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Growth = Friction · The Daily Writer

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: Hey my friend, welcome to The Daily Writer, where we help writers become authors of their own lives.
• 0:07
  SPEAKER_00: Let's talk about what happens when you grow as a writer.
• 0:11
  SPEAKER_00: Everybody wants the positive results of growth, of course, but it often comes with unexpected consequences.
• 0:18
  SPEAKER_00: Why?
• 0:19
  SPEAKER_00: Because growth equals friction.
• 0:22
  SPEAKER_00: Growth can come in many forms, such as getting into better shape, starting a business you've been talking about for years, writing your first book, launching a podcast, leaving a destructive relationship, or even fighting for a relationship others have given up on.
• 0:39
  SPEAKER_00: And whenever you decide to grow, don't be surprised if some people get uncomfortable with your progress.
• 0:45
  SPEAKER_00: Why?
• 0:46
  SPEAKER_00: Because it challenges the stories other people tell themselves about why they can't change.
• 0:52
  SPEAKER_00: Case in point, a friend of mine has gotten into the best shape of her life.
• 0:57
  SPEAKER_00: She exercises, lifts weights, and runs races.
• 1:00
  SPEAKER_00: Yet she's always getting quote-unquote advice about diet and exercise from a friend of hers who never takes care of herself.
• 1:09
  SPEAKER_00: Now, I know that's frustrating, but when you have these types of people in your life, use it for fuel to keep shooting higher.
• 1:16
  SPEAKER_00: For example, when I was working on my book, The Artist Suitcase, about 10 years ago, my wife had dinner with an old college friend of hers, and she shared the book idea with her friend who snarkily said, Seriously, Kent thinks he can write a book?
• 1:31
  SPEAKER_00: He's still holding on to those old college writing dreams?
• 1:34
  SPEAKER_00: Well, needless to say, that was a huge motivation for me finishing the book when my wife told her about her friend's comment.
• 1:41
  SPEAKER_00: And yes, I am definitely still holding on to those old college writing dreams and doing pretty well with it, if I must say.
• 1:49
  SPEAKER_00: So don't be surprised that your growth brings out the worst in some people.
• 1:53
  SPEAKER_00: When you grow, you're destabilizing relational systems where nobody expects anything much of anybody else.
• 2:00
  SPEAKER_00: And again, the principle here is that growth equals friction, and the result of that is that friction causes heat, which is why some people get so heated up whenever you decide you're going to grow.
• 2:12
  SPEAKER_00: Many people will celebrate your success, of course, but some people will flat out tear you down.
• 2:17
  SPEAKER_00: And that's simply the price of growth and why you have to level up your relationships along the way.
• 2:24
  SPEAKER_00: The truth is that every meaningful chapter in your life is going to create some friction, but it's just a sign that you're on the right path.
• 2:31
  SPEAKER_00: And it's also evidence that you're finally writing a new ending to your story.
• 2:36
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks for listening.
• 2:38
  SPEAKER_00: Keep writing, keep showing up, and I'll see you tomorrow.