I've written here before about the importance of transcribing the wisdom you consume. This is one of those blog posts. Chris Brogan is a prolific writer and thinker. His podcast, The Owner's Mind, is a mix of interviews and smart rambles. I love both formats. 

Chris recently released an episode where he spent time riffing on failure and success. He dropped so many pearls of wisdom that I had to keep stopping my walk with Max to take notes. Here's what I learned.

"Your excuses will never be as interesting as the story of how you got things done." 

One of the keys to success in business and in life is to start, start, and start again. When we start new projects we learn from the experiences. That knowledge brings us closer to success, so we must move forward and stop making excuses why we don't. As Chris said, "Your excuses will never be as interesting as the story of how you got things done." I love that!

Your persistence and promises will lead you to success. You need to focus on the promises that you make to yourself and to others. Have the strength to keep starting, but don't confuse being busy with progress. 

If you want to succeed you have to have successes. Starting can be fun, but we often don't love the follow through. If you are always starting something you are never finishing. The key is to make smaller goals and simpler wins. Feel that success and keeping pushing forward. 

Be sure to subscribe to Chris' killer email newsletter for more of his wisdom. 

What small wins can you achieve today? I just wrote a blog post. How about you?

My long-time, personal newsletter subscribers will attest, I have struggled to find my writing voice in the past. I'm thankful people like Chris Brogan are around to inspire me to be authentic by sharing what's on my mind. My wonderful subscribers have taken note, I have seen the difference in all of the replies I receive from each of my newsletters these days. Finding my voice has been a journey and Chris has certainly inspired me along the way. 

Chris Brogan will help you find your voice.

Chris and I have been long-time friends since my first Podcast New Media Expo in 2007. We also hung out on Twitter together quite regularly back in the heyday. Chris has always brought a refreshing breath of truth to everything he has written. I am a fan of all of his work, his personal newsletter, his blog, and his New York Times best-selling books. He is a master at helping people find their voice.

Chris' ninth book, Find Your Writing Voice: How to write more like your amazing self, for books, blog posts, and email is an instant hit in my opinion. He takes no time to get to the nitty gritty in this short, self-help book for people who want to write authentically. The following are ten takeaways from Find Your Writing Voice that will help you find your voice. Consider these as you start to scribble your next blog post.

10 tips to help you find your writing voice.

1. Write with your destination in mind.

2. Your voice will come to you the more you practice.

3. Write ten ideas every day. Shout out to James Altucher here.

4. Assign yourself to write 300 words each day.

5. Remember you are writing for one person. 

6. Read it out loud.

7. You have to talk about your topics in original ways.

8. Use small words, unless it's vital that you use big ones.

9. When you write to please someone other than yourself, you set yourself up for failure.

10. Be someone with an opinion.

I highly recommend you download a copy of Chris Brogan's Find Your Writing Voice. Chris goes into more details on each point above. He also breaks down how he strategically composes his blog posts, newsletters, and books. Readers are also invited to join a private Facebook Group to share with one another. 

If you are ready to find your voice and want people to discover your writing, you need to grab this quick read.

When I worked at that gas station, I had a regular customer who always cracked me up. He was an elderly man with a thick British accent. When he came in each week, I would ask him how he was. He would stare up into my eyes from his seat and give me a sly smile. 

"Do you have an hour? I am going to need about an hour or more to tell you how I am. It's a complicated question with a complex answer. I would love to tell you how I am. Will your boss mind if you slip away for sixty minutes to listen to me tell you how I am?" 

I would smile and awkwardly reply that I didn't think that would be possible. He would nod and explain that I should refrain from asking how he was doing if I didn’t really want to know the answer. I always laughed and appreciated his candor. 

The Business Rhetorical Question

The biggest business lie is the one you answer when someone asks you how your business is. I have heard this question hundreds of times at networking events and conferences. The answer we always hear is that business is great, we are very busy. It's a lie. 

The truth is that most people wouldn't attend networking events or conferences if business was booming. They attend to meet new people and hopefully land new business, and that's perfectly fine. That's part of what networking is all about.

I love Chris Brogan's take on the "busy" answer. He's not busy, he's blessed. 

Maybe the next time someone asks you how your business is you should be honest. Tell them you are seeking a new client. They may be able to provide you with an introduction, or perhaps they can hire you. Just don't take sixty minutes to answer their question.

Photo by María Victoria Heredia Reyes. 

I wrote yesterday about a regret I have. We all have regrets. Don't lie and say you don't. I have been thinking about this lately because I sometimes compare myself to others I admire. Once again, something I shouldn't do, but I do - you do it too. 

Heather has girlfriends she gets together with once a year who she met in college. I always hear stories from friends about their college days. I get envious and I wish I had done the same thing, but I didn't. 

I Wish Had...

Fill in the blank, I wish I had ________________________________________________. Now replace "I wish had" with "I am glad I". 

I Am Glad I...

I am glad I went to university for night classes and on weekends because I approached it in a much more mature way. I built relationships with faculty who I am still in touch with today. I excelled in my classes because I took them so much more seriously than I would have out of high school. I did it while I worked during the day and while Heather was pregnant. I remember it fondly. 

I wish I had become a speaker, so I would be in as much demand as some of my peers like Scott Stratten, Mitch Joel, and Chris Brogan. 

I am glad I waited to become a speaker until later because I am much more rehearsed and knowledgeable about the topics I speak on now. I am glad I didn't speak before studying improv with Second City, because I know how to read an audience and deliver content that leaves them thinking, inspired and laughing. 

What about you? 

I Wish Had... 

I Am Glad I...