yann girard - rethinking the now

The one thing you really need to succeed as a writer (that no one ever talks about)...

Is money.

Money is the one thing you really need to succeed as a writer.

It might be even more important than talent.

Because essentially there’s no such thing as talent.

There’s just putting in the work, time and effort to get better at what you do.

It’s a patience game.

And money can buy patience.

At the end of the day it’s all about patience and consistently putting in the work.

Here’s the truth about writing (and pretty much everything else in life)…

Getting better what you do takes time.

A lot of time.

And that takes money.

And the more time it takes, the more money you’ll need.

Because life is expensive.

Really expensive.

And here’s where it gets tricky…

The more time you’d spend writing, the less time you’d have to make a living.

And the less time you’d spend writing, the longer it would take you to get better at writing.

And consequently the longer it would take you to succeed as a writer.

And whenever money is tight, you’d be super stressed out and you’d have to focus on making money instead of writing.

Even if you really loved writing and are really passionate about it.

So it’s a constant up and down and up and down.

And you’d never be able to focus on writing. 

So you’d never succeed as a writer.

Or anything else as a matter of fact.

So what do I suggest?

First of, don’t try to make money writing.

Because that moment might never come. 

And if that moment comes it might take you years and years and years.

I made less than a cleaning lady for almost three years.

And even today I still don’t make money writing.

I do a lot of other things at the same time.

A few years ago I even wrote about how blogging is dead.

So if you’re REALLY serious about writing and maybe even love it, then I’d suggest this…

Try to find a way to cover your basics first.

Maybe you work an “easy” job.

Maybe you keep your day job.

Maybe you have a few side hustles.

I don’t know.

But if you want to succeed as a writer, you’ve gotta find a way to cover your basics first.

Or else you’d never be able to really focus on writing and getting better at it.

Even the famous Joanne K. Rowling rags to riches story misses an important point that no one ever talks about.

She had her basics covered…

Sure, she was on welfare.

Which probably wasn’t really all that great.

But she could focus on writing books (which was her only way out, which might also have been a big part of the reason why she succeeded).

She probably wrote dozens of unpublished and unfinished books before she published her first bestseller.

She had time… 

As a matter of fact, time was probably the only thing she had. 

The one thing that most of us don’t have anymore. 

And time is absolutely essential to get better at your craft. 

No matter what your craft is.

So if you want to succeed as a writer, make sure you’ve somehow got your basics covered first.

And that’s the one thing you really need to succeed as a writer (that no one ever talks about)…

How to be a thought leader

By saying what you really think instead of saying what everybody else is already saying...

And if no one agrees with you, you're at least leading one person's thoughts.

And that might be the most important person out there.

And that person is you...

And that's already a really good start.

Lead your own thoughts.

Don't let them be lead by someone else.

And that's the first step to becoming a thought leader.

It all starts with you...

Do you sell the shovels or buy the shovels?

There are two ways to benefit from a goldrush.

You can either sell the shovels or you can buy the shovels to dig for gold.

Just like you can create a platform or you can use a platform to benefit from it.

Just like you can teach what you know or you can apply what you know in the real world.

Offering the tools to help others dig for gold is usually the safer bet.

Because you don't have to get your hands dirty and you don't have to get into the risky and completely unpredictable business of digging for gold.

You outsource the really hard work of digging for gold to others. 

On the other hand it's also a lot harder to get to the point where you can start offering the tools to others.

It usually takes a lot more time, money and resources to get into the business of selling shovels.

Or building platforms. 

Or becoming a teacher.

Or building any kind of business.

So which one is better?

Selling the shovels or buying the shovels?

Being the teacher or being the student who applies everything in the real world?

Being an entrepreneur or being an employee?

In most cases the best thing to do is to do both at the same time.

By being a gold digger yourself and using the shovels to dig for gold you'll be able to better understand what kinds of shovels are really needed. 

You'll know a lot more about shovels than anybody else who's just in the business of selling shovels.

(And most people are in the business of selling shovels only.)

Just like your best bet is to be the teacher and the student at the same time.

To constantly go from teacher to student and from student to teacher. 

So you'll know a lot more about what students really need to survive out there. 

Just like your best bet is to be an entrepreneur and an employee at the same time.

And that's how you ultimately find the biggest pot of gold and become the most successful shovel seller on the planet...

Abundance

We have so much information at hand that we don't know which information is the one to act on.

We're so inspired but intimidated at the same time that our stuff won't be good enough compared to the stuff we see every single day.

We're so motivated that we start hundreds of things at the same time but never finish any of it.

We live in a world of abundance.

Where everything is available 24/7.

Information.

Advice.

Inspiration.

Motivation.

Opportunities.

Partners.

And it never stops.

Which is exactly why we never start.

And never finish...

How to create a blockbuster

Successful film studios know that maybe one in a hundred movies will be a really big hit.

Just like successful investors know that maybe one in a hundred investments will be a really big hit.

Just like successful authors know that to write one really successful book, you probably need to write dozens of unsuccessful and unpublished books.

Just like you need hundreds of ideas to have one really good idea.

Just like you'll probably need dozens of unsuccessful relationships for that one really "successful" relationship.

And that's the secret.

The secret to what?

To pretty much everything...

It's almost impossible to "un-believe" the things you believe in

There's this thing called selective perception.

That thing that makes you only see, read or hear the things you want to see, read or hear.

That's what makes it so hard to convince someone of an opposing opinion, even if it's clear that what he or she believes in is just not the right thing.

Whether there's a right or wrong thing is a whole different story. 

What makes matters even worse is that these days there are so called "smart" algorithms that show us more of the things we want to see. 

But the problem is that the things we want to see, read or hear aren't necessarily always the things that we have to see, read or hear.

They are almost never the things we need to see, read or hear.

So these so called "smart" algorithms will only increase our selective perceptions and create mini bubbles.

No matter if these ideas and ideologies are right or wrong.

And this is what makes the whole thing so dangerous...

Technology gives us what we want, which is very often not what we really need...

The most important skill in the 21st century

Is probably about being able to deal with all kinds of different people.

Because it's very likely to be the only thing that will be left once everything else will be done by algorithms, AI or whatnot.

What will make this skill even more valuable is the fact that this is the exact same skill that technology has helped us to unlearn over the past couple of years.

So how do you learn it?

You can't really learn it.

Especially not in a class room.

The only way to learn it is probably by trial and error.

And to then learn from your mistakes.

Which will make it even more valuable...

How to change things you can't change

There are many things you just can't change. 

Like politics for example.

So it doesn't really make a lot of sense to focus on these things.

And it makes a lot more sense to focus on the things you can change right now.

The things that are more realistic. 

The things you have an impact on right now.

No matter how big or small.

But just in case you really want to change something you can't change, then it might make sense to think about this right here for a second...

Try to do something that no one else is doing.

Try to get experiences in fields that no one else in your field has.

But at the same time, be aware of how to navigate your field.

Know it inside out.

Because that's the only way to find the loopholes.

If you want to master a game, you've gotta know the rules of the game. 

That's the only way to win a game.

Any game...

So if you want to get into politics to change things, then the last thing you should probably do is to become a politician.

Because if you do what everybody else is doing, then you'll end up thinking like everybody else.

You'll end up having the exact same ideas that everybody else already has. 

You'll end up talking about and discussing the same things that everybody else already is.

And you'll end up having the same internal and external barriers.

This doesn't apply to politics only.

It applies to pretty much everything in life.

Initiating and bringing real change is almost impossible when you're having the exact same point of view that everybody else already has..

The cost of being one minute late

Seems to be close to zero.

But when you look at the grand theme of things the potential damage that can be caused by being just one minute late is basically unlimited.

People could miss their flights.

Lose their jobs.

Lose their lives.

Not meet the love of their lives. 

And on and on and one.

Just because you were one minute late.

On the other hand, being right on time, doing your job, and taking it seriously helps a lot of people do their jobs.

It might maybe even help to save lives.

Or help some people to fall in love.

And on and on and on

Everybody and everything counts.

No matter how big or small the contribution might seem.

No matter how significant or insignificant it might seem.

And that's great news.

Because the world needs you.

We need you.

I need you...

This whole thing wouldn't be working if you weren't doing exactly what you're doing.

If you weren't taking yourself and what you do seriously.

No matter how important or unimportant it might seem to you.

So thank you for doing what you do.

Thank you for taking yourself and what you do seriously. 

Thank you for not being late.

Because if you were, then this whole thing just wouldn't be working anymore.

And I would never have been able to write this right here.

Or anything else I ever wrote.

Nothing really matters.

Just like everything really matters...

Everything in life takes time.

Build your network before you need a network.

Look for a new job before you need a new job.

Build an audience before you need an audience.

Everything in life takes time.

Time for those seeds to grow into a strong enough tree.

Plant your seeds before you need the tree…