What Kind of Person Are You?
“So then faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God” Rom 10:17
During one of my business trips to China, my host and I started a conversation over lunch that led to the subject of duality. He explained that it is the underpinning concept of the Ying Yang sign in Chinese culture. I was fascinated by the concept, and my mind started noticing how this concept is prevalent in our everyday conversations.
So each week, I write about topics that are related to focus, vision and self-development by asking a pair of opposing questions. My goal is to use these questions to help you have brief moments of introspection that will uplift, inspire and motivate you.
So, let us delve into the question of the week using my on-going book writing journey.
“Your passion is for you; your purpose is for others.” — Jay Shetty
I love writing. My love for writing is the offspring of my affinity for books. There are two shops I cannot go past without going in. An electronic store and a bookstore. My love for gadgets is another story. But as a school kid, I enjoyed the rhymes and the creativity in poetry. And the older I got I developed a fascination for non-fiction books. Fiction books, on the other hand, continue to intrigue me with the entertainment value of well-written novels. Books have been my private university, my source of self-teaching of almost everything I need to learn. Through all my reading, for learning or entertainment, I incubated one dream. That dream is to be able to arrange words in a logical, creative and artistic way that will educate, entertain and inspire the reader. But for a long time that is all it was — a dream. I did not create time for writing because I did not develop the passion for the arts. Something had to give. So, in the early part of 2015, I finally decided to act on the vision.
To become a writer is indeed my passion. But that was not enough to get me going. I had to find out what I will write about that will create value for my audience. That value can be one or a combination of entertainment, knowledge, or inspiration. In other words, I had to find my purpose for writing. When I was eventually ready, I had no idea where to begin. The only thing I knew was that it was time for me to take decisive action. And taking action towards a goal must involve investment in two things.
One is the investment of time and;
Two is the investment in learning.
“The investment of time is the proof of respect.” “And whatever you respect, you will attract.” – Dr Mike Murdock
It starts with respect — respect for the field, the craft or the venture in which you are about to embark. The lack of respect is a sure path to failure. But how do we show respect to what we do or pursue?
If you spend time with your family, your wife and kids will be attracted to you. If you invest time in your business, you will make it profitable. If you invest time in the things of God; you will attract his blessings.
So, if I was to be good at writing, I must be willing to invest time in the art. Here was the irony. I was developing a passion for writing during the busiest phase of my professional career. I had just moved to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania and the company I was working for was going through a transformational period that demanded a lot of my time. We were implementing a new operating model and undertaking our first ever acquisition of a smaller company. However, I was unfazed by this and decided to pursue my life-long passion. The premise was simple. If I were passionate enough about it, I would make time for it. In other words, if I respected the vision, I will invest time to make it a reality. There are no two ways about that.
After convincing myself that I will invest my time in the arts, the next decision was how to invest in learning. Investment in learning involved both time and money. There is no better investment a person can make in themselves than investment in learning. Here and now, let me be quick to say that we must not confuse learning with education.
“You don’t learn to walk by following rules. You learn by doing, and by falling over.” — Richard Branson
So my next step was not to get some formal education, a diploma or degree in creative writing. The intention was to learn the art of writing by doing, by unlearning whatever I thought I knew and by making mistakes in the process.
I got a booking writing coach after much research and a reference from another experienced coach in the field. Thanks to technology, the geographical distance between my coach and me was not a problem although the ten or so hours time difference was a pain. My sessions were usually between 22:00hrs to 23:00hrs. Doing those sessions after a long day at the office was no easy walk in the park. But the investment was worth every penny. I wrote, I made mistakes, and I got corrected time and time again. Such is the learning process. I had started a blog with very limited experience in writing or in maintaining a blog. However, the most difficult part was deciding what I was going to write about that will be of value to and keep my audience engaged week in, week out. Fortunately, I had learnt that writing about something close to one’s heart, something personal is a good place to start. So I started writing about the lessons from my childhood experiences with my mother. The blog gained readership, and from that, a book idea was born.
That book has been three years in the writing, going through its fourth draft. I want it to be good. I want the book to last. But, I am not trying to make it perfect. I respect my audience. So I must give you a book that will earn your respect — time. That is the right way to go about it.
But here is the truth but disappointing part of my book writing journey. I have failed in maintaining a consistent writing habit. I have taken this long without a complete book because I lack consistency in my writing. This failure is not because of the lack of trying. I even enrolled in a 100-days book writing program. I started brightly for about three weeks with that program before I let all the burdens of work and travel drown my attention for my book and writing in general. I am embarrassed to say I had to drop out of the program after missing many deadlines. The coordinator has gracefully agreed to move me to the next 100-days session. I hope I learn from my mistakes and be consistent during the 100-days program which will start in September 2018.
I did some things right, being tactical and efficient — discovered my passion for writing, decided to set aside time to write, invested in learning and even enrolled in a program to help me.
But I failed to do things right. I was not effective. I need to be effective at one thing to have my book complete. And that is being consistent at writing. You can get better only through consistent practice. It doesn’t matter what it is that you are trying to do. You will never be good at it without consistent practice.
Therefore in my next 100-days book writing program, I choose to do the right things. I decide upfront to create a schedule and commit to it.
So my question to you is this. Are you a person who
1) Do things right? or
2) Does the right things?
While you are still searching for the answer, I encourage you to take this away. It is a quote from one of the most consistent writers I have come to know:
“If you want to be a painter, you have to paint. If you want to be a cook, you have to cook. If you want to be X, you have to practice X — far more than you “think” about how badly you want to be X.” — Nicolas Cole
And if you feel, the above choices are not mutually exclusive; you do have a point according to Sun Tzu (Chinese Strategist):
“Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory. Tactics without strategy is the noise before the defeat”.
Where tactics is doing things right while strategy is doing the right things.
Choose wisely what you do and how you do it.
