Anyone could blame the weather.
Here in New York, we have been been slipping from spring sunshine to a few inches of February fluff to slush and misty gloom. All of it is born away on a tide of mud that just never washes out.
Or, I could blame motherhood and all the ways it shatters my focus and steals my sleep.
And, if I chose, I could blame the creative impulse itself. This need to write and share and connect with readers is a mad, beautiful journey.
No matter the reason, it’s easy to lose track of the “why” during long, dreary days at home in front of the laptop. It's easy to forget about the great goals when the to do list never ends.
Why add more words and pages to this noisy digital world? Why steal time from my family just to try to be seen and read by strangers? Why not just get a job instead of making it all up as I go along?
The welter of worries that threatens to swallow all the creative and professional dreams. You know them too, I am guessing?
And so, the aimless Facebook scrolling begins. Fortunately, I’ve been at this game of questions long enough to stop myself before I start reading my spam messages or looking up high school boyfriends’ little sisters.
Instead, I seek out the resources I know will replenish me and get me back on course: the insights from clients and colleagues I know and love.
We're much the same as we try to carve out enough space for family and relationships and for entrepreneurship and creative passions too. We have unique goals and needs and sources of inspiration to make the balancing act work, but when we can rally together to share the “why” of it all, all of us can get back on track.
This isn't the first time I've worried that there are too many stories out there already, of course.
Luckily, last time I began to believe that the emerging thought leaders I long to help were just too busy being awesome at life and work to sit down and create content they really care about, a wise friend and colleague got me back on track. She reminded that she knows writing and diving deep into her ideas is vital to her practice and her big dreams.
As she described it, you need to write blog posts and HuffPo articles and all the rest because:
- Content builds trust
- It’s how clients get to know you
- It’s how you weed out the wrong people before they even call
- It’s how you first inspire people to know you’re worth your full fee
- Content makes people want more of you in programs and classes and all the good stuff you want to sell
I couldn't have said it better myself!
Your turn: Are you convince you need to create content? What's your "why"? (And I would love your answers even if you're thinking "I know I should start writing but I just can't make it a priority")