On July 4th, 1776, the Second Continental Congress pronounced that it was officially independent of British rule. Known as the Declaration of Independence, this document made it clear that the thirteen colonies had their own sovereign identity. They would no longer be content to stay under the rule of another entity.

July 4th is a uniquely American holiday, but there is another kind of declaration that every writer should make, no matter their nationality. This declaration communicates a simple truth to the world. The writer Jeff Goins alluded to it in the title of his profound book: You Are a Writer.

But what does it mean to declare to the world that you are a writer?

It means that you call yourself a writer. You tell others about your work. You aren’t afraid of other people’s reactions when you tell them you’re a writer. Ultimately, it means that you courageously stand up and tell the world, “I have something to share.”

When you embrace your identity as a writer and begin sharing your voice, other people will embrace you as a writer, too. So go ahead. Make the declaration. Today is a great day to tell the world you are a writer.

Daily Question: Do you believe you are a writer? Are you ready to declare it to the world?

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One of the perennial questions writers ask is, “Where do you get good ideas?” It’s a fair question because all of us have struggled with finding good ones for our writing.

The overriding feeling we have is that we need to do something more, or add some technique, in order to find great ideas. In fact, Stephen King wrote, “Let’s get one thing clear right now, shall we? There is no Idea Dump, no Story Central, no Island of the Buried Bestsellers; good story ideas seem to come quite literally from nowhere, sailing at you right out of the empty sky: two previously unrelated ideas come together and make something new under the sun. Your job isn’t to find these ideas but to recognize them when they show up.”

So how do we put that into practice? It’s not a matter of doing something more, it’s actually a matter of doing something less. Less time on your phone, less commitments to things you don’t really want to do, less time watching mindless entertainment, less time filling every possible nook and cranny of your life with noise and distraction.

Recognizing good ideas is not a matter of addition, but subtraction. When you free up space in your mind, it’s much easier to recognize and cultivate those great ideas that are so critical to writers.

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Everything in life is a choice.

You can choose when to write. You can choose what to write. You can choose to pursue a literary agent and sign a contract with a traditional publisher. You can choose to self-publish.

You can choose to be exclusive to one publishing platform. You can publish on all of them. You can do marketing yourself. Or you can hire someone to help you market. Or you can choose to do no marketing at all.

You can write fiction or nonfiction. You can write essays or academic work. You could write a book a year or a book a decade. Or no books at all and instead focus on shorter content.

None of it is right or wrong. It is all up to you. This freedom can be paralyzing because there are limitless choices. But instead, look at it as freedom. Freedom to do it your way. Freedom to express yourself and run your business the way you want. Freedom to make this as big or small as you want.

It’s up to you. It’s all your choice. We live in a beautiful time where anything is possible. Writers a hundred years ago would have done anything to get the opportunities we have.

There are many ways to build a platform or business as an author. But if there is one thing you must do, it is taking action instead of feeling paralyzed by all the choices.

The post It’s Your Choice appeared first on Daily Writer | Essential Habits for Impact & Influence.

I’m excited to be joined on this episode by my friend Mary Valloni, who is here to help us improve our mindset and develop a greater sense of abundance. That’s such a critical element of our writing, because, without the proper mindset, we will always be limited by our own perception of what is possible.

Mary is a fundraising coach and consultant who helps leaders with great causes raise more money with less pain. She has raised millions of dollars through her work as the development director of the American Cancer Society, the ALS Association, and the Special Olympics. Now, she teaches and trains individuals and organizations, big and small, how to fundraise with more freedom and less burnout.

In this conversation, we dive into the reasons behind a scarcity mindset and how we can begin developing a more abundant mindset. I have to tell you, this is an absolutely critical topic because if we are going to have more and accomplish more, we must first have to be more.

Before we dive into the conversation, I want to remind you to check out two excellent resources from Mary. The first is her book, Fundraising Freedom. Now, I don’t want you to dismiss this book just because you may not work for a ministry organization or a non-profit. This is a stellar book on business and mindset. It’s really an essential resource for any business person, in my opinion.

The second resource is the Fully Funded Podcast, which Mary hosts with the amazing Mike Kim. Mike is a marketer and author, and these two work together on this podcast to help missionaries, ministry leaders, campus ministers, and church planters grow their donor base and raise more financial support.

This interview is special to me because Mary is from St. Louis, where I live as well. It’s not often that I get to interview someone who’s actually from my area!

Click on the links below to connect with Mary, subscribe to her podcast, or purchase her book:

MaryValloni.com

Fundraising Freedom by Mary Valloni

Fully Funded Podcast

Connect with Mary on Facebook

Connect with Mary on LinkedIn

Follow Mary on Instagram

The post Mary Valloni: Defeating a Scarcity Mindset & Living in Abundance appeared first on Daily Writer | Essential Habits for Impact & Influence.

In 2019, Bronnie Ware released a fascinating book called The Top Five Regrets of the Dying. After years of doing unfulfilling work, she began to search for a job that gave her meaning. After working with a number of people who were dying, she summarized her reflections into a popular blog post, which was then turned into the book.

One of the regrets she talks about is this: “I wish I’d had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.” In fact, one of the themes that keeps coming up over and over again in the book is the regret of not doing the things you knew were most important.

Truthfully, we all have regrets. We all do stupid things and waste vast amounts of time we wish we had back. It’s important to be aware of this, and yet we also need to forgive ourselves so we can move on. Regret is a powerful obstacle that can prevent us from doing our best work.

Ann Patchett said, “The ability to forgive oneself… is the key to making art, and very possibly the key to finding any semblance of happiness in life.” Have you forgiven yourself for your past mistakes so you can seek a life of freedom and meaning?

You can’t go back and change the past. But you can live with more intentionality and purpose from this day forward.

The post Have You Forgiven Yourself? appeared first on Daily Writer | Essential Habits for Impact & Influence.

There is a constant push and pull to the writer’s life. On the one hand, we want to have control over every aspect of our writing and creativity. We want to share our voices. We want to publish in the way that suits our goals. We want control over distribution and marketing. We want to avoid being under the thumb of any entity or force that would limit our options.

On the other hand, there is something to be said for giving up control, isn’t there? When we try to maintain too much control, it hampers the creative process. We lose the ability to get into a state of flow. After all, creativity is not a force that wants to be tightly controlled. It’s a little bit wild, which is a key part of the mystery of creativity.

This is why dealing with writer’s block is such an important concern for writers. When we try to exert too much control, the creative force stalls out. Natalie Goldberg said, “Our ideas and intentions can mask and cover up a story; there is a life force that will declare itself if you let it. Get out of the way.”

Are you standing in the way of the life force that wants to express itself in your writing? Is it possible, even a tiny bit, that your own best efforts to control the outcome are actually counterproductive?

If so, don’t feel bad. We are all prone to do this. All writers are control freaks to some extent. It’s part of our identity. But if we can manage to step aside and let creativity do its work, we will find many treasures that would otherwise be lost.

The post Taking Control by Giving It Up appeared first on Daily Writer | Essential Habits for Impact & Influence.

On July 4^th, 1776, the Second Continental Congress pronounced that it was officially independent of British rule. Known as the Declaration of Independence, this document made it clear that the thirteen colonies had their own sovereign identity. They would no longer be content to stay under the rule of another entity.

July 4^th is a uniquely American holiday, but there is another kind of declaration that every writer should make, no matter what their nationality is. This declaration communicates a simple truth to the world. The writer Jeff Goins alluded to it in the title of his profound book: You Are a Writer.

But what does it mean to declare to the world that you are a writer?

It means that you call yourself a writer. You tell others about your work. You aren’t afraid of other people’s reactions when you tell them you’re a writer. Ultimately, it means that you courageously stand up and tell the world, “I have something to share.”

When you embrace your identity as a writer and begin sharing your voice, other people will embrace you as a writer, too. So, go ahead. Make the declaration. Today is a great day to tell the world you are a writer.

The post A Declaration Worth Making appeared first on Daily Writer | Essential Habits for Impact & Influence.