It has been awhile since I have checked in with you on my latest creative projects.
Metaphor of the moment
Do you remember the last day of high school? There is an air of excitement, and at the same time time, slight dread at leaving your childhood behind and starting “real life” at college.
For some very disturbing reason, Britney Spear’s “I’m Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman” springs to mind. Which I immediately dismiss, since I knew you will all tease me mercilessly about it and send me mocking parody videos.
So forget I said that, OK?
What I am talking about is getting my mind and heart ready to launch into creating my next book.
As I told you before, I am really feeling the content. I know specific ideas to explore, and I already have a number of great examples to profile. My Backbone class experiment was a lot of fun, and I got tremendously useful feedback from the participants. Lots of it will flow into the book.
But I don’t yet have The Big Idea described in snappy, Made to Stick language. I need to write and refine the premise of the book, and do the chapter outlines.
I am excited. And yes, I am a little scared, because Escape has been such a warm and enjoyable ride. It is familiar. It is comfortable. It is known.
So I know, if I follow the advice of my writing hero Steven Pressfield, the only way to get The Big Idea out of my head and into the form of a book, I need to start writing. On a regular basis. Even if it is outright crap at first.
To use the mantra I furiously typed at my software developer friend Mike many late nights while he was finishing his Master’s Thesis and I was finishing my book,
“Writers write. Coders code.”
But since I learned from Derek Sivers that sharing my goals will mean I am less likely to accomplish them, I will not tell you I am finishing my book proposal by mid-October.
Instead, I will tell you that I will be working hard each day on material that will shape a new book that I am very excited to bring into the world.
Your thoughts, ideas, kicks in the rear and sarcastic heckling is much appreciated. I formed a new Backbone Advisory Council for this new book, much like the Escape from Cubicle Nation Advisory Council that was so critical to writing my first book. If you would like to join and don’t mind occasional emails from me sharing ideas and pleading for inspiration, I would love for you to sign up here.
Travel and speaking
I am hitting the road for a bit and would love to see you!
September 30-October 2, I will be in San Francisco for Andrea Lee’s Wealthy Thought Leader event. Let’s arrange a fun meet-up there, shall we? A lot of my buddies will be there, including Charlie Gilkey and Cath Duncan. Drop me a line on Twitter, as I will be sure to let you know when and where we meet up.
October 7-8, I will be speaking in Las Vegas at Conquer & Grow, an event sponsored by Infusionsoft. There will be a lot of great speakers there, including good friends and marketing wizards John Jantsch and Rich Sloan.
October 17, I will be speaking locally in Phoenix at BOLO 2010, a digital media conference for small and medium sized advertising agencies. It will be headlined by ZeFrank, one of my personal heros and creative crushes. Expect me to get tongue-tied when I meet him for the first time.
Create or die
As uncomfortable as this creative entrepreneur business is at times, I would not trade it.
I consider myself very lucky to have survived 14 years in business, making up my path as I go.
I love to create. It keeps me alive.
Thanks for going along for the ride, sharing your perspectives and encouragement. You have no idea how much that means.
Peace, love, and hoping I will soon have a finished book so I can say “Oops – I did it again!,”
[…] It has been awhile since I have checked in with you on my latest creative projects.Metaphor of the momentDo you remember the last day of high school? There is an air of excitement, and at the same time time, slight dread at leaving your childhood behind and starting “real life” at college.For some very disturbing […] Original post […]
Pam, I forgot to add that I believe it is deeper – more that “social acknowledgment.” Just as the mind/body does not know the difference between real and perceived stress, energetically, the mind/body releases energy through conversation, writing,… so many ways. It will have to “recharge”or be “recaptured” if you happen to release the dream energy before the book gets written.
I was just chatting with two other psychologist (I am one also) last week about letting go of the energy by “blabbing” about what you are writing. There was a consensus that “it depends” (psychology’s favorite word) on how much talking and to whom. Having said that, “I have a dream…” and you are in it!
Pam, it was largely due to a brief compliment from you that I got in touch with my publisher and agreed to start (and finish!) my book.
Will miss you in Vegas by a week, but will send you all the energy you certainly won’t need to produce your next book!
Pam, I’m intrigued to read what you’re creating next. Go, sis!
you are really hilarious and full of good inspiration and ideas! I’m glad that I found your blog—with the catchy title, how could I not have? Good luck with this next new project!
Happy to join the Backbone Advisory Council. Wishing you great luck and success with your project!
I LOVE YOU. Your transparency and bravery and you-ness. Brava!
Like Fabeku says, you inspire me. A lot.
🙂
You inspire me. A lot.
I don’t think I’ve said that lately. So here I am.
Keep writing! It will be so stick-a-licious !! (I’d be more better in my speaking here but the language that is my tongue or could be dripping off it done left the building after writing myself a whole lot.)
I’m so excited for your creative journey and the topic of your next book. Blessings on the journey!
Also: Ze Frank?! OMG OMG OMG *swoon*
Thanks my darling!
And seriously, you have no idea how big my ZeFrank crush is. I will take a picture for you, then call you screaming from my cellphone in the ladies room.
Perfect. I will scream right along with you 😀
Are you friggin kidding me? Serve and give back what I have gotten from the book, and tweets, and blog. Uh yes, a fan, follower and fellow diva jumps on board, ready to serve.
Ericka
You are the ultimate supporter and keeper of critical hilarity in times of stress. I will count on you!
weird, b/c i was thinking about the made to stick book this week, so its on the floor by my desk. At the ready. I will review it for both of us. 🙂
ALL I NEEEEED IS TIME…
A MOMENT THAT IS MINE…
WHIIIIIIIILE I’M IN BETWEEEEEEEEEEEN…
Sorry… *looks around*
You are the reason for my retracted Britney Spears metaphor.
Now I expect a video, be warned.
Argh. You temptress! How could I resist searching for fodder. That means that I have gone to britneyspears.com (for only a moment until I realized it would be difficult to explain to anyone passing my desk) and now know that I am so disturbed an individual that I will go to extremes to heckle you. I do try to be facetious rather than sarcastic.
Go, Pam, go! I am already signed up, ready to advise. Here’s some input now…
…I hope you’ll consider dealing with how the traditional educational system does, and mostly doesn’t, help us become remarkable.
Getting you busted for checking out britneyspears.com would not only make my day, it would make my YEAR. I count on your facetious heckling.
And you got a point there, it would be good to hit up the angle of “education as linchpin squisher.”
Get back to surfing the web! Er, work!
I love to see the change of seasons, where everyone begins to evaluate where they’re going. Derek may have something, because I feel major relief when I tell my plans, but then I never get anything done. Guess I need to zip my lip.
I am a notorious loose-lipper Michaela — it pains me to keep ideas inside. But I do see how it can be demotivating at times, so I will try to strike a balance.
Inspired by all that you’re up to Pam! This post made me think of the following quote:
“As every writer knows, there is something mysterious about the writer’s ability, on any given day, to write. When the juices are flowing, or the writer is ‘hot’, an invisible wall seems to fall away, and the writer moves easily and surely from one kind of reality to another.” – John Champlin Gardner Jr.
That’s lovely Sandi, thanks for sharing!