Just Starting as a Dual Creator? Here are 6 Fundamental Components You Need To Thrive
Everything you need to start, build confidence, embrace your journey, and grow as a dual creator.
Busy writers have five things in common: passion, vision, patience, obsession, and tenacity.
Without these, we’d have bolted for the hills long ago.
Many writers cannot handle writing and juggling a 9–5. Much more deal with the gazillion other responsibilities piled on top of that and building their dream life on the side.
They pick one or the other because life as a busy writer is intense, demanding, and unbelievably messy.
But not you.
You’re determined, just like the rest of us, to balance life, work, and making art, feed the fire in your soul, pursue your purpose, and push through the chaos.
I admire your resilience, and I am in awe of your courage to try. Especially if you’re starting or transitioning into being a dual writer or part-time creator.
To ease your journey, I’ve put together 6 fundamental components you need to bloom and thrive as a busy writer.
1. Mental Preparation
As a dual creator, your writing journey is unique.
There are so many cards on the table, hence, your journey, half of the time, will be unpredictable and chaotic.
Whenever this happens, don’t feel discouraged.
Instead, believe you can handle whatever your journey throws at you and trust that you’ll always find a balance that works for you regardless of how imperfect it will be.
Before you start:
- Have a vision.
- Build confidence.
- Promise to never quit.
- Have a powerful 'WHY’.
- Embrace what you are.
- Promise to keep learning.
- Promise to remain flexible.
- Promise to have faith in your purpose.
- Promise to be your own cheerleader.
Your journey begins in your mind. So, envision the biggest, grandest dreams for your life and reframe your mindset to match your goal and align with your purpose.
2. Dedication To Writing
Every writer writes.
It doesn’t matter how you identify yourself. You must write, in whatever form you choose, to:
- Create art.
- Impact lives.
- Express yourself.
- Build authority.
- Build a community.
- Connect with people.
But, writing is monotonous. It can feel draining. If you don’t create in a joyful and fulfilling way, it’ll:
- Drain your motivation.
- Leave you frustrated.
- Douse your fire.
- Kill your soul.
To avoid getting entrapped in this hellhole, show up in a way that makes your soul swell with pride, and stay consistent —
- Follow your passion.
- Find your obsession.
- Write what interests you.
- Experience new things.
- Fall more in love with life.
- Focus on your grand vision.
- Pace yourself.
You don’t need to do too much. Do ‘just enough’ in a way that fills you with a sense of accomplishment.
Overexerting yourself won’t get you any accolades. Rather, it’ll drive you further from your goals. It’ll cost you a lot.
Instead, create what you want in a way that’s unique to you.
Creativity peaks where passion meets the soul.
3. Learning A Skill/Upskilling
Thriving writers are skilled writers. But, do not learn a skill for the wrong reasons.
Learn; to experience ‘becoming.’ Not primarily for money or fame.
Build on what you already love doing. Acquire knowledge to explore what’s inside you and how you can find fulfillment in service.
Your goal is to create joyfully. To make your soul grow. Learning a skill you don't enjoy steals that fire and it'll break your heart.
Gary Vaynerchuk said, “Skills are cheap. Passion is priceless.”
Learn; to fuel the fire in the soul, to fill a void, to push yourself, to unravel who you truly are, to test your limits, to be ‘more.’
Without love and purpose, there is no art. Skill is art. — Author unknown.
4. Building Habits, Systems, and Workflow Structures.
The most dangerous thing you can do is dive into this journey, believing you can wing it.
No plan, system, or structure.
I’m sorry you won’t go very far with this plan. Intentionality is the key that unlocks it all, and James Clear said it best.
Be intentional with your actions and create habits that serve you.
Without good habits, effective systems, and simple structures, you cannot build discipline, stay consistent, fulfill your purpose, or achieve your goals.
- Good habits — builds discipline
- Effective systems — encourage consistency
- Simple workflow structures - streamlines creativity
The three combined help you balance life, work, and making art, increase your flow state, and help you stay grounded as a dual creator.
Thriving writers bloom where they’re planted by nurturing good seeds. You’re no different.
So, right now,
- Analyze your life as it currently is.
- Uproot patterns, systems, and habits that don’t serve you.
- Implant simple ones that do.
Push for growth by constantly evaluating your life patterns, tracking your habits, and making changes where necessary to support your vision.
According to James Clear,
The difference between who you are and who you want to be is what you do.
5. A Clear Mind And Positive Energy
Our minds are fertile ground. What we sow, we’ll reap.
If our mind dwelled in negativity, dined with limiting beliefs, and danced with self-sabotaging thoughts, we’d have given it up long ago.
We’d already feel defeated before we even started.
Life as a busy writer is already hectic. When you sprinkle negativity into the mix, you're setting yourself up for a long, painful, and arduous ride.
Thriving writers don't exude that kind of energy. Our souls cannot handle that much gloom. We won't survive it.
It'll suck the joy from our lives and push us to quit or ensure we never start.
We don’t need that.
What helps us maintain progressive momentum is a clear mind and positive energy.
A clear mind
Knowing what you want now and how to get there. You don’t need the full picture.
Positive energy
Focusing long-term on your desired goal and encouraging yourself to push through.
This doesn't discredit the fact that you'll encounter challenges.
- Some will break your spirit.
- Some will drive you to the brink of insanity.
These setbacks are inevitable, but how you deal with them, manage your emotions, and speak to yourself in these moments determines how you'll emerge.
You'll either emerge:
- Resilient, and unstoppable
- Or broken and defeated
If you choose to do nothing else for yourself throughout your journey, choose to be your biggest cheerleader.
6. A light dose of delusion
The enticing appeal of believing we can do the impossible gives us the confidence to pursue it.
If not, how else would you justify your desire to ‘create’ and ‘be more’ when you’re already working a 9-5 and are half-buried under other responsibilities?
You already know your journey will take work. And you don't have all the time in the world. Yet, you're willing to dive in headfirst.
Delusion feeds your confidence. Confidence is positive and empowering. However, be careful not to ignore reality.
As you grow and make progress, allow experience to take the wheel and humility to guide your path, so you keep learning, reinventing yourself, and thriving as a dual creator.
Before you go, I have a word for you.
Dear busy writer,
You’ve stalled enough. It’s time to bloom where you’re planted, pursue your passion, experience becoming, and make your soul grow.
Join a community of passionate busy writers juggling a 9–5, creating art, thriving, and finding fulfillment + access my free guide.
