Everybody Should Write featuring Matthew Kelly

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So he has been writing for forever. That's a lot of books. So have you ever thought about writing a book? Or maybe you thought about journaling. You hear about the power of journaling and maybe it's just not a practice that you have on a regular basis. Matthew talks about how everyone should write.

Maybe not a book, but everyone should write. Let's hear what he has to say.

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Why they say that, I'm not sure. Perhaps they're trying to encourage those who feel called to write. But the effect it has on the rest of people is twofold. It either makes them feel less than, or places a burden on them that is difficult one to carry. Many people in the latter group set out to write a book, commit years of their lives to it, and only a fraction ever bring that book to print.

The rest feel in some way like failures, but console themselves with the idea that it was good for them as an exercise. I have a different view. I do believe everyone should write, just not a book. One of the reasons to write is because it is one of the simplest ways to express our fruitfulness. It is a generative activity.

At every stage of life, human beings unconsciously search for ways to be generative. And writing is one of the most powerful, fruitful, and simple expressions of generativity. So what should you write? The answers to this question are myriad, but I will give you just three recommendations to get you started. Number one, letters.

Emails, if you prefer. to sit down and write someone a handwritten letter is becoming a lost art, and a personalized letter in the mailbox has never been more rare or meaningful. Become a man or woman of letters. This is one option. Number two, journal. Keep a journal. It doesn't have to be every day. It doesn't have to be for the rest of your life.

Perhaps do it for one day a week, for a year. As the weeks pass, go back and read earlier entries. It's amazing how your perspective on your own life will change as you move further away from events that you've journaled about. This leads us to think differently about our decisions, challenges, And opportunities before us.

It also leads us to understand other people and their actions with more compassion and understanding. And number three, keep a dream book. For more than 50 years, it has been popular for people to write down their dreams when they wake up in the morning and there can be real insight gained through this exercise.

But that's not the type of dream book I'm speaking of here. In my late teens, I started keeping a dream book. Things I wanted to do and see. People I wanted to meet. Habits and virtues I wanted to develop. Places I wanted to travel and see. Things I hoped to accomplish. And so many other things. When I wrote The Dream Manager, 20 years later, I encouraged people to pursue their dreams.

But first, to write them down. There is something very powerful about writing our dreams down. There is something about it that claims them. It claims them. once they are written down, we begin to work toward them, consciously and unconsciously. Little by little. Returning to my dream book, many years later, I have always been surprised at what my dreams were.

Which ones I chose to hold on to. Which ones I chose to let go, and how many have come to fruition. Everyone should write. I believe that. These are three powerful and practical ways to do that without taking on the immense burden of writing a book. I invite you to try one and allow the generativity of writing to enrich this time in your life and the lives of those around you.

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It came out in June and it was a really interesting project.it was harder than I thought it was going to be because of what Matthew talked about. when you're writing a book, you have to get all of those thoughts out of your head, onto the page, and then structuring them in a way that makes sense to someone that doesn't know you, it makes sense, and it's holding people's attention.

we have to write in a way that is engaging, We want to read things that are easy reads. That's why We love so much of Matthew's work, because he takes these really complex ideas and simplifies them. And he also encourages us to take action in our lives in small ways, in ways that we feel are tangible.

writing a book is challenging. Now, this isn't to say that you shouldn't write a book, because if you have a dream of writing a book, you should absolutely do whatever you need to do to achieve that dream. writing a book was a dream of mine for over a decade. And I finally decided, hey, I'm really going to get into this and take some time to create a writing habit.

a writing habit doesn't necessarily mean that you have to write a book. I love that Matthew talks about journaling. Journaling is so powerful. In fact, we work with so many leaders and oftentimes some of the leaders that I get to coach, I share journaling prompts with them. When we're finished with the coaching session, I will say, OK.

here's one to three journaling prompts that I really want you to sit down and write on before our next session. and I'll come up with those writing prompts based on the conversation that I had with them that day. Because often times when we are frustrated or when we are dealing with fear, anxiety, overwhelm, all these things, it comes down to clarifying what the real challenge is for us.

when we journal, when we take some time every day, even if it's just a couple minutes to just write out your thoughts, your feelings, what's going on in your mind, what's going on in your head, you're going to come up with some solutions to some of those challenges. And if you don't, just the act of writing out those feelings just helps get them out.

And you start to feel a little bit more ease simply because you're getting them out. Sometimes I've had clients say to me, Oh my gosh, just journaling. Made me recognize how ridiculous my feelings were meaning they were overthinking or they were not giving themselves credit for the work that they've done and much they have accomplished because we can sometimes be our own worst critic and so maybe we do get to recognize a little bit about how silly some of our thoughts are when we get them out onto the page and we can Come up with some new ways to move forward some more productive ways some healthier ways to move forward So journaling is such a powerful practice every day and also, of course handwritten notes

what do we get in the mail? We get lots of promotions and direct mail pieces and we get bills And so when you get a handwritten note from someone in your life, someone that you met, maybe at a networking event, maybe an old friend that you haven't talked to in a while.

Oh my gosh, it's such a wonderful thing. And sitting down and writing a note to someone, it also encourages us to think about that person, what we appreciate about them, why we really appreciate them in our lives, the things about them that make them unique and special and it's a great gesture. That would absolutely make someone's day. I hope that you found this episode helpful. I hope it inspired you in some way to start a writing habit or a writing practice of your own.

and if you are interested in writing a book or developing this kind of practice or any habit that you've been really wanting to put in place in your life and you just haven't done it because maybe you're lacking some of that accountability, then we would love to talk to you about coaching and what coaching might look like for you.

And so if you're interested in potentially having a coach over the next 12 months. To really help you become the best version of yourself. We invite you to go to floydcoaching. com, check that out, and one of our coaches will have a conversation with you and decide where you are today, where you want to go, and then your coach can help you achieve some of those dreams.

Thank you so much for listening to this episode. Until next time, lead with culture.