Unlocking Success as a Writer: The Power of Knowing Why
Most writers know how to write. They think through that. The successful writer, however, knows why he does certain things because—as we all reluctantly know—there is more to a career as a writer than writing. Knowing why, always asking why, will cultivate a mentality matching the thinking of successful writers, and you’ll find your successes follow.
Successful writers solve problems. By knowing the whys, they can look at a manuscript, their career, and their relationships and see what is not working and what is.
Successful writers smell skunks. By knowing the whys, we can see who is trying to help us, who we can trust, and who is using us and our bank accounts for their advantage.
Successful writers create or see opportunities. By knowing the whys, we can look at situations and see opportunities that others have missed. By combining various memories in our minds, we can connect and visualize new possibilities that others can’t see, and by doing so, we come off as more advanced or more prosperous.
Successful writers generate revenue. By knowing the whys, we can convert those opportunities that we see into money, a tangible reward for using our noggins. Many people know how to draw a paycheck. The ones who know why things happen are the ones who draw dividends. (Dividends are where we want to be.)
None of this happens, though, by chance. We must choose to educate ourselves, take time to think things through, learn to examine things rather than look at what we see on the surface, and visualize ahead what might be or where trends might be going. This all requires sitting down, maybe with a pad and a pen, staring off into an out-of-focus room, and delving deep into our minds to problem-solve or seek opportunities others might not see. None of this happens by accident. It is a choice, and it is an action that we must consciously make.
Additionally, none of this is easy. For those not used to asking why, getting our brains thinking in that particular order will take some extra effort. But once we start thinking this way, questioning everything, even things we know to be accurate, new opportunities will open to us that we didn’t even have to work for. The brain begins to understand what is expected of it and starts to supply the information on its own. That’s how evolution has worked for the human brain. Again, it won’t be easy initially, but hang in there.
Changing how you think, looking at the whys and not just the hows, will change your life. It will open new opportunities. It will improve and increase your work productivity, make you happier as you work smarter rather than harder, and increase the size of your bank account.
Who could ask for more than this?
Ask why?
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