Why I Started Writing Again

…and why you should consider it, too

Before having Ravi, I asked experienced parents how much harder is it having two kids vs just one: Are there efficiencies of scale (i.e, 1.5x harder) or is it exponentially harder (i.e., x^2)? While I can’t conclusively answer that yet, it is undeniably true that I now have less discretionary energy and even less time to dedicate towards extracurricular pursuits. In fact, most of my blogging occurs between 10:30–11:30 PM when I have a brief respite from the madness before doing a “dream feed” and going to sleep. Nonetheless, I made a recent commitment to jump back into the fray and start writing again.

Why?

Writing is an extremely underrated craft loaded with highly valuable and highly transferable skills. Let me count the ways (in no particular order):

1. Mindfulness

My wife always criticizes me for “Peter Pan-ing”, which is her way of saying I’m not being present. When she catches me, she’s usually right.

Have you noticed how the best standup comedians make jokes about normal, everyday occurances (i.e., Jerry Seinfeld)? Entertaining blog topics, even for something as “routine” as parenting, are everywhere…you just have to notice them. As they say, “stop and smell the roses.”

At some point, I’d love to attend a retreat and really develop a mindfulness meditation practice. In the interim, I’ll use this blog as a forcing function to be more present.

2) Attention to Detail

Spelling and grammar may be the bane of every elementary school student’s existence, but not having a command of these is one of the easiest ways to lose credibility when communicating. And credibility, my friends, is one of the most important attributes you must have in your career — if you lose it, it’s darn near impossible to gain it back.

When I was consulting, we would spend hours “zero-defecting” PowerPoint presentations. It was extremely tedious and mind-numbing, but in hindsight, there was a very important reason for it: Clients were paying us a lot of money for our professional insights. If our presentations had mistakes, it could potentially give clients doubt as to whether our analysis had mistakes as well, and therefore erode trust in our recommendations.

Think about it another way: Imagine you are applying for a job and your intro email to the hiring manager contains multiple mistakes. Do you think that manager will be interested in you?

(Disclosure: I will be the first to acknowledge my postings likely have multiple mistakes, including this one. However, I will blame Medium for my bullet point inconsistency on this list — starting with “1. and then subsequent 2), 3), etc.)

3) Creativity

I am not a creative person, and our education system saps children of their creativity fairly early on. In life, being good at math and science will allow you to have a successful, comfortable life. But if you truly want to transform the world, you need creativity. I am of the belief that while some people are just wired differently, creativity is a “muscle” that can be developed just like any other learned skill. If creativity is a muscle, then writing can be its bench press.

4) Structured Thinking

In order to make a persuasive argument or tell a compelling story, it must have an inherent, logical structure. Structure makes comprehension much easier for the listener, and we are naturally wired to choose the path of least resistance. Anything that makes it easier for your audience makes it easier for you — once you lose them, it’s hard to get them back on track.

5) Vocabulary

I have a pretty good vocabulary stored in my mental repository, but my communication style is very casual (even in professional settings). My frequent use of “ain’t” in public conversations is a source of constant derision from my wife. I won’t delve into the abyss and address why I “choose” to speak like that, but I think it’s safe to say that having a strong vocabulary conveys intelligence. In most settings, appearing intelligent will probably serve you well. Just don’t overdo it, otherwise you’ll just come across as a giant douche.

6) Salesmanship

If I had to give a young person one piece of advice, I would tell him to learn how to sell. Life is all about selling. Want to find a mate? You better sell her that you’re worth spending her life with. Need to find a job? Better sell yourself to the hiring manager. Want your project to get funded? You better sell the executive team on the idea and why you are the best person to lead it. Want to get promoted? Don’t expect your work to speak for itself, you better know how to sell yourself.

Learning how to write engaging content is in essence, learning how to sell. In a way, I am trying to “sell” my ideas in blog format in order to receive more views, likes, shares, comments, and compliments.

7) Discipline

At the end of the day, I stopped blogging the first time because I lacked discipline. This blog will inevitably die down again, and when it does, it will once more be due to discipline. I’m reminded of the advice from Admiral McRaven who says the first thing you should do every morning is make your bed. His reasoning:

You roll out of bed, you just put your bed, you make it straight. Again, you get it right, too. It’s not just about kind of throwing the covers over the pillow. It’s about making your bed right and walking away and going, “OK, that’s good. That looks good. I’m, as simple as it sounds, I’m proud of this little task I did.” And that is really what I think sets the tone for the rest of the day.

Writing requires more commitment than making a bed every morning, but developing good habits such as these have a way of expanding into other aspects of your life.

In business school, I took a public speaking class focused on persuasion. One of the frameworks from that course is essentially what I discussed here: “Athos, Ethos, Logos.” The most persuasive communicators appeal to the listeners desire for these elements:

Athos: Emotion. No matter how educated we are, the most memorable speeches paint a vivid, personal narrative (e.g., Hillary Clinton’s Gold Star father pulling the Constitution out of his poster) and are driven by emotion (insert your favorite movie quote here — Braveheart, Troy, Any Given Sunday).

Ethos: Authority. Humans, and most advanced animals for that matter, have an innate deference towards authority (e.g., the “alpha male” in animal groups). Establish yourself as a credible expert on the topic, and your audience is more likely to heed your words.

Logos: Logic. The most obvious one, but also the one many of us over emphasize at the expense of the others.

It’s more difficult to find opportunities to develop these skills via verbal communication (because it requires a willing counter party to participate). The beauty of writing is that, you literally can practices these skills anytime, anyplace…and I don’t mean text messages or 140 character Tweets!

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