Writing Is Like Being In A Fight

Blogging lesson 17 of 150

McGregor v Diaz 2.

I got a picture from that fight hanging above my monitor.

Why?

It was one of the greatest fights in UFC history.

It went five rounds.
With lots of blood.
And lots of tasty shots to go around.

Conor was close to getting finished multiple times and showed tremendous heart and composure to stay alive.

Once round 5 came, everyone in the arena was on their feet showing respect to both fighters.

So, what’s this got to do with anything?

Writing, believe it or not, can be like a fight.

Go ahead and laugh for a second.

Here’s what I mean.

Showing Up Every Day To Write Is Like Being In A Fight

I missed publishing this past Wednesday.

Why?

Because I couldn’t do it, man.

I was worn out. I didn’t feel like it. The words weren’t coming.

Even now as I write this, I feel like complete trash.

Showing up every day for weeks, months, and years to publish something online is a bit like being in a fight.

Imagine being completely exhausted, standing in an Octagon, trading punches, just trying to stay the fuck alive..

In round 2.

Knowing you got 3 more to go.

Sucks, right?

That’s kind of like writing.

It’s throwing a punch — in the form of words, articles, and ideas — not knowing if it will resonate with anyone.

It’s getting hit — with rejections, obscurity, burn out, and minimal progress — not knowing if you’ll be able to keep going.

People ask me how I’ve managed to write for 6 years straight on Medium.

It’s simple — I trained in martial arts for 9 years. I got a lot of experience with doing shit I don’t want to do.

Honestly, sitting in a comfy chair to write words isn’t that hard for me.

I used to battle with human hammers for 2.5 hours a day at wrestling practice.

Blood sweat and tears.

I learned how to fight and do shit I didn’t want to do.

It’s really that simple.

There’s a popular phrase we say in sports..

“Who wants it more?”

When you write online — make no mistake — you’re fighting:

• With other writers
• With yourself
• With haters/trolls
• With complacency, even

I don’t mean you’re literally having arguments with writers — I mean you’re battling with them for eyeballs. For relevancy.

Of course this is just one way to look at it. You could look at it in the zen buddha way and think we’re all in this together to learn and grow.

And you’d be right.

But you’d be just as right to look at it as a fight.

It’s fucking war with yourself to show up every day until you break through.

That’s what success takes.

It takes composure to believe in your vision when everybody else doesn’t.

Make no fucking mistake, writers.

This is a fight.

That’s why so many quit.

Welcome to my newsletter, 150 days to blogging mastery. This is the 17th of 150 lessons, which we’ll publish every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday until the end of the year. Please subscribe (above).

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