If you read the book, you’ll quickly see that Elvis embraced his role as a big brother. He was in his mid-twenties when Billy and his two younger brothers moved in Graceland with their mom, who was getting married to Vernon, Elvis’s father.

At this time in his career, 1960, Elvis was already a superstar. As we talk about in the book, he took time to mentor and guide Billy and his brothers. He didn’t let his role as a big-time celebrity get in the way of spending lots of time with his brothers and taking it upon himself to teach them about life, relationships, faith, cars, and lots of other areas.

What a powerful lesson for all of us!

It probably feels like you’re busy all the time. You’re writing, posting on social media, networking with people, and doing all kinds of tasks related to your writing… not to mention your family life, hobbies, and trying to squeeze some sleep and exercise in there.

But what about mentoring and helping others? No matter how big or small your platform is, you must make time to speak into the lives of others. You can’t help everyone, but you can help a few on a personal basis.

I encourage you to go out of your way to give personal attention to at least one or two people who would really benefit from your help and encouragement. You have probably benefited from others mentoring you, and you can do the same for others.

Question: Who are 1-2 people in your life whom you can mentor, encourage, and help in their writing?

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On a day-to-day basis, we are consumed with the here and now—what we have to write and publish today or this week.

Expand your horizons and think not just about this week, this month, or this year. Go beyond even the next five or ten years. Think a hundred years into the future.

How will people one hundred years from now be able to interact with your writing? No one can predict what the technology of the future will be like. That’s why I believe it’s important to create something physical that can be passed down to future generations.

One of my most treasured possessions is a tattered notebook that my grandmother Louise used to write her poetry in. She died when I was three years old, but when I look through the notebook at her poems—many of which are quite good—it’s almost like she’s there with me.

That’s something you can’t get on a computer screen.

In terms of writing, I think every author should create a print book. Not only is it more prestigious than an ebook, it’s something you can pass down to your kids and grandkids, and all future generations.

As writers, we have a responsibility to think not just about the impact we leave on the world today, but how we will impact those in the future as well.

Daily Question: How do you imagine your writing might impact someone a hundred years into the future?

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Have you ever felt like you live in a room with invisible walls that have you trapped? You’re trapped by questions like this:

Why does that so-and-so writer get all the attention?

Why do they have more book sales?

Why is my blog traffic so stagnant?

Why isn’t anyone paying attention to me?

Sound familiar?

If you have ever had these kinds of questions, stop and realize that there is no connection between another person’s success and yours. The invisible walls aren’t real. They only exist in your mind, and there is nothing—and no one—that stands in the way of your success.

When you engage in this kind of comparison thinking, it’s because of a poverty mentality. This type of thinking says: There’s only so much success to go around. You must horde everything for yourself.

The opposite of a poverty mentality is an abundance mentality. This line of thinking goes: There is more than enough to go around. Success breeds success. We can help each other.

How do you move from a poverty mentality to an abundance mentality? How do you stop playing the zero-sum game? How do you vanquish the spirit of jealousy and cultivate a spirit of generosity?

The secret is to shift your vocabulary and begin asking the right questions.

In his classic business book QBQ! The Question Behind the Question: Practicing Personal Accountability at Work and in Life, John G. Miller says that we need to change our questions in order to move away from a blame and victim mentality. Instead of focusing on “why” questions, focus on “what” or “how” questions.

The question that spurs our jealousy is, “Why do they have ______, and I don’t?” The problem with “why” questions is that they shift the responsibility away from ourselves and onto others. The only way to create the success you desire is to take 100% responsibility for your life.

“Why” questions keep us focused on external things we can’t control, such as other people’s actions and motivations. It’s much better to ask questions focused on “what”—what you can do, what you can control, what you can learn. After all, the only thing you can truly control is yourself and your actions.

All the emotional energy we spend on being jealous of other people and their success is much better invested in activities that help us be successful.

Daily Question: What is one single activity, that if you practiced it consistently, could help you be more successful as a writer?

The post Ask What, Not Why appeared first on Daily Writer | Essential Habits for Impact & Influence.

There is a common trait among successful writers, and it has nothing to do with skill, talent, genre, or style. Instead, it has everything to do with taking responsibility for your own life choices.

Most people are passive observers of their own lives. They accept the choices that life hands to them. They assume what they see other people doing is what they should be doing also. They go along with the crowd, never rock the boat, and never achieve their dreams.

On the other hand, successful writers know that life is not a multiple-choice test. If they don’t like the options in front of them, they create new ones.

How do we do this? We do this by taking advantage of all the amazing opportunities we have today as writers. There is an almost unlimited number of opportunities for you to get your work in front of readers and make a good living while doing it.

Is it hard to strike out on your own pathway while everyone around you is conforming to social norms? While everyone else is doing what other people expect? While everyone else is not writing books or putting in the work to build their own writing business?

Of course it’s challenging. Nobody said this would be easy. But if you are going to make something happen, this is not the time to be passive. This is not the time to limit your options. The world is a giant buffet of opportunity. Will you take advantage of it?

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