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Transcript

Focus on What You Can Control · The Daily Writer

• 0:04
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome to the Daily Writer, where we share a lesson each day to help you cultivate the habits for creative success.
• 0:12
  SPEAKER_00: So you were having a perfectly good streak.
• 0:15
  SPEAKER_00: Things were going well with your writing, and you were making great progress with your book, blog, client work, or something else that you were working on.
• 0:24
  SPEAKER_00: But then it happened.
• 0:26
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe it was family drama.
• 0:28
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe it was a work situation.
• 0:30
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe an appliance or a car broke down.
• 0:33
  SPEAKER_00: Or maybe there was political or social chaos that made it really hard for us to focus.
• 0:38
  SPEAKER_00: Whatever it was, it was an outside force that made it harder for you to get your writing done.
• 0:43
  SPEAKER_00: So what should you do?
• 0:45
  SPEAKER_00: How should you respond?
• 0:47
  SPEAKER_00: Well, here's a great example from the history books.
• 0:49
  SPEAKER_00: The second century Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius had plenty of distractions and crises coming at him every single day, especially in the years he spent away from home engaged in battle.
• 1:01
  SPEAKER_00: Yet he did not allow external events to determine the destiny of his thoughts.
• 1:06
  SPEAKER_00: Marcus compiled his private thoughts into a book that later became known as Meditations.
• 1:12
  SPEAKER_00: In one passage he wrote, You have power over your mind, not outside events.
• 1:18
  SPEAKER_00: Realize this, and you will find strength.
• 1:22
  SPEAKER_00: Well, you might be worried or frustrated by a lot of external events, but the only thing you ultimately control is your own mind.
• 1:30
  SPEAKER_00: You can't change what happens in Washington, D.C.
• 1:33
  SPEAKER_00: any more than you can control what your coworkers or family members do.
• 1:37
  SPEAKER_00: We may have some influence over the people around us, but ultimately we don't have full control.
• 1:43
  SPEAKER_00: So try not to waste your energy worrying about things that you don't have control over.
• 1:47
  SPEAKER_00: Focus on what you do control, your energy, your creative output, your words, your attitude, and your actions.
• 1:55
  SPEAKER_00: Then you can come to your writing from a position of strength and not weakness.
• 2:01
  SPEAKER_00: Hey, thanks so much for listening to today's episode.
• 2:03
  SPEAKER_00: I want to take just a moment to let you know about our Daily Writer membership community.
• 2:08
  SPEAKER_00: One of the very best ways to develop better habits and impact more people's lives with your writing is to spend time around other successful writers.
• 2:16
  SPEAKER_00: If you're tired of feeling isolated and chasing success on your own, you will love the Daily Writer community.
• 2:22
  SPEAKER_00: For years, I searched for the kind of writing community I would want to join.
• 2:27
  SPEAKER_00: I never could find what I wanted, so I ended up just creating one.
• 2:30
  SPEAKER_00: Some of the features of the Daily Writer community include weekly writing sprints, monthly community calls, help from writing mentors, calls with guest experts, many courses to help you be more productive and successful, and so much more.
• 2:44
  SPEAKER_00: For more info, you can visit dailywriterlife.comslash community.
• 2:49
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks so much, and I'll see you tomorrow.