Amazing how hard it is to put down one’s own thoughts and ideas. Something you know so naturally and share generously in person, can be a seeming impossibility to write out. I find myself in those moments often and struggled with this through all my writings. Frankly, after four books and 400 posts .. I still find myself staring at a keyboard. My solution is structure and shared below.
Principles to unlock your creative powers
First — know that whatever you write and share IS WORTHWHILE. Period, end of story. It is worthwhile to you and you are the only judge that matters here. Sure, other’s will chip in comments and good or bad they come. The reality is THEY READ IT. So, you win … will the idea you shared change their life, maybe, maybe not. Did it clear your soul for new thoughts and higher concepts — yes. So, again, it is worthwhile.
Second — Perfection .. get over it. It’ll never be so and how exhausting is it to seek that level of quality demanded. The level of quality is demanded from your perceived requirements by the existing establishment. That is a false assumption that is not necessary. Create, innovate, share, and iterate. Allow for the version you share be 80% close to where you want it, and forgive yourself for any errors you may have … you can always revisit it, ah the beauty of digital.
Finally — Absolute correctness .. again, this is something that hinders anyone sharing ideas. The concept that what you write must be forever correct is absurd. Nobody expects you to be a fortune teller and always be correct, or to demand that you never change your mind. In fact, PLEASE lets all continue to develop our thinking and appreciate the journey.
Those are the principles you embrace to open your mind and the ability to share all of your ideas that can bring value to the world, even if that is just you at this moment. Tactics help and being grand on principles is nice, but here are some brass tacks to secure your next piece of content / article / or book:
Tactics to getting your ideas written:
- Create a structure for the article / piece (i.e., if a calendar .. think about fields you’ll be creating for each section)
- Write all the content out in Google Doc (outline form)
- Then merge the content into this form
- Correct and make consistent
- THEN .. we get fancy . graphics, fonts, colors, delivery etc…
Writing with folks who are eager to support you? Allow them to see your work in progress, add comments, and help you along. I find my peer reviews to be the most fun and engaging of the creative process.
Above all, have fun … smile as you write (doing so myself, thanks for the reminder), and seek to share what gives the reader value.