I have always seen myself as the next big thing in the music industry, that guy giving people lifetime euphoria and a needed vibe in the club as a lyricist…
I failed. But what changed in the way?
That’s a story for another letter…
But in this letter, I’m talking about how I began to feel a sense of fulfillment in my life…
- I Started failing fast in so many things
- I resolved to reading to expand my thought
- I started loving staying away from my parent’s house
- I started defining the kind of personality I want to emulate
- And that started shaping the kind of content I was consuming
- Then I started writing when I felt loaded enough.
Back in secondary school, I would boldly say to anybody that cared to listen that I wanted to become a newscaster and ace journalist, reading and writing news and people in their number would fight their way not to miss the flow of the news bulletin and the elocution of the caster as against the thought of my parent about becoming one of the respected dude in the lab coat (Medical Doctor).
Those newscasters and journalists I wanted to be like don’t even know if I was existing anywhere.
These people had no idea of the level of impact they were making in my life and how listening and reading their works in the newspaper created a picture of who I needed to become.
I was crazily in love with their work. I started believing in the school of thought that I see documented in the books of my favorite authors, whose work resonated deeply with who I had foreseen to become.
I started living like them, speaking like them and that I had to denounce the projection of my parents, which is to become the so-called respected professional (Medical Doctor).
Is there really a template for success – they did all of that and become successful and I have to do all of that to be like them? NO.
But if there is anything to have to become known, respected and command what you want out of life, it is your ability to write first, then speak.
As simple as that may sound, they are the core instruments in the success of the respected figure you celebrate today. They master the art of writing and complement it with the skill of presentation (Speaking).
But WRITING first.
- You want to build a brand as a creative?
- You want to carve a niche for yourself and your business?
- You want to make sales and expand your business in this digital age?
- You want to give yourself and your business a voice in the midst of social media noise?
- Or do you want people to understand the uniqueness of your genius and the quality of your brand?
No matter how outstanding you are in your dealings, and how ready you may look, you need to master written communication.
And probably you have no clue about how to start developing the skill. Look!
You need to list out the respected personalities (Role models) in your industry, and figures you hold in high esteem outside your niche, then do a critical analysis of how they weave their words and communicate to their audiences.
“Forget what you were taught in school about communication and start studying the rules that are made popular by the experts who already command attention in the world and dissect their ways of doing it.”
Your school only taught you the technicalities of communication, but all of that would make you boring and become so shallow because your attention is on establishing the rules around (Subject + Verb + Object) which makes your communication passes the test of academics and fail the test of acceptability in the face of your consumer.
More reasons we have great and eloquent speakers who are shallow thinkers because they fail to perfect their writing.
Communication, thinking, and writing and what it means to convincingly get people addicted to your thought process have evolved from what it used to be.
I believe reading this letter to this paragraph shows how curious and ready you are to build something that calls people’s attention and fixes their eyeballs on your craft as a creative.
Even if you are looking for a job and you don’t master communication through written words, it’s a matter of time, you will soon be replaced if all that you do require strategic thinking.
And strategic thinking comes naturally when writing.
Study below points to start sharpening your pen and start writing like a pro…
1. Challenge/Dissect Everything Using Pen and Paper (Power of Creative Thinking):
The pill for the astounding result is curiosity. Curiosity is the result of unconformity, and nonconformity is the result of desired taste that is missing.
I did not graduate at the top of my class because I see myself as a rebel, finding it difficult to conform to the rules of my lecturers, most of them.
While preparing for exams, I would get materials from other authors online to either buttress what my lecturer taught in class, or to come up with a counter opinion or widen my scope of understanding of the subject matter.
When the exam came, I would attempt all the questions, but not just with the idea I was taught in class, but the compilation of the school of thoughts I have been exposed to by other authors to complement the ideas of my lecturers.
While reading, you would see me with my notepad doing a comparison of two ideas, striking out the most inferior one and expanding on the ones that resonated with me using my pen and paper.
Under 30 minutes, I had occupied the entire booklet with countless canceled, circled and underlined ideas.
All of that would form my note and not necessarily what my lecturer/teacher taught in class.
To simply put it to you:
- I taught myself in my quiet time what the lecturer/teacher taught everybody in a noisy environment.
- I became a student of numerous teachers other than being a student of one.
- I had different ideas and opinions to learn from and not just one by the lecturer/Teacher.
I became a firm believer in the fact that for every respected opinion, there are counter opinions to equally learn from so you are not boxed in the lens through which your teacher sees things.
I picked up my pen and started writing my opinions on any subject matter, at least using my own sentences…
That did not make sense to some of the lecturers, but at least It set me up for my journey of becoming a better writer unconsciously every step of the way.
2. Document Your Thought Process:
Nothing ever crossed my mind, either as a fully formed or fragment of an idea that would not make it to my notepad.
I literally scribble them, whether needed at the time it crossed my mind or may never be in need of them.
- Writing empties your mind.
- Writing paves the way for new ideas.
- Writing deepens your thinking.
- Writing lightens the bulky ideas you have.
- Writing dissects your heavy thoughts.
If you need anything to become a more organized strategist, great thinker, exceptional creative, respected figure and articulate speaker, you need to have writing as a tool in your arsenal. The only hedge you have over average individuals.
So I took it further.
I started reading how people I had picked as my role model used to articulate their thoughts.
I had more time to read content from creators whose value I believed in and how they hook people and get them stick to their pages were things I began dissecting in my study.
I did this more times, and I still do it to date.
What changed? In that process, I was unconsciously stacking loads of vocabulary into my subconscious mind.
I started writing and posting for people I don’t know where they lived to read. And I started getting people’s attention across all platforms.
3. Study How Great Creators Write to Communicate:
Some creators are called authorities in their space for a reason, not because they are the best in their industry or came before other creators, but because they have successfully cracked the code of convincingly writing about their work and craft.
Look around you:
- The best painter is on the road, not online.
- The best graphic artist is on the street.
- The best writer still relies on printed papers, not online.
- The greatest lyricists are in the slums, no clue about the internet.
- The best designer focuses on sewing, forgetting the internet.
The most respected, appreciated and most profitable of them all are the ones who harnessed the internet to reach strangers, build a brand around their craft and use writing skill to market their creations online. Experts and wannabes are on equal footing thanks to the Internet. People don’t care about who is the best, they care about who they can see.
4. Start Posting Content Online using Social Media
The Internet is the tool to reach the world. If there is anything you do and you need the world to know, the internet is the medium.
Goon is the days of traditional media. Your work gets to some tables and gets swept under the carpet simply because 2 or 4 eyeballs who are not a quality representation of the world judged it.
You don’t need anybody to validate your ideas. On the internet, people who are willing to listen or feed on what you call crap are there…
All you need to do is to be at least a page ahead of someone who is in need of what you do, then write to communicate your thoughts…
Writing is not an option, rather, a necessity of life… Keep writing.
Watch out for the next letter where I will be talking about “How to be Known, Trusted, and Liked and be that Brand People Trus with Money”
