Write the Book Your Younger Self Needed

There was a time when you didn’t have the answers. When the questions felt too big, too overwhelming, too impossible. When the world seemed like an uncharted wilderness, and you didn’t have a map.

But you survived.

You learned.

And now, here you are.

With experience, with knowledge, with scars that have healed over into wisdom.

What if — just what if — you could reach back through time and hand your younger self a book?

A book that whispers, you’re not alone. A book that lays out a path, shines a light, and says, I’ve been here before. Let me show you the way.

Writing as a Reckoning

Todd Sattersten, former CEO of 1-800-CEO-READ, once said that you should scratch your own itch when writing a book. Fix the problem that nags at you, the one you can’t solve. The pebble in your shoe.

Because here’s the truth: If it was your problem, it’s someone else’s problem, too.

And they need the book – NOW – that you wish you’d had.

Many people write books for visibility, for credibility, for business growth. And those are all great reasons.

But the deepest, most powerful books — the ones that truly matter — come from something more profound.

They come from the need to make a difference.

What Would Have Saved You?

Think back.

What do you wish you'd known when you started out?

What would have turned around your darkest moment?

What words would have pulled you back from the edge, helped you stand, given you the strength to keep going?

If you held that book in your hands, how much time, how much pain, how much wandering in the dark would it have saved you?

And if you could write it now, what could it save someone else?

Because here’s the thing — your younger self still exists.

They’re out there, living through the same struggles, the same confusion, the same sense of isolation.

They just don’t know you yet.

The Responsibility to Share

Too often, we think our experiences are too personal, too specific, too... niche... to be of value to others.

But the truth is, what’s most personal is often what’s most universal.

The thoughts you believed were uniquely yours? Someone else is thinking them, too.

The pain you thought no one else could understand? Someone else is feeling it right now.

And the wisdom you fought so hard to earn? Someone else is desperate for it.

You don’t need to be a guru. You don’t need to be an expert. You just need to be someone who has been there, who has seen the other side, and who is willing to reach out a hand.

Writing that Lifeline

This isn’t about vanity. This isn’t about ego. This is about contribution.

It’s about leaving behind something that outlasts you.

A book that says to the next person in line: You are not alone. I’ve been where you are. Here’s how I made it through.

Because imagine, just for a second, that someone had written that book for you.

Imagine the relief. The reassurance. The hope.

Now imagine being the one who gives that gift.

Your younger self needed this book. And someone else needs it now.

So write it.

For them. For you. For all of us who are still finding our way.

*****

FYI – I run regular accountability programmes that help CEOs and Founders get their books out, so they can make a real impact in the world.

If you want to learn the simple process that can get your book out of you in 12 hours of your time, click here: https://lnkd.in/ex5_ew5n