Writing, Changing Identity & Hard Conversations

Hello my friend,

Thanks for coming back.

I’ve been writing this newsletter for some time now.

Far longer than I could have imagined if I’m honest.

As a person who believed and succumbed to what is known as ‘writers block’ and a former "I’ll wait until I feel like it" type, the thought of writing a full article every week was overwhelming.

The idea of producing hundreds of words weekly and sharing ideas I cared about was exciting yet I’d put it off.

I got nowhere.

Then I just decided I would commit to writing just one article.

It didn’t matter how short it was.

Or how good.

The only important thing was just to start it.

One word at a time. One piece of writing. Then onto the next.

I wanted to write but I wasn’t taking any action.

Until I wrote my first sentence.

It wasn’t writers block it was action block.

This morning I waited for hours before I sat myself down to type these very words.

Yet now in the midst of writing this I feel motivated and full of ideas.

Every single time I take action on something - despite what my mind is telling me - I feel completely different about the thing in question.

I didn’t run for years.

The thought of running five kilometers or for 30 minutes felt too much for me.

The result? I didn’t leave the house at all.

Now as an avid runner I can see that it was simply stepping out to do anything, however short, that made the difference and ultimately took me on the journey to where I am today.

When I was at school I ignored many textbooks for feeling I would never get through them.

Reading just one paragraph or page a day never felt sufficient or worthwhile.

What difference could that possibly make?

Quite a big one in turn as I never started them.

Yet since reading a few pages each day over the last decade it has resulted in getting through countless books.

The action doesn’t have to be big.

Quite the opposite.

It’s that we keep doing it. That’s all that counts.

Quantity over quality.

Which actually over time brings more quality.

Warren Buffett famously said that compound interest is the eighth wonder of the world.

Meaning what we do consistently will create a mammoth effect over a period of time.

Unfortunately our old human brain doesn’t like to think too far ahead and is far more concerned on the here and now. What feels good and what does not in each given moment.

But nothing ever grew from that.

Writing comes so much easier as soon I start.

As does everything.

It always starts with a word or a step at a time.

Working with me

If you are looking to improve your Health or Communication and Public Speaking I can help through tailored coaching or keynote speaking. Please reach out here for a conversation to learn more.

Creating a new identity.

“Every action you take is a vote for the type of person you wish to become.” - James Clear

Solving all your problems.

“You just begin. You do the math. You solve one problem... and you solve the next one... and then the next. And If you solve enough problems, you get to come home.” - Matt Damon in The Martian.

How to prepare for a hard conversation.

“Before any challenging conversation, think for a few moments about what you hope will happen, what might go wrong, and how you’ll react when it does.” - Charles Duhigg

Question

What is a question you wish people would ask you more often? Can you ask it to someone else?

That’s all for this week. I got over the procrastination in the end.

Thank you for reading.

Love. Nick x

p.s. it doesn’t matter