Decide (in Advance) What Kind of Writer You Want to Be
…then be that writer
Two days ago I was listening to a podcast about professionalism. The conversation was between Seth Godin and Tim Ferriss. Seth spoke about the choice between being authentic and being a professional.
At first I didn’t get it. So I had to re-listen. Then — his words hit me.
Seth says we’ve got a choice with our work. We can be authentic or professional. He chose professional a long time ago, and went on to explain why.
I’ve never seen (or heard) the word authentic used with a negative connotation. So, here’s the deal: When we’re authentic, we act as our true selves as much as possible. If our authentic self is tired and doesn’t feel it today, we don’t do the work. If our authentic self feels inspired to start a certain project today, we start it. If our authentic self feels rejected, we don’t write until we feel better.
Yes, being a professional writer means playing a part.
Sometimes you might come across as harsh, to those folks who choose to be authentic. Sometimes we say no a lot. Sometimes we pick and choose only the projects which fit our professional model.
When we play the professional writer, we put all the personal baggage in a burlap sack, and tie the thing…
