How To Become a Thought Leader
“You can see by our outfits that we are both cowboys. If you get an outfit, you can be a cowboy, too.” Nope. You don’t become a cowboy just by getting an outfit. And you don’t become a thought leader just by saying you are one. Declaring yourself a thought leader...
Getting the Most from Your Reading: Using Kindle Flashcards
Students have used flashcards for years to learn all kinds of things, from multiplication tables and Hebrew vocabulary to matching names with faces. But there’s a slightly different reason you should use them to get value from your business books and research. People...
5 Reasons You Shouldn’t Write a Book
Yes, everyone does have a book in them. That doesn’t mean that getting it out will be easy. You may imagine getting your book out as akin to opening the door to a cage and letting a bird fly away. Alas, it's more like mining ore, ripping it out of the ground, refining...
Time to Make Your Summer Reading Plan for 2024
We’ve seen the Flower Moon, the last full moon of Spring. Summer officially starts on June 20 this year. Maybe you think it “really” starts earlier, on Memorial Day. That’s the start of “psychological summer” for me. It’s time to make up your summer reading list....
The Road To Writing a Book
I’ve been a ghostwriter and book writing coach for over twenty years. During that time, I talked to dozens of people about the book they wanted to write and noticed a common pattern. They seem to take similar roads to writing their books. If you think you might want...
If You Want To Write a Great Book, Interruptions Are the Devil
“Pleased to meet you, hope you guess my name.” ~ Rolling Stones, “Sympathy for the Devil.” Over the centuries, the devil has gone by many names. Satan, Lucifer, Beelzebub, and Mephistopheles come to mind. But if you’re a writer you know the only one that matters. It’s...
Great Writing Is More Than Writing
"The process of writing is not the process of typing on the keyboard; it's the process of crawling around on my carpet, organizing my piles [of paper].” David Brooks’ quote sounds weird. We’re used to imagining the work of writing as some form of sitting or standing...
How To Get the Most Writing Bang for Your Walking Buck
Walking is one of the best things you can do to improve your writing. Walking helps you keep fit. It keeps the blood flowing, and it helps you get good ideas. So just go out and take a walk, right? Well, no, because not all walking is going to be helpful in terms of...
The Magic of Creativity
It's a funny thing about creativity. The very things that make you successful in other areas can be the things that stifle the spirit of discovery. So much of our work is about busyiness, about doing things whether they make sense or not, just to feel like you're...
Feedback Is the Breakfast of Champions. How Nutritional Is Your Feedback?
Ken Blanchard is the first person I ever heard say, “Feedback is ‘The Breakfast of Champions.’” Feedback is important for athletes, managers, and authors. Without feedback, you cannot see all the possibilities or flaws in your work. If you want to write a great book,...
