The Foundation for Mass Distribution of Your Ideas
And why I ignored it for decades...
It took 35 years.
In my exploration across the expression spectrum, I moved from art to music to dance to theater before finally ending up in writing.
There’s a part of me that wishes I had started with writing instead.
Why?
Ok, before I go further, I should confess that I actually started writing around the time I started music.
It just took a backseat and became something I occasionally did while I focused on the other areas throughout my life.
It just didn’t take center stage until a few years ago.
So…why do I wish I had honed this skill first?
Recording and capturing your thoughts provide profound clarity on:
Your identity
Your role in the world
Your skills in your career and hobbies
Your offer in your content empire and newsletter
Your ultimate purpose in life that transcends anything society throws at you
Writing accomplishes all of the above.
Here’s how I came to realize this the hard way (and why you need to start doing it right now).
What Writing Offers
The underlying foundation for every other form of expression is based in writing…
Yet I never understood its power or how it shaped me over the years.
If I were to go back and do it all over again, I’d focus more on maintaining the growth of my writing skills!
There are so many things that could have benefitted from the focus sooner:
mental health
critical thinking
clarity of thought
effective communication
lack of self consciousness
I could go on, but you get the picture.
Writing makes you a much better version of yourself!
In case my thesis wasn’t clear:
Writing is the quintessential form of expression.
It is the rawest form of communication across space and time.
Without it, there is no way to preserve the past or ensure the future.
But let’s not get too far into the philosophical realm of writing (I can do that another time)…
You’re here to see if I’ve got the balls to show you how I do it…
The Subtle Art of Not Sounding Like You Copied Someone Else
I hope Mark Manson doesn’t come after me for that little bit of irony.
Eh, it’s probably ok (he has a Medium account that I enjoy).
Ok, so here’s my framework AKA how I’ve been fumbling through this writing thing:
Capture an idea
Organize your thoughts
Write the draft as fast as you can
Leave it alone for at least 24 hours
Edit/Research/Edit more/Schedule it
Follow up and engage with responses
Revisit the idea to reflect and refine on comments
And I’ll confess that these days, a good portion of the framework is crammed into a day or two.
And yes, I’m sure you’ve seen some variant of this framework from so many others on Substack, but that’s because it really does work!
It’s too bad that I don’t do the fourth point often.
I don’t have the luxury to let my ideas rest like a nice, medium-rare steak before I toss it out into the wilderness.
Perhaps someday, I’ll join the ranks of those who serve up content with style.
Until then…yeah, this is about what it looks like.
Take it or leave it, but the idea is to write every single day.
These things take time and effort, neither of which you can skimp on if you want to expand your digital footprint to the point where people take notice…
which brings me to my most important rule…
The prime directive of writing
You may disagree with this, but it’s worked for me like gangbusters since day one:
Once discovered, do not interfere with the development of low-level ideas!
Let them take their natural course.
While, I’m at it, here’s something to supplement in case the motor in your brain is a bit chuggity chugga:
Steal like an artist…not like a thief.
I highly recommend reading
’s work...man those books made me feel like an idiot!I’m preaching to the choir, but in case you’ve never heard of him, please check out his work here as well as his books.
This Substack is still in development, and I have no clue how to provide any goodies that I want to put together...yet.
The point of this publication is simple:
I want to show you how I’m figuring out how to become a better writer!
This whole attempt is the gateway to my processes and what worked for me.
Prismatic thinking is the mindset that I’m putting together, and all the tidbits that I share here are a part of that system.
In order to think well, you must BE well…and you must WRITE well…
And again, it took me 35 years to get to this point, and I sure as shit hope this will save you the trouble.
Some rando thoughts to leave you with
As Kieran Drew puts it, write for the “Hell, yeah” response as opposed to the “Yeah, yeah” response.
If your writing is “meh” or “mid” or whatever passes for vanilla these days, then you’re not aligned with yourself or your passions.
Writing is a skill worth improving and exploring for no other reason than to help you “live out loud” as they say.
Here’s the thing, though…
This is not going to be easy.
It takes time and effort.
It takes blood, sweat, and tears.
It takes hours and hours of staring off into space.
Regardless of your age and skill level, the art known as writing is a never-ending pursuit.
As I see it, better late than never.
So pick it up sooner than later.