If you pick up the book this week or anytime in the future, you’ll notice that one of the recurring themes is that Elvis kept his superstar status in perspective. He didn’t see himself as any better than a regular blue-collar worker. He saw what he did as a performer and a musician as just a job.

That’s hard for us to imagine in a day and age when we worship celebrities and see famous people as larger than life. It’s a great lesson for all of us writers, especially when we start to have a little bit of success.

At the end of the day, no matter we achieve, we’re not any better or more important than anyone else. You might have books in bookstores or have your books on a bestseller list, but it’s all just part of the job.

After all, the purpose of what we do is to serve people. The more success we have, the more opportunities it gives us to serve others.

The problem is that it’s easy to get tied up in the emotions of what we do. As creative people, it’s hard to separate our personal value from our rankings and sales numbers. That’s why this perspective is so important. We have to separate the job part—showing up every day—from the exterior success part, because so much of that is out of our control. When we treat what we do as a job, we focus on being disciplined and putting in the work.

None of us will ever come close to the level of superstardom that Elvis Presley had. If it was good enough for him to view what he did as just a job, we can do the same thing also.

Question: How does it help you to know that what you do is a job, no more important than what other people do for their jobs?

The post Writing is Just a Job appeared first on Daily Writer | Essential Habits for Impact & Influence.

It’s a blessing and a curse to live in the internet age. It’s a blessing, of course, because we have access to unlimited knowledge and connections. There are a million options for where you want to take your writing business or creativity.

This also represents a curse because, well, too many options is overwhelming. It’s easy to get paralyzed by all the different models of a writing career. Should you do fiction? Should you do courses or a podcast? What about public speaking? Should you start or join a mastermind? What about putting together a community? How many books should you write a year?

For any conceivable model of a writing career, there exists someone out there who is doing it. Here is my best advice: Choose one person who represents the kind of career you want to build and then consume everything they put out. Subscribe to their email newsletter. Read their books and listen to their podcast if they have one. Follow and interact with them on social media.

Then you can see what you like or don’t like about what they do, and adjust accordingly. Don’t follow a dozen people because you will only get confused and frustrated. Just pick one person who is a few steps ahead of you, then figure out how they built their platform or business.

By the way, a little secret that helps is to reply occasionally to that person’s email newsletter and ask a question. They will appreciate the interaction and get to know you. It’s a great way to engage with an influencer.

Daily Question: Who is the writer you want to be like, and what do you like about their writing or business?

The post Choose Your Model appeared first on Daily Writer | Essential Habits for Impact & Influence.

We’ve talked about it many times here on the podcast, but it always bears repeating: one of the most powerful skills you can learn is storytelling. We are wired as humans to tell, and to crave, powerful stories.

My guest today is John Bucher. He is a mythologist, writer, and storyteller based out of Hollywood, California. John serves as the Creative Director for the Joseph Campbell Foundation and is also an author, podcaster, and speaker.

He has worked with companies including HBO, DC Comics, The History Channel, A24 Films, The John Maxwell Leadership Foundation, and has also served as a consultant and writer for numerous film, television, and Virtual Reality projects. He is the author of seven books including his latest, The Storytelling Almanac.

John shares his journey of making a career out of storytelling and many of the lessons he has learned along the way. You will also learn about the legacy of Joseph Campbell, modern myths in American culture, how to overcome fear as a writer, and much more!

Check out the links below to connect with John, subscribe to his podcast, or purchase his books.

Learn more about John here!

Purchase John’s books on Amazon

Check out John’s website, Telling a Better Story

Listen to John’s podcast, Skeleton Keys

Reach out to John on Twitter

Connect with John on Instagram

Follow Telling a Better Story on Instagram

The post John Bucher: Learning to Tell a Better Story appeared first on Daily Writer | Essential Habits for Impact & Influence.