It’s not a question of whether anyone needs to give you permission. Rather, it’s a question of whether you can muster the resources, energy, creativity, discipline, and focus in order to do things you have never done before.

There are many examples throughout history of people who faced the question, “Can we do this?” when they were staring a big challenge in the face. One such example is the Apollo space program from the 1960s. NASA was consumed by the question of whether they could develop the technology and processes to send a crew to the moon and bring them safely back to earth.

But they kept forging ahead, and the question of “Can we do this?” was finally resolved when Neil Armstrong set foot on the moon on July 21, 1969.

It took resolve. It took patience. It took hundreds of thousands of people working in the space program to make that moment happen. You may not be going to the moon, but you still have big goals. There is a price to pay.

The very first way you invest in your dreams is by believing in yourself. Henry Ford famously said, “Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t—you’re right.”

So, if you’re asking the question, “Can I do this?,” the answer is YES… you can do this! You have what it takes. You really do.

But first, you have to believe it’s possible. Nothing will happen until you believe.

Today’s Challenge: As you think about your big goals for 2023, do you believe you can accomplish them? Why or why not?

The post Do You Believe It’s Possible? appeared first on Daily Writer | Essential Habits for Impact & Influence.

This is the fourth entry in our series on dealing with rejection.

One of the biggest paradoxes of feeling hurt is that everyone experiences it, but when you’re going through it, you feel totally alone.

This happens to every great writer, leader, and artist. Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Edison, Walt Disney, and Steve Jobs all faced rejection or failure at some point. But they persisted. They were resilient. They had the right attitude. They kept at it until their dreams became reality.

Did you really think success was going to come so easily? Not a chance. The trials you are going through are shaping and molding you for something greater down the road. But you won’t be able to handle that success unless you are ready for it.

If you can’t properly handle the times you feel down, you won’t be able to handle the times when you are on top. Both experiences call for disciple, focus, and persistence.

Lincoln would have never been able to handle the pressure of being President if he hadn’t gone through all the trials and rejection in his younger years. In the same way, your today is preparing you for your tomorrow. So, pay attention and get focused because your big day is coming.

Daily Question: Think about a trial or some rejection you are experiencing right now. How might it be preparing you for what is ahead?

The post You’re Being Prepared for Something Great appeared first on Daily Writer | Essential Habits for Impact & Influence.

Every day of your life, you face a storm of challenges that make it easy for you to put off your writing until tomorrow.

What do you do when the rain comes? Most people pack up and go home whenever they see the storm clouds on the horizon.

Most people, that is, except for the Purple One.

It was February 4, 2007—the day of Super Bowl XLII. Prince was scheduled to perform the halftime show, but there was only problem: it was pouring rain, with no signs of letting up. This was a problem for a number of reasons, not the least of which was because Prince was using a total of four electric guitars during the show. In addition, he and the band, as well as the dancers in high heels, were all performing on a stage that was not only shaped like his insignia, but was also covered in slick tile that was even more dangerous when it got wet.

Don Mischer, the head of the production company for the halftime show, placed an anxious phone call to Prince. He explained that it was pouring rain and wanted to make sure Prince was okay.

Prince replied, “Can you make it rain harder?”

Instead of cancelling his appearance or doing a stripped-down setlist, Prince played the halftime show as scheduled. When he ended the set with his signature song, “Purple Rain,” it was a complete downpour that added a perfect theatrical element. Many people consider Prince’s performance the best Super Bowl halftime show of all time.

You have your own storm clouds to deal with in your creative pursuits also. Are you dealing with a frustrating client? Is it hard to move past writer’s block? Are you struggling with some new strategies for writing, publishing, or marketing?

If so—and we are all struggling with SOMETHING, by the way—if so, don’t run away and hide. Don’t tone it down. Instead, do just the opposite. Go out on the stage and perform in the pouring rain. Face the storm head-on and put on the best show of your life.

Daily Question: What is the biggest frustration in your writing life, and how can you charge into it head-on?

The post Can You Make It Rain Harder? appeared first on Daily Writer | Essential Habits for Impact & Influence.

Have you ever had this experience? You just finished a writing project that is important to you. It might be creating a blog post, writing a book, getting a cover design, getting a new client, or something else.

You’re sitting with someone you admire over dinner and mention that you completed it. You show them your finished project, they look at it for three seconds, shrug as they acknowledge that it’s cool, then go back to their food.

These moments can be crushing, but only if you let them. So often, we look to other people for validation. We want their approval because it makes us feel good.

But validation from others should only come after you have first validated yourself.

Regardless of what others think, the most important validation comes from your own sense of doing something you love, from creating value for others, from overcoming challenges.

Don’t give the other person’s shrug any meaning. It has nothing to do with the value of your work. Remember, they are living their own lives, with their own problems, and they are looking for validation just as much as you are.

To most other people, your project represents a blip on the radar screen of life. Don’t look to them for approval and validation. First look inward, and then you will be able to face outward to the world without needing something from them, but instead coming with something to offer.

The post Validate Yourself First appeared first on Daily Writer | Essential Habits for Impact & Influence.

Think about some of the most important achievements in human history. These would include such feats as Amelia Earhart flying solo from Hawaii to the U.S. mainland, Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay climbing Mount Everest, Neil Armstrong setting foot on the moon, Magellan setting sail around the world, and many thousands of others who faced their fears and took action anyway.

You and I are no different. We have challenges and scary things staring us right in the face every single day. You can probably think of something that intimidates you as a writer. Is it setting up a website? Publishing a book? Pitching an article to a large publication? Writing and publishing a short story?

Whatever is it, run toward it. If you want to do it, but you feel scared, that is your subconscious mind telling you it must be done, no matter how you feel about it.

If you only do what feels comfortable, you won’t make any progress. You won’t grow. Progress and growth are predicated on the act of doing what scares you. So put on your big boy or big girl pants and start moving forward. You’ll figure it out as you go along. And as soon as you overcome this challenge, there will be a bigger one waiting just behind it. But this time, you’ll be better equipped to face your fears head-on.

The post Doing What Scares You appeared first on Daily Writer | Essential Habits for Impact & Influence.

I’ve talked about this before, but I’m a member of a fantastic community called Total Life Freedom. This is a group led by Vincent Pugliese, who is an author and entrepreneur. He created this group two or three years ago, and I’ve been a part of it for a couple of years. I just joined the Elite Mastermind a few weeks ago, which is his high-end mastermind group that meets every week. 

One of the people in this group is a Realtor named John Schuchman. John lives in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, so if you live in that area and need a Realtor, John is definitely your guy. He also hosts a fantastic podcast called The Real Estate Survival Guide, so if that’s your industry, make sure to check it out. 

John recently started doing a monthly business update on his podcast, which I thought was a great idea. He got the idea from another friend of ours in the Total Life Freedom Community, Ken Carfagno. Ken runs a cleaning business and also hosts a great podcast for cleaning business owners, called Smart Cleaning School. Ken does a monthly business update on his show. You can see how powerful it is to be part of a great mastermind group, and how ideas can spread from one person to another. 

That’s how this idea came about. When I heard John doing a business update, I immediately thought that would work well here. I know many of you have a writing business of some kind, and a lot of you probably want to begin one. Although this podcast isn’t really about ghostwriting, a lot of the lessons I talk about are transferable to your own writing and business. Plus, I hope that you can learn from my mistakes and struggles, as well as my successes.  

I want to fill you in on what’s happening with my ghostwriting, the Daily Writer, and personal life. I’ll also talk about my biggest challenge. Let’s dive in! 

Ghostwriting

I’ve talked about this briefly on the podcast recently, and I’ll go into a lot more detail soon, but you may or may not know that I recently quit my teaching job to do ghostwriting full-time. This was not a decision I made lightly. I had a lot of criteria that needed to be met in order for me to make this transition. One of them was that I needed to have about 6 months of savings in the bank before I made the leap, which I do. Another was that I needed to have at least 6 months of consistent income to indicate this was sustainable. That was also true. 

Another key factor was that I needed to have definite confirmation from my wife and other key people in my circle who I trust. And I have to tell you, that there was not a single person who said I should stay in my day job. Even my own bosses recognized that my business was growing, and they were not surprised by this transition. 

There are some important lessons there that I’ll get into in a few weeks when I do a dedicated post on why I made this transition and how it came about. For the time being, the main thing to note is that it was a very planned, very deliberate decision. A lot of entrepreneur types talk about ditching your day job so you can have freedom and all that. But if you quit your day job, you better be darn sure you have a plan in place and some money in the bank as a safety net. I have a low tolerance for risk, so that was important to me and my wife, as well. 

Now let’s talk about ghostwriting specifically. Right now, I’m actively writing four books for clients, and am also doing heavy developmental editing on another. Of the four books I’m writing, one of these came through a ghostwriting agency, which incidentally is my lowest-paying book. That should not come as a surprise because that’s the way agencies work. The other three I’m writing came through my network and personal relationships. As of this moment, I also have a proposal out for another book, and there are three other books that I think are very good possibilities for this year. 

I’m definitely grateful for all of this, but I do have to tell you that ghostwriting is very simply a lot of hard work. It really is. Even if you like writing and are good at it, there is no way to get around the work. Ghostwriting sounds like a light and fun sort of business, but it is work. 

Now, what you’re probably wondering is, “How is the money in ghostwriting?” Well, that’s a very good question, and one of the things I’ve talked about is that I always want to be as honest as I can with you. With my current level of ghostwriting, I have essentially tripled my salary from my day job within the first 5 months of this year. That is a mix of book projects and other freelance writing. So yes, to be blunt, that was absolutely a factor in my quitting my day job! 

However, when you hear me talk about increasing my income, it might be tempting to think, “Oh that Kent, he’s so lucky” and so forth. But that’s not the case at all. Yes, I’m blessed and fortunate, but I’ve also been building this business for a long time. I also am working harder, and have much more responsibility now.  

It’s important to keep in mind that income is just a reflection of the value you are bringing to the marketplace. This is simply a matter of me shifting to a type of work that is more highly valued in the marketplace. Ghostwriters are compensated at a higher level than college professors, generally, because the market feels they are adding more value. It’s really just basic economics. 

So, if you are wrestling with what kind of business to get into with your writing skills, I would urge you to consider what kinds of writing are most valued in the marketplace—especially if income is one of your main criteria. 

The Daily Writer 

Basically, there are two parts to my business: ghostwriting and the Daily Writer. The Daily Writer, or DW for short, consists of books I’ll write, products, and, of course, the DW Community, which is a membership group for writers. 

My podcast is essentially a gateway to all of those things, and it’s my main way to promote what I’m doing with my books and the community. Currently, we have about 25 members in the community and it’s going well. We have an active Facebook group and lots of resources. Every Thursday we do a several-hour writing sprint where people can hop on and off as they would like. We also do a group call at noon CST every Thursday, which alternates between a general community call, a guest expert call, a teaching call, and a book discussion. 

There are a lot of possibilities for the Daily Writer, and I feel like I’ve only started to scratch the surface. The main thing I need to accomplish next is building the Daily Writer email list, which I’ve done a terrible job of doing. I don’t even have a lead magnet finished for that website to collect email addresses. I’ve simply been too busy with client work, my own writing, the podcast, and other things. But I know I’m missing out on a huge chance to serve people and build this side of my business. 

As far as the books I’m working on, there are two in active development. The first is called “Kickstart Your Creativity,” and it’s a 31-day challenge to unlock your creative genius and discover new possibilities. Each day will have a short chapter to help you boost your creativity. That is also the first volume in what I’m calling the “Kickstart Series,” and it’s designed to help creative entrepreneurs develop important business skills such as creativity, networking, productivity, courage, and several other areas. Those are all future volumes in this series. 

The other book I’m working on is “The Daily Writer,” which will be 366 daily readings to help inspire and motivate you in your writing. If you listen to the short weekday episodes of my podcast, you’re hearing me write those entries as I go along. I’m using my podcast as a way to write content for that book. The Daily Writer book will come out in October of 2022. 

A Personal Update 

The biggest thing I’m working through personally is dealing with a lot of change at once. I’m now working from home all the time and learning to think more like a business owner. That’s a big shift from being a college professor for 17 years. 

My son is also going to be a senior in high school this Fall, so my wife and I are looking to be empty nesters before too long. There are a lot of emotions that come with that. My wife has also transitioned into a brand new job and career direction. Plus, we’re all coming out of this sort of mild catatonic state from the pandemic last year. You sort of feel like you’ve been asleep and are just now waking up. 

My Biggest Challenge 

A few days ago, I was taking a long walk, trying to figure out why I had been feeling mildly irritable the last few weeks. Then I realized I was going through grief as I have been learning to let go of my old life and embracing this new stage of life. I’m 46 years old and am very clearly in my second half of life. 

I suddenly realized that I’m not ready for the second half. It’s sort of like being in a football game, and they throw you onto the field for the second half, but in your head, it still feels like the first quarter. You realize that time is limited and it’s moving faster than you realize. 

That’s where I am right now, just to be honest with you. I’m emotionally grappling with the fact that I’ll be 50 in a few short years and that life is moving pretty quickly. I’m so grateful for this new opportunity to serve people through ghostwriting and the Daily Writer, don’t get me wrong. I’m gearing up for an awesome second half and am looking forward to more good things to come. 

As always, I appreciate you so much. I’m grateful you are taking this journey with me. 

The post Business Update, June 2021 appeared first on Daily Writer | Essential Habits for Impact & Influence.