Will that happen? I don’t know. I think it’s unlikely. The words have reached their end with that particular piece. They have gotten stuck in some corner of banality and self-centeredness and have yet to find a way out; at least, that’s my perspective. My intent had been to use an example of me not taking care of myself to explain why it’s important to do so, but I just couldn’t get the words to rise to where they needed to be. They remained rooted in the original experience and were unable to transcend it, to transform it into something other than a pity party.

That transformation is important to me, and it’s something that fuels much of the creative and professional work I do. If the words I publish on this blog or write for clients are of no use to others or don’t rise above a self-contained and self-limiting audience, I don’t want to share them. I don’t want to write them. I’d rather quit writing than write for an audience of me, myself, and I.

What about you? When do you decide to scrap a post? Also, how do you remember to take care of yourself?

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I confess I thought actual rules existed in regard to “couple,” “few,” “some,” “several,” and “many.” I was mistaken. There are no firm rules, only guidelines, and those are based on what sound and feel right.

For instance, it’s generally accepted that “couple” refers to two things. It makes sense; people use the word “couple” to refer to two people who are in a relationship. Thus, a “couple” of socks refers to two socks that may or may not be mismatched after a brawl in the dryer.

“Few” is trickier. It refers to more than two things but doesn’t refer to as many things as “some” or “several.” To make the word even more problematic, it can be modified by “a,” which changes the meaning entirely. “I have a few socks” means something different from “I have few socks.” The second case might cause one to wonder why a person has few socks. Were they lost in that infamous dryer? Eaten by the dog? No one knows. The first case tends to signify that the person does, indeed, have enough socks to at least last until the next wash day. He or she has a sufficient number of socks unlike the person who has few of them.

“Some” is understood as meaning more than “few” but less than “several.” What does that mean exactly? No one’s sure; thus, people use the word as it feels right to them. Thus, one might say “I have some socks you can borrow,” or “I will have to do some shopping to replace some socks.”

“Several” is used to mean more than “some” but less than “many.” Again, there is no exact number. The dictionary says it means more than a few but not a great number. In a sentence? “Alicia’s grandmother knitted several pairs of socks for her for Christmas.” It might not be the greatest Christmas gift, but at least Alicia has socks again.

As for “many,” it means a multitude. “She has many toe socks” means that she has a number of toe socks, perhaps more than the number of regular socks. “Many,” like the other words, has no exact number associated with it. It’s safe to say, though, that the girl who has many toe socks probably has a drawer overflowing with them.

Any questions about “couple,” “few,” “some,” “several,” or “many”? Any other questions you’d like to ask Write Right? Feel free to leave a comment here or on the Facebook page. Your question and the answer could be featured in a future post.

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At least, that’s what inspiration tries to convince you of. Inspiration tells you that you’ll feel inspired if you wait for it to visit. It claims to have your best interests at heart. Inspiration is a liar, though, and a flake. You have no guarantee that you’ll find inspiration if you wait for it to come. Inspiration is not a friend; it’s the unbidden specter that arrives to awaken you from you sleep. It’s a siren telling you to wait and wait and wait until you end up crashing into the rocks along the shoreline. You then wonder how you almost drowned and why you ever bothered to listen to that siren song in the first place. You knew and know the truth about inspiration; why did you think this time would be different?

No, to find inspiration, you have to, as dear Edison would say, perspire. You quit waiting for inspiration to appear. You stop listening to her siren song about how you’re supposed to wait and, if you don’t, how you’re betraying her. You get to work. You sit in front of your laptop and put words on the screen. You stand in front of your easel and draw. You are in a war, and, in this war, your best option is to strike first and fast before you lose yourself in inspiration’s song. You do not wait for inspiration. You do not waste time looking for it. You get to work and let inspiration find you.

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Exercise is a good example; many people have the “passion” to exercise at the beginning of the year. Life intrudes and other commitments arise and, by the middle of March, exercise is a fleeting thought, perhaps a twinge of guilt. The passion for being healthier dies a quick death. Passion does not result in change.

Passion, on its own, drives nothing. It’s only when it’s tied to a larger purpose – an end goal – that it begins to take shape as something other than a fleeting emotion. Purpose is not the magic solution, either; businesses fail because they can’t translate that purpose into something understandable. Employees don’t understand how the company’s purpose is to drive their work, and customers can’t buy into the purpose because it is too abstract.

Passion and purpose mean and drive nothing as long as they remain entities floating in the air. They have to be brought back to the ground: “This is what it means when we say we’re ‘a,’ ‘b,’ or ‘c.’ We take these steps because we believe these things.” They have to be translated into concrete, actionable steps. Passion and purpose have to be turned from ethereal thoughts to a commitment to taking the necessary and specific steps that will drive change.

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It’s easy to get lost in the daily grind: you get up, go through your morning routine, go to work, maybe take a lunch break, return to work, go home, have dinner, maybe relax with the family. Rinse and repeat for five days a week. It becomes normal, comfortable. It lulls you into a sense of safety and security. You forget to ask if your routine is the best one, although you sometimes wonder. You wonder if it’s the best way. You wonder if it’s the most productive way.

Mike Vardy’s latest workbook, The Productivityist Workbook, asks the same question. The book helps people who want to be more productive instead of do more productive. It’s a key distinction; it’s easy to overlay tools on existing routines and processes under the guise of productivity. It’s another thing entirely to examine those routines and processes before choosing a tool – if one even is needed – that aids those two things.

Vardy understands all this, and the work on Productivityist testifies to it. The Productivityist Workbook attests to it, too. The workbook comprises four sections: idea management, time management, email management, and task management. Each of those sections contains practical advice and actionable exercises; this is not a book filled with out-of-reach or out-of-touch theories. It’s a book for the trenches, for when one is doing the work and trying to do it better or in a more productive manner.

The Productivityist Workbook goes on sale today, so, if you’re interested in being more productive, why not pick up a copy? It’s well worth the money and the read.

Image: Cody Keisler of Hello Draft Design

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In my own life, self-doubt is a cruel master. Give it an inch, and it will take a yard – no, an entire football field. Yes. Give self-doubt an inch, and it will take an entire football field. I know this fact. Because I know it, I remain in preparation for war against self-doubt. I never know when I might have to fight, so I have to be vigilant at all times. I have to keep guards around my mind and heart so that it cannot gain entrance.

If it does gain entrance, an all-out battle ensues. It’s one I sometimes win. It’s also one I sometimes lose. As I said, self-doubt is a cruel master, and it has many battalions with which to wage war: discouragement, negativity, frustration, depression. It uses those battalions against me. The enemy knows my weaknesses and strikes when and where I am most vulnerable. Its aim usually is true; in fact, if I’m tired, it is more than likely to hit the mark dead-on. When that happens, I limp off the battlefield, find a hiding spot, and prepare for the next day and the next day and the next day. I may be hurt, but I am not defeated.

How, then, do I battle self-doubt? It typically starts with honing my focus. I figure out the one thing I can do, and I go after it. Self-doubt and its minions may chase me the entire way, but I stay on task. I do not look to the right or to the left. My safety is found in reaching the high ground, even if it’s a high ground of a mere six inches. The height doesn’t matter; what matters is that I made it. This is not the time to focus on how high I jumped or how far I ran. The focus has to be on what I did accomplish, no matter how small.

That accomplishment doesn’t mean it’s time to face self-doubt head-on; far from it. I know I will not win that battle. I instead focus on the one thing I can do, and I do that for however many days I need. One day, I stop to examine where I am and realize something: self-doubt and despair and depression are far below me, mere specks. I see that they are on the move, though, and understand this moment of unadulterated freedom won’t last. I have to keep moving because the enemy is on a constant prowl.

That’s one of the ways I battle self-doubt. How do you battle it?

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Other writers might not feel the same way. Pencils might not bring them the satisfaction they brought to Hugo. In that case, they should seek other tools. They should find the ones that make putting words on paper or a screen easier. They even should go so far as to evaluate different pencils, pens, or keyboards. They need to find the tools that ease the writing process not impede it.

In my case, I use a number of writing tools. I use mechanical pencils when I write poetry or draw, and I use .05 lead. It’s the finest grade I’ve yet to find although I’d like to find .03, mostly for drawing purposes. I can be heavy-handed with pencils, a reason that I use mechanical ones instead of ones I have to sharpen. The lead in mechanical pencils breaks easily, which reminds me not to etch into the paper.

When I take notes or jot ideas in my business notebook, I use a pen. I’m not always particular with the pens attached to those tasks; I’m writing fast and trying to keep up with the thoughts in my head. If I’m writing in a journal or penning a letter, though, I’m conscious of the pen I use. I’m particular because the purpose in those activities is a little less frenetic and much more directed than when I’m taking notes or writing down ideas.

Blog posts and articles? I use my Macbook Pro. It’s comfortable. I’ve become accustomed to writing the words on the screen, mostly because I had to cut out the by-hand draft during my college days. I just didn’t have the time to write a paper by hand, translate it into print in a computer lab during lab hours, then edit it several times. Unfortunately, I think I merely have flipped the order of things. Printing out the paper inevitably results in a complete rewrite by hand, in pen.

Perhaps it’s strange to use a multitude of writing tools, but it’s a process that works for me. The different tools help me to acknowledge different writing tasks and to prepare my mind and hands for those tasks. They help me to find satisfaction in doing the work.

What about you? Do you use one tool or several? Do the different tools affect your writing process and what you’re writing?

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Similarly, extroverts typically are believed to be better leaders because they tend to have charisma. They take to the stage and the lights like – to use a cliche – ducks to water. Does that exclude introverts? By no means. Some introverts shine in social situations. They are outgoing in those environments. They simply need to get away from all that in order to recharge.

If extroversion or introversion aren’t the keys to being a successful salesperson or leader, what are the keys? It perhaps comes down to four things:

1. Knowledge of the product, service, or oneself. Knowing a subject matter thoroughly prevents fumbling when put on the spot. It’s easier to exude confidence when one knows the subject.
2. Belief in the product, service, or oneself. Knowing a subject matter intellectually isn’t enough. A person has to know the pros and cons of the subject. He or she has to have a belief in the quality of it.
3. Honesty about the product, service, or oneself. Admitting the shortcomings of a product or service is not weakness nor is it failure. It’s a confession of where improvements can and should be made. It’s putting the customer before the sale.
4. Willingness to say “I don’t know.” Some of the best salespeople are the ones who admit when they don’t know an answer. Again, the lack of knowledge doesn’t have to be a weakness. It can impress a customer who’s been bamboozled in the past. It makes the salesperson or leader more human and, as long as that person is willing to find the answers to the question, more trustworthy.

What do you think? Is it time to stop worrying about being an introvert or extrovert and start concerning ourselves with being better leaders?

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What if that perspective were to change? What if writers were to stop viewing the blank page as a curse and to start seeing it as a gift? To see it as a promise? What would happen then? Would they begin to see the blank page as a necessary building block instead of a stumbling one? Would they view it as a painter views a fresh canvas, a thing with unforetold and possibly unforeseen possibilities? Would they take the initial steps of prepping that page as the artist preps a canvas? Would the prep work get them into the right frame of mind so that they could put words on the page? If they were to view that page as a canvas, would they be less afraid of placing words on the surface? Would they allow themselves to make mistakes and to be messy rather than to worry about keeping the surface clean?

Perhaps. Perhaps all that could happen, but it would require the writer to stop avoiding the blank page and to begin to make plans, not ones of the mutinous variety such as cleaning the house “just because” but ones that work with the blank page. The writer would have to transform her mind. The writer would have to train herself to think of the blank page as a promise rather than a curse.

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