The other day, I was having an email conversation with a friend
about business goals.
She mentioned that she'd started a book only to realize she
didn't want to write one *right now* after all.
She had mixed feelings about the decision, though. After all,
*everyone* says a good consultant *must* write a book. And she
was feeling the pressure.
In a reply email, I offered her a piece of advice that, as soon
as I'd typed it, I knew was really advice for *me* and not her.
Have you ever had that happen? You're talking with someone and
you hear yourself making a suggestion that you realize (on the
spot or later on) is exactly what *you* needed to hear?
This final newsletter ingredient continues to be the hardest for
me-I grapple with it in nearly every issue. See, persistence,
and staying the course with your newsletter, is all about
keeping your focus on the things that matter. Not letting
yourself get distracted by all those *other* great ideas. The
sections you *could* add to your newsletter. The design changes
you *could* make. The requests and reviews and ... that *might*
be good to include.
I find myself going around in circles some weeks-not wanting to
start the newsletter, and yet being on a deadline and *needing*
to start the newsletter. And, each time I get caught in this
circle, the solution is consistently the same. Yet, it often
takes me several hours to *realize* that I know how to resolve
my procrastination.
For me, what works most often is to STOP what I'm doing (surfing
the Internet for ideas, reading someone else's book or
newsletter, asking someone else what they think I should write
about, reviewing back issues) and to simply SIT for a few
minutes.
I know that's the solution. And I know it works 9 times out of
10. And yet, I still find myself unwilling to apply it at the
first sign of distress.
Then again, I'm the same way about taking medicine . I have to
get really, really, really sick before I even think of taking
something.
So often, we think of persistence as working harder, as pushing
through it, as forcing ourselves to buckle down and "get it
done." And there's value to that.
But, in this case, I'm speaking of persistence as more of a
willingness to repeat those actions you already *know* work for
you. So, if you know that a plain text newsletter format works
best for you, don't let yourself wonder if you should publish in
HTML every few months. If you know your readers respond best
when you talk about your dog, don't listen to that consultant
who tells you to be more buttoned up.
By persistence, I'm asking you to commit to blazing your own
trail-doing things your own way. Persist in that. And don't
worry about what everyone says, or what works for everyone else.
P.S. If you find a magical formula for this kind of persistence,
I'm all ears .
Your challenge: Today apply that piece of advice you find
yourself repeating, but *never* applying in your own newsletter.
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