Seth Godin recently wrote a short post entitled a definition of a leader.
Leaders lead, he wrote.
If you want to be a leader, lead. If you want to be a writer, write.
This can be applied to any industry. Recently I met a group of people who kept suggesting I should use video on this website, as video is the fastest growing segment online, and it could really help skyrocket my subscriber numbers.
Though I’ll never say never, right now this isn’t an avenue I’m looking into. Why? I understand facts and figures as much as anybody. They’re right, video is the fastest growing segment online, by far.
But writing is my thing. And writers write.
I’ve a good friend who’s working hard to break into the television and film production industry. He waits tables five days a week to support himself, but during those few snatched hours of spare time he has per week you can bet he’s creating.
He comes out with project after project, each one better than the last. From blowing up guitarists, to night club toilet scenes, he never stops creating.
He wants to be a television and film producer. So he’s producing.
Leaders lead. Writers write. Producers produce.
What do you want to do? If you want to do it, do it.
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{ 11 comments… read them below or add one }
Ah, maybe I was part of that group of people trying to get you to do video? But you make a good point. Start with what you’re best at. There’s no point in spreading yourself thin across a variety of different disciplines that you don’t excel at. :)
You sure were, and I hope you see I mean no disrespect in the comments (in fact I thought it was pretty cool)!
Of course, none taken. But I can see that we were really jumping on the video bandwagon which is never a good thing!
I’ll definitely try it out in the future, though I fear I may wear out the swear-beep machine in time.
Phew, someone backing up my non-desire to do video. I tried video, it turned out crappy, so I’m not doing video. I’m a writer and I write what I like. Thx.
I love how you put this Sue. I thought I summed it up pretty well, but your summary of my summary is even better :)
This is not a new thought, but it still holds true. I try to start my day by writing before diving into anything else. Maybe it’s just for 15 minutes, maybe it’s for business or fun… but a writer writes, so that’s what I do.
By the way, that’s a nice header you have here. New?
I’ve heard about the benefits of doing your thing (writing or whatever else) first thing in the morning yet I’ve never tried it out for myself.
This will have to change!
Do you limit yourself to just 15 minutes or do you see where the flow takes you?
Thank you for the compliment on the header. You’re right it is new, I’m currently experimenting with the design. It may take a while, I’m a terrible perfectionist (my least productive quality).
I’m only just starting with the habit of working on my “one thing” before checking my email and going on Twitter.
I’d say definitely not limit yourself! Start out with a short time that’s doable for you, whether that’s 5 minutes or half an hour. If you find yourself making progress, that’s excellent – by all means continue. Of course, it helps if you’re a freelancer or otherwise can free up time for this. It’s just a way to focus your thoughts and actions on your core activity before all the daily distraction hits you.
Heh, perfectionists seem quite common among the writing/blogging folk. Don’t let the thought of being a perfectionist hold you back. I try to see it more as aiming for quality with everything you do, and there’s nothing wrong with that!
I wrote a post this morning (6.30)! I set my timer for fifteen minutes. eventually finishing after twenty.
It felt good! It’ll need to be edited, but the main bulk of writing was done in that time. I’ve been planning to get some guest posts out for a while now to boost the my profile, this could be a very good way to do it.
I’m not a freelancer, but about 4 days a week I work at home (working online). So these days it’s perfect for me.
Perfectionism is a killer! I like your way of looking at it though ;) I was a total perfectionist when I wrote my ebook as I was determined for anything I put my name to (especially something so much more final than a blog post) would be the best quality it could be. Unfortunately what comes with that is hours and hours of looking at a web page and tweaking the slightest detail, then changing it back two days later…
Excellent! It doesn’t matter whether your morning work needs more editing (perfectionism much?), the point is that it gears you towards your number one task straight away. I’ve noticed that when I start my day with just a little bit of writing, I end up being more productive throughout the day. It’s like a rhythm you have to get yourself into.
Guest posts are something I’d like to work on more as well. Maybe we could exchange guest posts at some point?
Just noticed you changed the header back, two days later XD