Why your previous writings are never sunk costs

By Rhea Wessel

I have an ideas coaching client who has done tons of writing but is still searching for the ideas she wants to focus on.?

She?is a talented thinker and writer with a vast set of rich ideas. That's part of her challenge: She's got many unique perspectives on important subjects.

We are working together to help her identify the contribution she wants to make. Later, we'll look at how to "commercialize" her ideas?as the basis of a thought-leader's practice, if she chooses to do so.

She suggested as a possible starting point that I review years of writing that she recently consolidated into one spot and coded with categories.

I was amazed to hear about the care and time she took to review her raw materials and writing.

My response was this: The fact that she went through the exercise of gathering, sorting and labeling her thoughts was super valuable for her and all she really needs to do at this point.

You are your own best filter

I believe we are all inherently good filters of our own ideas. If an idea is important, we won't forget it.

On the contrary, we won't be able to forget it.

The idea will have found fertile ground in your mind and look to set roots there, knowing its new host will cultivate it with care.

Here are the broad phases of ideas coaching that me and my team lead clients through:?

• Exploration of your ideas, like combing throuh weeds to find?a four-leaf clover
• Identification of which ideas generate "ah-hah" moments
• Fuzzy articulation of the idea
• Refined articulation of the idea
• Application of the idea
• Articulating the value of the idea?

The client I mentioned is in the exploration phase, and she's keen to stay in that phase and give the process the time it needs.

This is refreshing and exciting for me as the coach because many people prefer?to rush through to make sure their ideas are commercially viable.

Or, perhaps, they?may?want to harvest their previous writings because they're concerned they cannot replicate their own brilliance in a slightly different context. That's a natural fear we all have.

My view is that focusing on the old materials might get you off track on your new writing task. That's what I mean when I say you're the best filter of your own ideas.??

Scan?your writings, organize them, code them and read them, but don't try to reuse and recycle them in their current form.

Let yourself be the filter of the ideas flow through and express them from today's perspective, with the wisdom you have gained since the idea originally found you.

-Rhea Wessel is a writer and founder of The Institute for Thought Leadership. Her new book on using AI to boost your thought leadership is due out late 2024.

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