On Writing, Ideas, and Making a Difference
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“Pow! This is a good one, a wake up call and just what you need to read. Thanks Jeff, for sharing your art.”
There’s a difference between practice and performing. Between a dress rehearsal and opening night. Between a hobby and a profession. And there’s a huge difference between writing when you feel like it and writing because it’s your job.
For years, I practiced. I wrote when I felt inspired, but never shared anything. I was afraid to call myself a writer and would often sabotage my work. All the while, I was avoiding one painful truth: I was kidding myself.
In life there are always excuses to not act. Which is fine. That is, unless you’re talking about your dream, your passion. Unless you’re talking about the very thing that keeps you up at night, the reason you got out of bed this morning.
In which case, you have no choice. You have to figure out a way to get to your dream.
The solution is both simple and hard: Get over it. Find a way to do it anyway, whatever “it” may be: writing, starting a business, moving overseas, whatever. It’s time to start.
Before you write your first book, you should publish at least a dozen magazine articles. Maybe more.
Until you cut your teeth on a few shorter pieces, you’re probably not ready for the challenge of writing an entire book.
So how do you get started?
Well, believe it or not, the hardest part of getting published in a magazine isn’t the writing.
Jason Fried of posted a tweet recently saying how sad it is when business surveys set “satisfied” as their highest metric for success. What a “low bar” to set, he laments.
I’m inclined to agree. What an indictment this is. Against our malaise. Our work. And our lives.
We all want to leave a legacy. We all want our lives to matter. Yet, that’s not always our call.
I thought about this today, when I heard about the death of former Penn State head coach Joe Paterno. And I thought about the art we create, the lives we lead, and the stories people will tell about us.
I spent the weekend finishing up the initial manuscript for my first book. It’s kind of surreal. I never thought I would be publishing a book so soon. But thanks to social media, I am.
I thought it might help to share with you what I did this past year — how I worked hard and also got a little lucky. Maybe the lessons I’ve learned can help you realize your dream of publishing a book sooner than you think.
There were three things I did that made it possible to get a book contract in less than eight months — all without having to write a single book proposal.
I just heard from my publisher last week. My first book is coming together well, but I need your help in deciding a few things.
Before we do that, though, I want to share with you the full title. The book will be called Wrecked: When a Broken World Slams into Your Comfortable Life (Moody Publishers).
It’s about how people’s paradigms change due to exposure to pain and brokenness and how that shapes their faith in God and understanding of the world.
How can we possibly find truth and meaning in made-up stories?
Fiction is often closer to the truth than reality. Every day, we lie to ourselves to avoid the truth of procrastination, anxiety, hurt, and betrayal (just to name a few uncomfortable feelings).
But the art of storytelling can bring those truths front and center, forcing us to face them.
Martin Luther King, Jr. left us a legacy. He taught us as much through what he did as through what he said. (Maybe more.)
One of the many lessons Dr. King exemplified was the effectiveness of a life lived out loud — one in which a person’s words are backed by considerable action.
He showed us that our lives must be lived intentionally and without regret, that our words mean something and we must speak up in the face of injustice.
The people who built the Statue of Liberty gave the world a gift. Everyone who comes to New York benefits from it. As do those who see the memorable icon in a movie or on a key chain.
There are few symbols in the world as powerful as that green lady. When people look at her, they don’t see oxidized copper and a museum.
They see freedom.
They see beginning.
They see new life.