Showing posts with label Johnny B. Truant. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Johnny B. Truant. Show all posts

Thursday, February 25, 2016

How To Process The Stupid Out Of Your Project

How To Overcome Any Obstacle In Your Way


There are many reasons to get serious about anything you care about, your passion projects, from creative writing, to painting, business and entrepreneurship.

But first ask yourself, what is it about theses things that you actually enjoy?



We often get in our own way.

We focus on the outcomes, forgetting about the steps necessary for our own success.

Do you get lost in the moment?

Is it something you can do in your own time, if left to your own devices?

Musicians are a great example of this.

They can practice for hours on songs and scales, perform for a couple hours in front of an audience that ranges from zero to huge, and afterward, sit down and play some more for the sheer joy of music.

How do you think about your passion?


Is it something that like David Foster Wallace wrote in his metaphor about two fish swimming by each other, one fish asks, "How's the water" and the other fish replies "what's water?"

In other words, is it something that you can just do, or do you have a self-limiting belief holding you back?

If you struggle with starting and maintaining your passion projects, you may be putting too much emphasis on the outcome rather than the necessary steps to get there.

Writing is not simple, and every writer - which due to schooling, the Internet and email, we are all writers - has to find a way to overcome the obstacles of momentum, motivation and inertia.

Think Of The Process Like Sailing




You pull out of your slip, cruise through the harbor and set out on the water.

If you constantly stare at the port, it's going to seem like you're never getting anywhere.

The gradual distance between you and the dock seem like it's taking forever to create any real distance.

But, if you look forward, focus on all the little things like wind, setting the jib and steering; enjoy the scenery in front and next to you, once you look back, you'll be amazed how far you've travelled.

Or imagine a cross-country flight.

You walk down the tunnel, board, stow you carry-on luggage, sit down and buckle in.  Luckily you have a window seat and can look out while you're on your way.

Do you spend the entire flight staring at the clouds and watching the square lots on the ground, wondering if there are people down there?  If so, where are they going? What are they doing? Are they looking at you as you fly at cruising altitude, bouncing around in your seat from a little light turbulence?

It'll seem like the flight lasts a life time if you try to count each lot as you fly overhead.

But if you strap down, watch a movie, read a book, or take a nap and only look out the window after you get up to use the bathroom when you need to, the flight will seem like it's passing in no-time at all.

It's All About The Process Not The Product


3 Authors That Will Help You Overcome Your Adversity To Writing


1) In his book on writing, The Lie That Tells a Truth, John Dufresne opines that when we focus on the end product, it's difficult to see it through. He encourages us in his preface that;
"Remember when you were a child, and you were stuck in the house on a rainy day, and Mom sat you at the kitchen table, gave you a pencil, a sharpener, a box of crayons, and a ream of paper, and you went at it? You drew all day long and never got blocked..."
The idea here is that as kids, we never thought about the outcome of our passion.  We used it to lose ourselves in the moment.  To act as a pastime when we could.  It was about the enjoyment of the process not the end result.

2) Similarly Austin Kleon writes in his books, Steal Like An Artist and Show Your Work, that it's the process that people don't see when they think about creative work.

People enjoy the finished product, but as creatives we should focus on enjoying the process.

He suggests getting out in the world, carrying a notebook and making notes of the sights, sounds, smells, that you experience. You can use them at a later date.

I wrote a post about this process of stealing and borrowing for ideas on a blog post that you can read here: My Kindle Publishing Lesson: Beg, Borrow and Steal Your Way To Becoming A Better Writer.

The point is, you can borrow from people around you and utilize it to make your projects better.




3) Finally author Johnny B. Truant of The Smarter Artist Podcast (as well as the Self-Publishing Podcast and Write, Publish, Repeat) claims in his episode titled "Talking About Writing Is Not Writing" - he mentions the work that a carpenter does.

A carpenter doesn't spend their time talking about carpentry, they're actively working on the craft.

So find a way with your passion project to get deep into the trenches of doing the actual work.

The band Pearl Jam says that when they started, they're rehearsal space was in the basement of a warehouse that other creatives used during the day.

They'd walk past the artists, climbing down the stairs smelling the paint and tincture, and feel inspired to match what was going on around them.

In all of these examples, there is the reinforcement to focus on the process, the daily act of sitting down and writing.

No one is saying that following your passion project is going to be easy.  Or simple, or fun all the time.

There's no guarantee you won't fall on your face, lose your shirt, or fail.

Get Lost To Find Yourself

Set a goal.

Perhaps it's finding a new client.

Or writing 500 words a day.

Perhaps it's running 3 miles at the end of a long work day.

Set a goal that you can realistic do everyday.  Don't worry about the outcome of those goals.

For this exercise focus on small, micro-accomplishments that you can do and maintain daily.

The point is, create the process of doing little things that moves you , step by step, toward your goals.

The act of getting down in the trenches, of digging into the words and what you're trying to say, is one you need to be willing to do.

Teach yourself how to be preoccupied with the act of doing, how to get lost in the moment, knowing that you'll get there some day and some how.

Just don't worry about the outcome. How it'll be received, or whether it'll be any "good."

That's a burden that's too great to carry.

And one that, often, you don't have any control over.

So focus on the necessary steps, and diligently get lost in the process (an oxymoron for sure!).

Tuesday, June 9, 2015

Kindle Publishing Tip: How To Conquer Overthinking And Become More Productive

Ready, Set, Wait...?





You've developed an idea and created a plan.

It's not perfect, and not airtight but a plan none-the-less.

There's a definite beginning, somewhat of a middle, and a hoped for, predicted end.

But you can't sit down and get the first word written. Or make the first pitch or sale's call.

You're frozen.  But why?

We're innately born to avoid risk.  It's a survival instinct and one that we are ingrained to abide.

Whether you're trying to build a clientele, promote your services or use a platform like kindle publishing for your self-publishing goals, the most important step to take is the first one.

Let me say that again.


The most important step to take is the first one

Without taking the first step, action is impossible and you won't be able to meet your productivity or kindle publishing goals.

Analysis by Paralysis


Too often we're risk adverse and try to wait until we have all the answers and every solution figured out before we proceed.

You can spend hours, days, weeks, months and even years waiting to know it all.  And guess what?

You never will.

There's always something to learn, to tweak, to optimize.

The more you analyze all the factors and wait to act, the further you are from achieving your goals.

The guys at Self-Publishing Podcast are great at being distracting, but also offers tons of advice that can apply not just to writing, but productivity as well.

Sean Platt partners with David Wright and Johnny B. Truant, and on the podcast Sean likes to say that when it comes to writing "perfect is the enemy of done".

If you think about it, that's perfect advice for everyone. You don't need to make something perfect before you launch it, design it or promote it.

To get started, make a plan and take that first step.  You can change course once you begin.

See where the path takes you.  Evaluate where you are and then decide if you're on the right path.

But you'll never get where you want to go without that first step.

Tuesday, April 21, 2015

Kindle Publishing Journey - Are You A Chicken Or A Pig? How To Increase Productivity By Making Bacon

Kindle Publishing Tips: Increase Productivity By Making Yourself Accountable 

This week, the process of my Kindle Publishing journey is about finishing.

Everyone has ideas, some are great, others aren't so much. 

The difference between what separates writers from authors is finishing and the difference between great and not so great can only be achieved after you finish. 

And the best way to finish something?  You have to start. 

You have to stay disciplined.  

Have a schedule of your time and stay dedicated to certain tasks during those times of the day and week.  

You can read about how to compartmentalize your writing and improve your productivity in this post (Get Off Your Ass And Write).

Part of the trick to staying on task is telling others what you plan to do.  Commit to the idea, take the necessary steps and follow through.  Then let your group challenge you some more.  

That step-by-step process is one great way to define productivity and improve your output. 

Everyone Needs A Tribe

Athletes train with a team.  It's how they push and challenge themselves to get better.

Especially in those moments when they want to stop, quit and walk away.  

But they make an agreement with each other.  If they need support, they have each other.

When they need a challenge, they're going through the struggle of training together.

It's what gets them out of bed in the early morning when they're sore, tired and unmotivated.

It's what gets them to run that extra sprint or lift that extra rep. 

That's one of the reasons why Boot Camps, as a form of after hours training, are so popular right now. 

People come together, agree to meet at the same time every day, and support and challenge each other. 

This commitment is one that is NOT to be broken.

That's what accountability is about, not letting those who count and depend upon you, down.

Currently there are two short stories in the pipe-line with a non-fiction concept in development.  The goal is to finish the stories this week and begin the writing phase of the non-fiction ebook.  

The ebook is dedicated to the step-by-step process I'll take to Kindle Direct Publishing of the stories I've written.

This is me, telling you, what my goals are for the week.

In order to accomplish them I needed to shout it loud here.  

My hope is that by telling you my goals, I'll have to put up or shut up.

Credibility is a hard thing to gain, and very easy to lose.  It's a form of trust between us. 

So that makes you, my imaginary audience, my group for the week.  I have to maintain the trust you've shown by reading this blog to stay on task.  

Are You A Chicken Or A Pig? 

In Johnny B. Truant's post at Sterling and Stone - What Defines You, he writes about the idea that as story tellers we need to be engaged with our own stories.

Even though it takes discipline to finish, and the topic of this post is all about finishing, the BEST way to finish something is to become committed and engaged with it. 

Writing should not be like sitting in a dentist chair, numb from novocaine and getting drilled.

You may be engaged, but you're not committed to the process.  

I've heard it said a different way - a coach asked his team about their commitment to the team with the following metaphor about the animals involved in their breakfasts:

If you had eggs and bacon for breakfast, what separates the chicken from the pig?

The chicken is dedicated, the pig is invested. 

So, you're my tribe.

And I'm a pig. 

Join me in the process and become bacon as well.