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The Most Important Work You Do is on Yourself · The Daily Writer

• 0:06
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome to the Daily Rider Podcast, where we bring you tips and inspiration each day to help you build habits for writing success.
• 0:14
  SPEAKER_00: For more resources, including your free Daily Rider Starter Kit, visit Daily RiderLife.com.
• 0:22
  SPEAKER_00: We're doing a short series on perspectives that go against conventional wisdom.
• 0:26
  SPEAKER_00: And if you're just not joining us for this short series, I encourage you to go back and catch the last few entries.
• 0:31
  SPEAKER_00: This is really good stuff.
• 0:32
  SPEAKER_00: Now, of course, I'm going to say that, but it is really good stuff.
• 0:35
  SPEAKER_00: This is important stuff too.
• 0:37
  SPEAKER_00: It's not just good stuff, quote unquote.
• 0:38
  SPEAKER_00: This is really important stuff.
• 0:40
  SPEAKER_00: It's not just about writing.
• 0:41
  SPEAKER_00: This is kind of a series about your life.
• 0:43
  SPEAKER_00: So seriously, if you're just not joining us, go back and listen to those episodes or re-listen to them.
• 0:49
  SPEAKER_00: I think they're good enough to listen to a second time.
• 0:52
  SPEAKER_00: All right, let's dive into today's episode.
• 0:54
  SPEAKER_00: Here's the thing: we all want to have successful books.
• 0:56
  SPEAKER_00: As artists and storytellers, we want to write a great American novel that's a New York Times bestseller.
• 1:02
  SPEAKER_00: We want to build a successful, profitable business.
• 1:05
  SPEAKER_00: Or we have some other kind of dream that's really important to us.
• 1:09
  SPEAKER_00: Are those things important?
• 1:10
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, of course they are.
• 1:12
  SPEAKER_00: But those things are not the most important work that you do.
• 1:15
  SPEAKER_00: In fact, they're not even close.
• 1:17
  SPEAKER_00: They might be a distant second.
• 1:19
  SPEAKER_00: Because the most important work that you do is the work that you do on yourself.
• 1:24
  SPEAKER_00: The best energy you can put into your writing is not the energy that goes into your book, but the energy that goes into your mental and emotional health.
• 1:33
  SPEAKER_00: So I've got to ask you, are you taking care of yourself physically?
• 1:36
  SPEAKER_00: Are you exercising and eating a decent diet?
• 1:39
  SPEAKER_00: Do you have friends you can call in times of trouble?
• 1:41
  SPEAKER_00: Are you involved in some kind of community where you live?
• 1:44
  SPEAKER_00: Do you read every day and take a few moments for gratitude and meditation?
• 1:48
  SPEAKER_00: Are you getting enough rest and hydration?
• 1:51
  SPEAKER_00: Do you have a hobby or do you take time to relax so you're not spending all your time working?
• 1:56
  SPEAKER_00: Well, those are pretty fundamental questions, but I think they're really important.
• 2:00
  SPEAKER_00: If you focus on your creative work all the time, but you neglect working on yourself, which is the source of the creative work, you're eventually gonna crash and burn.
• 2:08
  SPEAKER_00: You're gonna have a train wreck of some kind.
• 2:10
  SPEAKER_00: And I want you to be successful and healthy over the long haul, not just for the immediate term when you're working on something that you perceive to be so important.
• 2:18
  SPEAKER_00: Now, is that work important?
• 2:20
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 2:21
  SPEAKER_00: But the most important thing you're ever going to work on is yourself.
• 2:25
  SPEAKER_00: So here's today's question Are you spending time each day working on yourself?
• 2:30
  SPEAKER_00: And in what ways specifically are you doing that?
• 2:33
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks for listening, and I'll catch you tomorrow.