of books on my phone, so let me know if you have any questions.
My expectations
I have no idea what to expect this weekend, so let’s just see how this goes. I’ll share what I learn sometime next week. Part of me hopes this reaches a new audience and once the promo’s over that people won’t have a problem paying the usual price of $3.99.
The bottom line: This is just plain fun. I’m excited at the prospect of thousands of new people having access to this important message I believe in. For me, that’s what it’s all about: spreading an idea.
By the way, this means that the eBook packages are no longer available, but you can still get the add-ons (writing worksheet and audio program) on the You Are a Writer website .
Don’t miss this: You Are a Writer is on-sale this weekend at the whopping price of $0. Grab your copy here. This ends Sunday at midnight CST (technically, Monday morning).
Have you ever given something away for free? How did it feel? Share in the comments.
June 22, 2012
Every Writer Has a Brand
This is Day 14 in the Great Writers series. Click here to see a list of other days, and be sure to join the community on Facebook.
The number one question I hear writers ask is this: “Do I have to have a brand?”
It may come in the form of, “Do I really need to care about marketing?” Or, “Why should I worry about self-promotion?”
But really, they’re all saying the same thing: “I don’t want to do the work.”
It’s a subtle form of arrogance to believe your work can stand on its own without any help. Sure, you might get lucky (which is rare). But if you’re like most writers who make it, you’ll have to hustle. And branding yourself is part of the process.
For some reason, a lot of creative people push back on the idea that they need a brand. It feels gimmicky and non-artistic. But the truth is you already have a brand; you just need to do something with it.
Why everyone has a brand
A brand is exactly what it sounds like. It’s an impression you leave on a customer or reader; it’s a mental imprint. We all have them.
You’ve likely heard some adage about the importance of first impressions. This is branding — the belief that people get an idea in their mind of your personality based on an experience they had.
Sometimes, the impression is accurate; sometimes, it’s not. But it’s never the full picture of the person, (that’s impossible). And that’s okay. It’s what branding is all about.
A brand is the simplest, most memorable part of yourself you can give.
People are forming an opinion of you right now. You can either participate in what they think, or not. Either way, you’re going to be stuck with a brand.
The challenge
Brand yourself. There are three elements of every brand (which I talk about in my eBook, You Are a Writer). You need to pay attention to each one:
Pick a name. This is what you call yourself (e.g. Copyblogger or Anne Lamott). It may be your given name or a pseudonym; whatever it is, make sure you’re consistent. Your website, business cards, and social media all need to say the same thing.
Create an image. This can be a logo or headshot. It’s whatever you want to use to make people recognize you. If it’s a photo, people ought to be able to recognize you in real life from it. Also, make sure it’s on your blog, Twitter profile, etc. Don’t use different images; make them all the same. Michael Hyatt does a great job with this.
Find your voice. This is more than how you sound. It’s your style as a communicator. If you aren’t confident in your unique voice, go through these 10 steps to find it.
Do you have a branding story worth sharing? I’d love to hear it. Share in the comments. And if you’re blogging through the series, add your links to the daily challenges here.
June 21, 2012
Until You Publish Your Work, You’re Not in the Game
This is Day 13 in the Great Writers series.
Great writers are great not because of talent, but because they possess one crucial ingredient that the rest of us lack:
Perseverance.
They know how to stick things through — to push hard and achieve a goal and move on to the next project.
Mostly, though, they understand that until they publish their work, until other eyeballs are on it, it might as well be invisible.
The amateur approach
The amateur doesn’t understand this. And let’s be honest: There’s a bit of amateur in all of us, isn’t there? We struggle with this discipline of sharing our work. All because of the most potent enemy of art: fear.
We’re afraid of many things: failure, success, responsibility, expectation, rejection, misunderstanding, and more. So we sabotage ourselves. Because hiding from the limelight is more comfortable than actually doing work that earns attention.
It’s time to stop that. Make no mistake: An artist doesn’t create for accolades. But if you’re going to do work that matters, at some point it’ll need to get noticed in order to have an impact.
Stretch yourself
I’m not talking about another blog post or essay saved to your laptop (although, those are good places to start). It’s time to move onto the next risk.
I’m talking about a feature article or book or something better. Something that stretches you, something you’ve been waiting for permission to release.
The best part? You get to pick the project. Just make it count. Chances are it’s whatever you’re most afraid of.
The challenge
Today, we’re going to publish something. Anything, really. Whatever you do, don’t play it safe. Go for broke. Stop hiding and start writing for real:
The manuscript in your dresser drawer? Send it off.
That article you’ve been thinking about writing for an A-list blog? Submit it. Let go of control; you’re ready.
That eBook you’ve been stalling to finish? It’s good enough. Put it out there.
Don’t squander this opportunity. You won’t have another like it. You’ve done great work; time to share it.
We’re in this together
Let’s do this as an exercise, shall we? Suspend your doubt for a day and ship something you’re scared of.
It can be a little ugly this go-around. That’s okay. I just want you to experience the thrill of creating something important and doing it in public.
It’s one thing to take risks in anonymity and quite another to do it in a community. So let’s do this together. We’re all friends here.
The good news is this is no longer something you have to wait on. You can do this right now. The opportunities are innumerable. So why in the world are you still sitting there?
Bonus:Need an extra push in the right direction? Read this: Waiting to Get Published Will Never Work.
What did you publish? Share in the comments.
February 3, 2011
When Life Hands You Lemons… Learn Alchemy
