Give Me An Hour To Live... I Would Write.

Defining September with a tribute to my passion for writing. I would spend fifty five minutes of my last hour breathing writing, giving it my all.

The last five minutes I'd give my family a large hug, and perish into the realms of our ancestors.

What would you do? Wait a minute, don't answer that.

Consider this.

You were about to die and there was a crowd waiting.

You could scream one thing, what would it be?

An exercise to find your voice, I've been thinking about this question since it arose in a great book I read recently, Sol Stein on Writing.

Now consider this...

If you had to whisper that one thing, and there was only one person there... what would it be?

Now imagine that person is your worst enemy.

What would you say?

Would it be different?

Your voice is emerging. And that is a powerful thing, isn't it?

Be so committed that your last dying moment would be to practice your craft

Do you know how powerful it felt when myself and friend were having this abstract discussion?

It was profound.

It was the truth.

There is nothing more that I want to do, other than to write.

To think about planning a way to get paid to do this?

It's a dream come true.

And it's happening.

And so, I can be happy with that.

But I cannot be complacent.

I must practice.

I must become better.

At all times, no matter what.

And you must too.

What would you do if you had the choice?

Perhaps you don't know.

There is a formula to finding ourselves.

There must be.

I have found myself through exposure to many situations.

I've had some profound life experiences too, as we all have.

But those cannot be enough.

We must push ourselves to our limits, consciously.

Could you find yourself so that, given your last hour, you would have a definite plan as to what you would want to give to this world?

Let's take this "find yourself" from an abstract level to something more concrete.

Staying open-minded

The first step is to expose yourself to many things.

Say yes to everything.

Read, travel, go out into the world, experience life.

Positive things that help you embrace life and uncover new ways of thinking.

Take many job opportunities that expose you to different industries, job roles and opportunities.

Try boxing, running, hiking, yoga.

Do things that take you outside of your comfort zone.

Becoming disciplined

Lacking discipline? Tell me about it.

It's my biggest struggle.

You must learn how to focus.

How to apply yourself to one task.

There are things that help you do that:

• Reducing time spent on social media
• Knowing your 'why' (long-term)
• Writing down your daily intent/goals

Those are just three. You get the picture. I don't want to bore you with generic self-help tips, you can find them anywhere.

Exercise and do the things you need to do that you do not what to do to create a better tomorrow.

That is discipline.

Harnessing a talent

When you have exposed yourself to all these situations, all these workplaces and new experiences.

You should find out what you like.

And what you would give you dying breath to do.

Don't listen to others.

Do that.

Great at sports? You might not make it as a premier league footballer, but you could make a great coach.

Enjoy writing? Sit and write for three hours every day, and bang. You're a writer. Eventually.

Do you find it comfortable being around and influencing others? Go into sales.

Find out what your talent is. Then harness it fully.

Dedicating yourself wholeheartedly

There is a difference between a professional and an amateur.

A choice to become a professional.

To put in the hours when they don't necessarily feel like it.

And to dedicate your soul to a craft?

You need to be certain that's what you want to do.

There is no other feeling I have had that compares to when I am writing, articulating my thoughts.

And to become a professional writer is all I want out of life.

And I know that fact is the reason I will become great.

It's a decision to become great, it won't happen by chance.

What would you do, if you were given the choice to do anything in the world?

But you had to stick to it... forever.

If you can answer that question... the journey will start for you too.

And we can become great together.

What do you say, what do you want to do?

The choice is yours.