As a writer and speaker, nothing brings more satisfaction than seeing another finished product. Unless, of course, it’s holding the published book in my hand. I’ve experienced that a few times in my life.
The first time was the completion of my dissertation. The epic work that crowned my Ph.D. and validated me as a consummate professional. Holding that hard bound manuscript was like planting a flag at the top of Mount Everest!
The next time I felt the thrill of success was after editing my dissertation into a short, digestible textbook for my students. Porn in the Pew proved that I could move from academic stratosphere to the coffee shop crowd of popular practicality. I must admit I would rather see 20 students reading about what I learned than six stuffy professors pontificating over the statistical data analysis of my research design.
For me, the best part of writing is seeing how it will be used by others. Putting a book in someone’s hand has so much potential to change a life.
I discovered that when I finished How to Get What You Want. This was my first real self-help book. It was the realization that I could put a book into anyone’s hand and help guide them to accomplish the goals they wanted to reach.
As I continued to experience the satisfaction of giving people value and guidance, I was also seeing more and more clients in my practice. Many of them struggled with depression and anxiety as wave after wave of disappointment washed over them. There was no way to meet with all of them and I’m just once counselor. There had to be a way to reach more people, to help more in the community. I found the solution in writing.
Piercing the Darkness of Depression was born out of a need. This book enabled my to reach the clients that could not reach me. Once again, writing became the vehicle to help others and feel the deep satisfaction I wanted in my personal growth journey.
Perhaps you’re looking for away to help as many people as possible in your lifetime. Writing may be the vehicle for you too. In this blog, I want to share a little secret that has helped me write my books and blog.
I always WRITE IN STONE.
That’s right. You read that correctly. When I write a book or blog I always write it in stone.
Let me explain what I mean by “stone”. I break my writing down into sections of time.
I’m a busy husband, father, teacher and counselor. Sometimes I feel like every minute of my day is labeled. That’s not always a bad thing. Time, like money, must be managed. You have to tell your time where to go or you’ll lose track of it.
Sometimes all I have is 15 minutes between counseling appointments. Those 15 minutes become little pebbles of time to write a paragraph or two. Not much time, but over several days or a week those pebbles can accomplish a lot of writing.
Other times, I may have 30 minutes between classes at the college. Those 30 minutes become small rocks of time to write a page or two of my next book or a whole blog post for that week. Several rocks combined over the week can build a chapter in a book.
Imagine what you could do with 45 minutes during a lunch hour. That 45 minutes becomes a boulder of time you can spend uninterrupted to focus on your writing. These boulders may take more strategic planning, but when found are real gems of time. If you don’t have an uninterrupted lunch during the day, try turning off the news at night, get off Facebook and Pinterest, or spend 45 minutes of time on a Saturday morning.
Pebbles, Rocks, and Boulders during the week make excellent opportunities to write about your passions and desires. Imagine how many people you can reach with your writing. Your success is only a stone’s throw away.