I like to build habits for things I want to do more of and less of. I’ve been writing like mad these days: blogging here and on my business site, writing a geographically distributed teams book with a colleague, and writing other articles and books. I’ve been writing every day—not necessarily a lot, but every
Are You On a Streak? Read More »
I was talking with my father recently about my writing workshops. I’m finishing the last touches on the first one and hope to finally make it available for registration any day now. (Famous last words.) I explained that even though people signed up for the workshops knowing they would do 15-30 minutes a day of
When Do You Suffer from FEAR? Read More »
A few weeks ago, Mark coined the term, “excessively above average.” Since then, he’s used it for his progress on rehabbing his Achilles tendon post-surgery, my hyperbole, and other things, such as my book sales. We laugh every time we use the term. I like to be above average in almost everything. And, that’s quite
When are You Excessively Above Average? Read More »
I’ve been taking online and in-person workshops for several years now. I took a week-long in-person writing workshop last year and learned a ton. We had writing and technique assignments. Our instructor told us to complete the writing first and then write the techniques. I did the writing and didn’t complete one of the technique
What Does Success in Learning Look Like to You? Read More »
I’ve been working on several things these weeks, slowly moving them to done. I have workshops for Agile 2016, books in progress, monthly columns, and my non-fiction writing. As I reviewed previous workshop designs, I realized I’m a lot better at designing workshops than I was, say, ten years ago. Since I’m in a huge
How Are You Better or Worse? Read More »
Given that I’ve published so much, I meet people who say, “I want to write. But, I need to wait for a good time to write.” Or, they say they need an outline or permission from someone—a boss or a spouse. I can be pretty sure about one thing: these people will never write anything. The
What Are You Waiting For? Read More »
I’m teaching a writing workshop. Writers have all kinds of problems. A common problem is the feeling of Imposter Syndrome. “Who am I to write this? Will anyone believe me? Is it valuable?” Imposter Syndrome arises when you think you’re not capable. Or, that your success arose from luck, not your hard work. There’s a
How Confident Are You? Read More »
On vacation, I saw a young girl—maybe 5 years old—throw a ring into the pool and carefully put her head into the water to retrieve it. When she started, she wasn’t very good. Over the course of three days, she became quite good. She hesitated less. She threw the ring farther. She started using her
Can You Think, “Until Now”? Read More »
We get caught up in our daily routines. I certainly do. Every so often, I have to ask myself, “Where have I stretched, where have I tried to grow?” One of the reasons I like to go to conferences is that I get a chance to try out ideas on people. What will they think?
How Are You Growing? Read More »
I often discover that I want to start things that I have no idea how to do. Does that ever happen to you? When I wanted to learn needlepoint back in high school, it was easy. I learned that from a book. I made several needlepoints. I practiced until I got good. I mastered it.
How Do I Start Something When I Don’t Know How? Read More »