All The Write Stuff
Your Average Jo on an average day at her home office.
A few blogs ago a reader reached out and commended me on my writing skills and wanted to know about my background. He asked whether I had a degree or previous experience in journalism or creative writing. I’m certain he was surprised when I told him I majored in math and finance!
It’s true that this journey of mine started with a focus on numbers. My natural aptitude for math and analytical thinking had taken me on a path that included a degree in mathematics, an MBA and a few analyst roles. For me, it was the easy road. That road also allowed me to avoid essays, creative writing and written expression in general.
I can’t say I wasn’t good at it. I still fared quite well in English and other arts courses but I certainly didn’t love it. I used to say that I preferred “the black and white” of math (In other words, it’s either right or wrong.)
As I built my career, I was able to use my analytical skills to help me process and solve business problems and honed my writing skills along the way. But more as a necessary evil than a passionate endeavour.
Fast forward 20 years and three publishing businesses later, it appears that I’ve become a writer! Prior to this year I had dabbled with a guest column here and there, and intermittent blog posts. But it kind of felt like working out. I dreaded it beforehand, sweat my ass off during, and felt great when it was done.
Yet just like exercise, it appears I’m building my writing muscle. It’s never easy, but it’s certainly gotten easier. And more enjoyable.
Why am I telling you this? It’s not to brag (though I’m happy if you’re enjoying it). It’s actually quite the opposite. What I’ve learned is that when I stopped worrying so much about the outcome (and what others would think) and started doing it for myself, the words started flowing. I wasn’t trying to get them all right. I was simply just getting them “write.” (Or “writ,” if we’re being grammatically correct here.)
Back to the exercise analogy...when you focus on how it makes you feel, more than how it makes you look, you’ll sooner and more readily reap the rewards (and y’all know how I feel about rewards).
Marketing guru Seth Godin wrote a recent post about skill building and the time it takes to build up a new one. Whether it’s 100 hours or 10,000 hours (à la Malcolm Gladwell), the point is that you need commitment and consistency.
And guess what? You don’t even have to get great at it. Average will do just fine. Or even suck at it! If you enjoy it, keep doing it. It doesn’t have to pay the bills, it just has to give you some form of ROI, whether that be physical or emotional.