On Writing, Ideas, and Making a Difference
It’s been more than two months since his passing at the age of 68 due to heart failure, and I’m still a few shades removed from shocked with a heavy heart in tow.
I didn’t know William, but I know and love and mourn his voice — what could have been, and what should still be.
Everybody has something they wish they were. A mom wishes she was more patient with her kids. The retired athlete wishes he was back in the game. The actor who never made it to Tinsel Town lives vicariously through movies.
A lot of people, unfortunately, wait around to be picked. To be affirmed in their callings. To hold out hope for someone to come along and tell them they are what they wished they were.
When it came to thinking of myself as a writer, I was the same. But until I started believing it about myself, I couldn’t act like one. So I made a decision that changed everything.
In any craft, there are professionals and amateurs. We know this. We can sense it, intuitively.
In every industry, there are are experts — the rock stars, the celebrities, the talent — and there’s everyone else. There are those who take their work seriously and create excellence in whatever they do. Then there is the rest of the crowd.
Everybody wants to be the former. Nobody wants to be the mediocre majority. But the truth is it’s hard to be awesome.
Most people spend their lives dreaming of meeting someone famous — a big shot actress or world-class, musician maybe. They long for a chance to connect with a big shot, someone of real talent.
But I had an amazing artist sitting right in front of me — and I didn’t even realize it.
The last time I wrote anything was my freshman year in college for a history class. I was headed to medical school, a life dedicated to science. Writing was of no interest to me. In fact, I hated it.
Fourteen years later, I finally put pen to paper again, and it changed my life.
I’ve been blogging and reading blogs since Al Gore invented the Internet — or at least for the past several years, anyway.
When blogging began, I thought the social web (along with the word “blog”) was a pretty silly concept. Now, I’ve come to love it for a lot of reasons, one of which is how it connects you to the world. However, it’s not all rainbows and sunshine. There is a darker side to blogging.
Six years after it started, people are still asking the question: “What is Twitter… really?”
The answer may, in fact, shock you.
So what is it?
A cocktail party, of course. It’s an excuse to have a conversation.
There’s an old story of a man who finds some treasure hidden in a field. When he discovers it, he buries it again, sells everything he owns, and then buys that field.
That’s the story. But what does it mean?
For the longest time, I thought this tale was about finding fulfillment. But really, it’s not. It’s about returning to fulfillment.
Last weekend, I spoke at a conference, and everything went wrong. I brought the wrong video adapter for my computer, had poor lighting (which prevented people from seeing me), and didn’t have a microphone for the first part of my talk.
I felt embarrassed, discouraged, and frustrated. I had something wonderful prepared, and the audience didn’t get to see it. I powered through the speech, and then hightailed it to the parking lot.
My wife texted me, asking how it went. I told her, “It sucked.”
I just pinned this quote by yours truly on Pinterest. It was inspired by a recent newsletter I sent to my list. (By the way, if you’re not on my newsletter list, you should be — it’s free. Sign up here.)
If you’re not familiar with Pinterest, it’s a social network where people (mostly women) share ideas, art, and other content through images arranged on various “boards.”
