Seven reasons to write a book

Five years ago, we’d went camping over Christmas.  Long, lazy, slow days – loads of time to think about … business.  I read books but I certainly wasn’t thinking of writing a book.

On the drive home I reflected, a little reluctantly, I’d just have to get networking.  Back at my desk, I found a reasonably priced event in January no less, when everything business is usually away baking on a beach.

I went.  A young man stood on the stage and asked three questions.  Was I valued for what I did?  Did I love it?  Was I paid enough? 

My husband and I were just out of a 22 year marketing and communications business, (and that’s a long story), and an intense engagement in starting and building a charity (and that is an even longer story).

Before the birth of Get It Right Online and although I had started Why You Must Blog as a business, right then and by default, I was coding and building websites.  

Nooo, Nooo and No  

There was a sort of stifled scream in my head: ‘Nooo, Nooo and No’.  

I looked round the auditorium.  People were nodding their heads in that manic, plastic-dog-on- the-back-of-a-car-window-ledge way.  The young man had nailed their pain.

Several presenters went on to explain what would address this clearly, common conundrum.  One was a process by which you could write a book.  

There had been a book in my head for years.  I’d written half of one and abandoned it.  How many of you have a buried half manuscript which doesn’t quite fit the bill any longer?

I was buying  

There wasn’t any selling happening, but whatever was coming, I was buying.  I was in the right place at the right time to slap my credit card on the table and say, ‘I want what you’re offering!’

It was a sound decision.  I learned a great deal more about business from some very astute people, than I’d learned in many previous years of running one myself.  I gave away coding websites and built a new product suite.  I became part of a solid business community.  And, I wrote a book.

Has the book been of any use?   It has.  There were several reasons why I found writing a book invaluable.  

Seven reasons to write a book

1.  It lays out in glorious technicolour (for you and your unbelieving Lizard brain), the value you have to share with the world. It shuts that wearisome little voice up – ‘Hmmm, you really do know your stuff!’

2.   It sorts out your value in a way that is clear and coherent, where previously it might have been, well, all a bit jumbled and muddied with the exigencies of running or starting a business.

3.  It introduces you to creative play time and the discipline involved in a set time, in a set place (hopefully every day) to write.  (Looking back it was a sublime time for me. When I dip into my book now, I really can’t believe I wrote it.)

4. The moment you hold the first copy in your hand, you’ll know that something quite fundamental has changed in how you’ll tackle business going forward.  (Two years after I published my book, I did a TEDx talk.  That would have been inconceivable without it.)

5. You’ll speak with more authority and believe in your reasons to do so.  It really is a self belief thing.

6. It’ll reveal your principles.  Those immutable laws which govern how you deliver your offer.  And, in doing so, it will make your offer stronger, more viable and more desirable.

7. It’ll persuade you that you have a voice in helping others make a difference in the world.  

Who were they?

The young man was Daniel Priestley, author of Key Person of Influence, The Entrepreneurial Revolution and Oversubscribed and partner with Glen Carlson in the successful business development program worldwide, Key Person of Influence.

They have offered their past participants an opportunity to share the book, Key Person of Influence, which details the process by which you become one and gives even more reasons as to why you should write a book.  

Yes, their goal is to invite you to an event such as the one I went to at some point, but you can make that call either way when the invitation comes.  

In the meantime, here is the link to a free copy of the book.  I’m glad I read the book and even gladder I did the course.  It isn’t for everyone.  I coach a lot of KPI’s to help them make sense of what they learned. But that just accelerates their learning.  The point is they learn a lot.  And, they get to write a book!

PS.  Here is a terrific interview between Dallas McMillan and Tony Hughes.  Tony Hughes talks about the power of writing a book, but he also believes you should blog beforehand.  Another validation of Why You Must Blog.