Write Like The Masters On October 4th it will be 6 years since I had one of the most important purpose-fulfilling experiences of my life. You can have experiences like that too, if you can recreate 2 unintended advantages I had at that time.
My son, and youngest child, Soren will turn 6 on the 4th of October. But, his birth is not the purpose-fulfilling experience I want to talk to you about. Instead, I want to talk about the 2 months after his birth; something really cool happened during that mini-sabbatical and there were 2 reasons why it did.
My son, and youngest child, Soren will turn 6 on the 4th of October. But, his birth is not the purpose-fulfilling experience I want to talk to you about. Instead, I want to talk about the 2 months after his birth; something really cool happened during that mini-sabbatical and there were 2 reasons why it did.
2 Months of Paternity Leave
My employer at the time had a pretty generous paternity leave policy and, even though I was only on the job for less than a year, I picked up and left for 2 months. I originally thought that I would stay engaged with the office, supporting my staff, advancing some strategic and operational ideas, but I quit doing that within the first 24 hours of Soren arriving in the world. I pretty much ignored everyone but my family for those 2 months.
So what did I do during my leave? At first, almost nothing. I hung out with my daughter (who just started kindergarten), my wife and my new boy. And, then a couple weeks in I started to write.
A decade earlier I was writing a lot. I would even spend summers away in young writers communities. In high school, wrote a lot of fiction but by the time I graduated I really enjoyed spinning a good story into my academic papers. It was my writing, not my grades, that got me into the university of my choice. But then I got busier and so by the time Soren was born, I hadn't really wrote anything for a few years.
So it was a surprise to me when I first "spontaneously" created a small book and then a game. How'd that happen?
A Better Understanding
Recently, my whole clan raided the local bookstore. Each of us got to pick 1 thing. My wife broke the rules and bought 2 things: a book on road bike maintenance (I'll use this one too) and a cool stuffed animal. My daughter bought some markers. My son bought a game. And, I bought the book Write Like The Masters - my wife thought it was strange that I didn't grab something out of the business, philosophy, religion or psychology sections. I'm glad I did grab it because it helped me understand where that spurt of creativity 6 years ago came from and how to get it back.
Describing that author Balzac's 2 secret techniques for writing, William Cane wrote:
My employer at the time had a pretty generous paternity leave policy and, even though I was only on the job for less than a year, I picked up and left for 2 months. I originally thought that I would stay engaged with the office, supporting my staff, advancing some strategic and operational ideas, but I quit doing that within the first 24 hours of Soren arriving in the world. I pretty much ignored everyone but my family for those 2 months.
So what did I do during my leave? At first, almost nothing. I hung out with my daughter (who just started kindergarten), my wife and my new boy. And, then a couple weeks in I started to write.
A decade earlier I was writing a lot. I would even spend summers away in young writers communities. In high school, wrote a lot of fiction but by the time I graduated I really enjoyed spinning a good story into my academic papers. It was my writing, not my grades, that got me into the university of my choice. But then I got busier and so by the time Soren was born, I hadn't really wrote anything for a few years.
So it was a surprise to me when I first "spontaneously" created a small book and then a game. How'd that happen?
A Better Understanding
Recently, my whole clan raided the local bookstore. Each of us got to pick 1 thing. My wife broke the rules and bought 2 things: a book on road bike maintenance (I'll use this one too) and a cool stuffed animal. My daughter bought some markers. My son bought a game. And, I bought the book Write Like The Masters - my wife thought it was strange that I didn't grab something out of the business, philosophy, religion or psychology sections. I'm glad I did grab it because it helped me understand where that spurt of creativity 6 years ago came from and how to get it back.
Describing that author Balzac's 2 secret techniques for writing, William Cane wrote:
The point to be made, however, is that isolation and concentration are probably two prerequisites to success as a writer, and obtaining them - whether by force of will, meditation, or through the occasional use of nootropics - is a necessity for many writers.
So if Cane is right, a book fell out of me because I was less accessible to my world and writing was the only non-family thing on my plate.
2 Prerequisites
That writing project was an expression of my purpose. It was important and meaningful to me. In fact, MightyPurpose owes a debt to that project from 6 years ago.
A little isolation and a lot of focus may seem like common sense, but how many of us really intentionally make those happen in our lives when we need them? I honestly didn't plan to isolate myself (I actually planned the opposite) and I didn't expect to be able to focus on writing (writing wasn't on the list of things to get done when I started my leave). But, I stumbled onto these advantages and I was blessed with a couple of months of real purposeful living.
The neat thing is that every time I have been able to advance a meaningful project, I first isolated myself in someway and gave the project my undivided attention. These two actions aren't just useful for writers. They are useful for purpose-livers.
I bet if you explore your past you'll probably notice the same pattern. You need:
I am you can even use these 2 prerequisites together to tackle your capacity challenges.
Be well,
Sterling Lynk
P.S. - Another benefit of the writing was that taking on that purpose project really recharged my batteries and gave me the emotional bandwidth to be the leader my organization needed. The great things I was able to be a part of after I came back was due in no small part to that 2 month super vacation. Knocking out a purpose project can do the same for you.
2 Prerequisites
That writing project was an expression of my purpose. It was important and meaningful to me. In fact, MightyPurpose owes a debt to that project from 6 years ago.
A little isolation and a lot of focus may seem like common sense, but how many of us really intentionally make those happen in our lives when we need them? I honestly didn't plan to isolate myself (I actually planned the opposite) and I didn't expect to be able to focus on writing (writing wasn't on the list of things to get done when I started my leave). But, I stumbled onto these advantages and I was blessed with a couple of months of real purposeful living.
The neat thing is that every time I have been able to advance a meaningful project, I first isolated myself in someway and gave the project my undivided attention. These two actions aren't just useful for writers. They are useful for purpose-livers.
I bet if you explore your past you'll probably notice the same pattern. You need:
- Some sort of separation from the noisy and jittery world. Isolate yourself for a period of time.
- Concentrate on your current purpose expressing project. Focus during that period of time.
I am you can even use these 2 prerequisites together to tackle your capacity challenges.
Be well,
Sterling Lynk
P.S. - Another benefit of the writing was that taking on that purpose project really recharged my batteries and gave me the emotional bandwidth to be the leader my organization needed. The great things I was able to be a part of after I came back was due in no small part to that 2 month super vacation. Knocking out a purpose project can do the same for you.
[Image: Amazon.com]