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What do you want to focus on?
What do you want to do, right now? What will other people think? What are some reasons you might succeed? What are some reasons you might fail? What are the emotions you feel? Does it matter? Who says something needs to get done? What’s the reason it’s important? What’s more important to you—being right, or…
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Poetry vs. textbook
If you want to write a book of poetry, don’t try to write a textbook. The goal is to get the reader to think and feel. It’s not to give the reader a multi-volume, encyclopedic, collection on a topic. If the reader is upset, you need to decide if they wanted a textbook and bought…
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Out the backpack
In order to help my book find more readers, I attend events. I bring books and give away free copies. When my shoulders strain from the weight of the books in my backpack, and I wonder if there’s an easier way to do this, my mind goes to Rich Paul selling clothes out of the…
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Products, services, education, self service, and scale
If you visited a grocery store in the 1800s, one of many clerks would do the shopping for you. It was only a century ago when you might choose an item from the shelf yourself, which is what many of us do today at a supermarket. The same thing has taken place with paying for…
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You, independent publishing, and the audience
Kevin Kelly shares everything he knows about independent publishing, and concludes: The way I approach publishing today is with as much self-publishing as I can handle. I’d write in public installments, as a subscription newsletter, or e-book single chapters, or simple posts on my blog. If I could find an audience that wanted more of…
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Personal growth happens after voluntary discomfort
More often than not, you won’t feel good before going to the gym. Maybe not even during. You’ll feel good after. Nobody’s forcing you to go, so it’s up to you. The popular saying goes, “The hardest part is putting the shoes on.” Personal growth works the same way. It takes place only after voluntary…
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How to walk more
If you want to live longer, one good way to start is to walk several thousand steps a day. (10,000 steps is the gold standard, though not scientific—the number was the result of a marketing campaign for a Japanese pedometer.) It’s not difficult to walk several thousand steps every day living in a city. In…