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3 Reasons Why You Must Write · The Daily Writer

• 0:11
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome to the weekend edition of the Daily Writer.
• 0:15
  SPEAKER_00: Each weekday, we bring you a short lesson that helps you live out the four practices of a great writer: creativity, consistency, courage, and connection.
• 0:25
  SPEAKER_00: Here on the weekend edition, we take a deeper dive into those topics through conversations with writers, as well as teaching that helps us apply what we're learning.
• 0:34
  SPEAKER_00: For more, you can visit us at dailywriterlife.com.
• 0:40
  SPEAKER_00: Let's go on a little journey together.
• 0:43
  SPEAKER_00: Imagine it's the day of your funeral.
• 0:46
  SPEAKER_00: People are sitting around a table telling stories after the service.
• 0:49
  SPEAKER_00: These are the ones who knew you personally.
• 0:52
  SPEAKER_00: They're telling stories about the funny things you did, your accomplishments, and your legacy.
• 0:58
  SPEAKER_00: Your memory is kept alive by their memories.
• 1:01
  SPEAKER_00: Those people can tell stories about you because they knew you, they interacted with you, and they loved you.
• 1:08
  SPEAKER_00: I've heard it said that you're never truly gone as long as your memory is kept alive, and I suppose that's true.
• 1:15
  SPEAKER_00: It'll certainly be the case the day of your funeral because those are the people who knew you personally.
• 1:21
  SPEAKER_00: But fast forward 25 years into the future.
• 1:25
  SPEAKER_00: Your kids and grandkids are grown, and there's a new generation who's grown up with no personal memories of you.
• 1:31
  SPEAKER_00: The only way they can access stories and information about your life is through what other people tell them.
• 1:37
  SPEAKER_00: There are still pictures and videos stored online somewhere, probably in the cloud or on a dusty hard drive, but those are one step away from having a personal relationship with you.
• 1:48
  SPEAKER_00: The ones who knew you personally haven't talked to you in at least 25 years, and their memory is already fading.
• 1:56
  SPEAKER_00: Fast forward 50 years after your death.
• 2:00
  SPEAKER_00: We're getting further and further away from those who knew you personally.
• 2:04
  SPEAKER_00: The only ones still alive who knew you personally knew you as kids or young adults, and now they're old.
• 2:10
  SPEAKER_00: They have their own kids and grandkids, and the stories about your life are becoming more distant and more faded with every passing year.
• 2:19
  SPEAKER_00: Somewhere buried in a basement, someone might have some pictures or other mementos of your life tucked away.
• 2:26
  SPEAKER_00: Jump ahead another 25 years.
• 2:29
  SPEAKER_00: It's now 75 years after you've been gone.
• 2:33
  SPEAKER_00: There might be a few people alive who still knew you personally, but when they did, they would have been small kids and their memories as older people are now very few.
• 2:42
  SPEAKER_00: They wouldn't have known you enough to probably have any meaningful memories about you or your story unless somebody in the family took the care to record them.
• 2:52
  SPEAKER_00: Let's do one more.
• 2:54
  SPEAKER_00: Jump ahead another 25 years.
• 2:56
  SPEAKER_00: It's now 100 years after your death.
• 3:00
  SPEAKER_00: Several generations have grown up since then, and there's not a single person alive who knew you personally.
• 3:06
  SPEAKER_00: Your kids and grandkids are probably gone as well.
• 3:10
  SPEAKER_00: The technology and media landscape by that time will have changed so many times that the ancient video and audio files and even the social media archives from over a hundred years ago when you were still alive have either been erased or archived in some vast collection of human data.
• 3:28
  SPEAKER_00: But even if your great-great-grandkids, generations after you can access all that stuff, what would they find?
• 3:35
  SPEAKER_00: They'll find birth and death records, some legal documents perhaps, and maybe a bunch of random social media posts if Facebook is still around.
• 3:44
  SPEAKER_00: But how will they know you?
• 3:46
  SPEAKER_00: What will they know about your story, your faith, your hopes and dreams, your ideas, and most of all, what your life meant.
• 3:56
  SPEAKER_00: Well, this may all sound like an interesting emotional exercise, and I don't mean for it to be depressing, but it's more than just a thought experiment.
• 4:04
  SPEAKER_00: This is exactly the type of situation I found myself in as I tried to learn about my grandmother Louise.
• 4:11
  SPEAKER_00: My grandmother Louise is where I got my artistic bent.
• 4:15
  SPEAKER_00: She died when I was three years old.
• 4:17
  SPEAKER_00: I don't have any memories of her, but I do have pictures and a few minutes of home movies that my grandfather took in the mid-1970s.
• 4:25
  SPEAKER_00: And of course, my dad and other relatives still have lots of memories of her, but again, she died when I was three years old.
• 4:32
  SPEAKER_00: She was 47 years old, in fact, when she passed away, the exact age I will be later this year.
• 4:39
  SPEAKER_00: One of my most prized possessions is a ragged Scotty Brand notebook from the 1970s.
• 4:45
  SPEAKER_00: And in that paper notebook, my grandmother wrote poems.
• 4:49
  SPEAKER_00: I have those poems in her handwriting, and in fact, she was a great poet.
• 4:54
  SPEAKER_00: Whenever I read her poetry, it's obvious there's a kinship between us in the way that we thought and how we looked at the world.
• 5:01
  SPEAKER_00: And those written pages of poetry are by far the best way that I have to know my grandmother Louise.
• 5:07
  SPEAKER_00: But the only reason I have those pages is because she took the time to write them down.
• 5:13
  SPEAKER_00: And that's what I want to share with you on this episode.
• 5:16
  SPEAKER_00: The power of writing, and why I hope that you will consider making writing a big priority in your life.
• 5:22
  SPEAKER_00: In fact, I want to share three reasons why I believe you must write.
• 5:27
  SPEAKER_00: Number one is that writing changes the world.
• 5:30
  SPEAKER_00: Now, I know this sounds kind of grandiose, but just hear me out for a minute.
• 5:35
  SPEAKER_00: Now, I'm a person of faith, so we're going to look at this from a biblical perspective as well as a historical and a personal perspective.
• 5:43
  SPEAKER_00: First, a biblical perspective.
• 5:46
  SPEAKER_00: Here's a question for you.
• 5:48
  SPEAKER_00: How do we have the Bible?
• 5:50
  SPEAKER_00: Well, we have it because people wrote it.
• 5:53
  SPEAKER_00: When God revealed his word to us, he chose to use writing, and it's collected in a book for us.
• 5:59
  SPEAKER_00: Now, I don't want to minimize the role of divine inspiration or anything like that, but think of the sheer work involved in writing the Bible.
• 6:08
  SPEAKER_00: We sometimes forget about the Bible authors as gifted authors and editors.
• 6:13
  SPEAKER_00: When God wanted to tell his story, he did so with writers and editors.
• 6:18
  SPEAKER_00: Second, a historical perspective.
• 6:20
  SPEAKER_00: I often tell people that writers rule the world.
• 6:23
  SPEAKER_00: In fact, it's one of my favorite phrases.
• 6:25
  SPEAKER_00: Now, of course I'm being a little dramatic when I say something like that, but here's why I say that writers rule the world.
• 6:32
  SPEAKER_00: Every movie or TV show you see, every play, every book, every article, every speech given by a president or someone else, every history book, every song you hear, every poem, every law, they're all written by somebody.
• 6:49
  SPEAKER_00: Writers determine the course of culture, society, and history.
• 6:53
  SPEAKER_00: If you want to be part of history, or even better, if you want to make history, you must write.
• 7:00
  SPEAKER_00: Third, a personal perspective on why writing changes the world.
• 7:04
  SPEAKER_00: A couple of years ago, I got a Facebook message from a teenage girl in Calcutta, India.
• 7:09
  SPEAKER_00: She had seen my book, The Artist Suitcase, and she was wondering how she could get a copy of it.
• 7:13
  SPEAKER_00: So I got on the Amazon India site and I sent her the link to it.
• 7:17
  SPEAKER_00: A few months later, she said how much the book had helped her in the wake of her best friend's suicide.
• 7:23
  SPEAKER_00: It sounds crazy, right?
• 7:25
  SPEAKER_00: But that's what happens whenever you put your writing out there.
• 7:28
  SPEAKER_00: It impacts people and it changes lives.
• 7:49
  SPEAKER_00: How will they know about your ideas, your wisdom, your faith, and your legacy?
• 7:55
  SPEAKER_00: Well, I believe the best way to guarantee that is to have a print book that'll be around for generations.
• 8:01
  SPEAKER_00: I want my great-great-grandkids to know what I thought, what I felt, what my life was like, and that's a big reason why I write books.
• 8:09
  SPEAKER_00: But it's not just books in general, it's print books specifically.
• 8:14
  SPEAKER_00: Now, yes, books are a business and books can bring you income, and those are definitely good things, but just in terms of a legacy, there's absolutely nothing better than a book to help you ensure that you'll be remembered in 100 years.
• 8:27
  SPEAKER_00: We have such a short-term frame of mind in the modern world.
• 8:30
  SPEAKER_00: We can't even think past the next week or two.
• 8:33
  SPEAKER_00: Especially with the last year of this crazy pandemic, it's hard to think long term because so many people have just been trying to get through the day.
• 8:41
  SPEAKER_00: But if you want to ensure that you pass on your values and your story, not just to your kids or grandkids, but to their kids and grandkids, then you simply have to write a book.
• 8:52
  SPEAKER_00: And if writing your story sounds intimidating, then please get in touch with me.
• 8:56
  SPEAKER_00: I'm a ghostwriter, as you probably know, and I've written many books, and I would love to help you tell your story if you want to pass it down to your kids, grandkids, and other future generations.
• 9:07
  SPEAKER_00: Well, third and finally, writing changes you.
• 9:12
  SPEAKER_00: There's a huge sense of satisfaction that comes from finishing a big project.
• 9:16
  SPEAKER_00: And I cannot begin to tell you how good it feels to complete something that eight out of ten people say they want to do, but only a very small number of people actually accomplish.
• 9:25
  SPEAKER_00: And of course, I'm talking about writing a book.
• 9:28
  SPEAKER_00: Everybody says they want to do it, but hardly anybody actually does.
• 9:32
  SPEAKER_00: And the reason why is because it's hard.
• 9:35
  SPEAKER_00: But once you do it, it gives you so much confidence.
• 9:38
  SPEAKER_00: You know, whenever you write a blog, whenever you do a podcast, whenever you post on social media, all those things have value, but there's something magical and there's something unique and special about writing a book.
• 9:49
  SPEAKER_00: It gives you confidence so you can tackle even bigger things.
• 9:53
  SPEAKER_00: Now, a book can also bring really interesting blessings into your life.
• 9:57
  SPEAKER_00: One of the big reasons that I like to do ghostwriting is because a book is a high value item that shows your authority and your credibility to other people.
• 10:06
  SPEAKER_00: And a client can use a book to show their expertise and get more business.
• 10:10
  SPEAKER_00: But the cool thing is that you can do the exact same thing as well.
• 10:13
  SPEAKER_00: When you're an author, people respect that.
• 10:16
  SPEAKER_00: People know it's a lot of hard work to write a book.
• 10:18
  SPEAKER_00: And whenever they know you're an author, your status goes up in their eyes immediately.
• 10:24
  SPEAKER_00: Every copy of your book that people read or listen to is sort of like a little soldier that goes out and recruits people for you.
• 10:31
  SPEAKER_00: It's working on your behalf.
• 10:34
  SPEAKER_00: And people that you've never heard of will get in touch with you whenever you write a book and put it out into the world.
• 10:38
  SPEAKER_00: Old friends will ask about your book as well.
• 10:41
  SPEAKER_00: They'll say, Man, I haven't seen you for 20 years.
• 10:43
  SPEAKER_00: You've written a book.
• 10:44
  SPEAKER_00: That's really, really cool.
• 10:45
  SPEAKER_00: So whenever you put a book out there into the world, interesting opportunities will start to come your way just because you took the time and effort to put your thoughts and to put your knowledge into the form of a book.
• 10:57
  SPEAKER_00: So whenever you write, it changes the world, it changes your family, and ultimately it changes you as well.
• 11:04
  SPEAKER_00: So let's tie this back to the beginning of this episode.
• 11:08
  SPEAKER_00: Imagine a hundred years after you're gone, one of your great-great-grandkids, or perhaps somebody else, they want to find out more about your life.
• 11:17
  SPEAKER_00: Where would they turn?
• 11:18
  SPEAKER_00: How would they go about actually doing that?
• 11:20
  SPEAKER_00: Well, fortunately, because you wrote a book, you've put down your knowledge, your story, your faith, and your ideas into a form that they can actually read and experience.
• 11:31
  SPEAKER_00: They don't have to guess.
• 11:33
  SPEAKER_00: They don't have to rely on a few pictures or random social media posts.
• 11:37
  SPEAKER_00: Your story and your knowledge are not lost to the sands of history.
• 11:41
  SPEAKER_00: They're preserved for future generations.
• 11:45
  SPEAKER_00: So let me ask you two very simple questions.
• 11:48
  SPEAKER_00: Number one, if not you, then who?
• 11:52
  SPEAKER_00: Who's going to write your story?
• 11:54
  SPEAKER_00: Who's going to share your wisdom and your knowledge?
• 11:56
  SPEAKER_00: Who's going to tell the stories of how you overcame the challenges you've dealt with in this life?
• 12:01
  SPEAKER_00: Well, nobody else but you can do this.
• 12:04
  SPEAKER_00: Of course, unless you hire a ghostwriter.
• 12:07
  SPEAKER_00: Number two, if not now, then when?
• 12:10
  SPEAKER_00: You know, we all have the same amount of time in this life.
• 12:13
  SPEAKER_00: We all have 24 hours in a day.
• 12:16
  SPEAKER_00: Life is never going to be easy and things are never going to slow down.
• 12:20
  SPEAKER_00: There's always going to be something else happening.
• 12:23
  SPEAKER_00: And you've got to write in the midst of an imperfect life.
• 12:26
  SPEAKER_00: So don't wait till life is perfect.
• 12:28
  SPEAKER_00: Just do it now.
• 12:29
  SPEAKER_00: Just get started now.
• 12:31
  SPEAKER_00: Hamilton is one of my favorite musicals and in fact one of my favorite pieces of entertainment of all time.
• 12:36
  SPEAKER_00: And in that musical Hamilton, Eliza Hamilton asked her husband Alexander, why do you write like you're running out of time?
• 12:45
  SPEAKER_00: Well, the answer is that we're all running out of time.
• 12:48
  SPEAKER_00: It wasn't just Alexander, it's you, it's me, it's everybody.
• 12:52
  SPEAKER_00: One day the sand in your hourglass is going to run out.
• 12:57
  SPEAKER_00: And the people who knew you personally in this life, they'll tell your story for years after you're gone, but one day their sand is going to run out too.
• 13:05
  SPEAKER_00: And many years into the future, all that will be left are the words that you wrote.
• 13:10
  SPEAKER_00: Well, I certainly hope that's not a depressing thought.
• 13:13
  SPEAKER_00: Instead, I intend for that to be a very hopeful thought.
• 13:16
  SPEAKER_00: And the reason is because you have the power to change your life and to change the world right now with your writing.
• 13:23
  SPEAKER_00: You don't have to wait till sometime in the future.
• 13:25
  SPEAKER_00: You can get started today.
• 13:27
  SPEAKER_00: But it's not just about right now, it's also about the future.
• 13:30
  SPEAKER_00: You can leave something behind for those who come after you.
• 13:33
  SPEAKER_00: You can leave your knowledge, your wisdom, and your experience so you can impact people not just now, but for generations to come.
• 13:42
  SPEAKER_00: Well, if you're wondering how to get started with all this, if writing a book or writing anything sounds really, really overwhelming, I want to let you know that the best way to get started with this is to be part of our daily writer membership community.
• 13:54
  SPEAKER_00: Now, you've heard me promote this on the podcast before, and you know, I'm kind of like you.
• 13:58
  SPEAKER_00: I listen to podcasts a lot, and sometimes when people promote stuff on their show, it can get a little bit annoying because you're like, oh man, I've heard an ad for that 16 times already.
• 14:08
  SPEAKER_00: And, you know, I they keep talking about it and talking about it.
• 14:12
  SPEAKER_00: Well, I can't speak for any other podcaster, but I can definitely speak for myself.
• 14:16
  SPEAKER_00: And what I want you to know is that I initially did not want to create this community.
• 14:20
  SPEAKER_00: I'm just gonna be really, really honest with you.
• 14:22
  SPEAKER_00: You know, I believe in just being kind of brutally honest with people uh sometimes.
• 14:27
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm just gonna be brutally honest with you.
• 14:29
  SPEAKER_00: This is something I resisted for a long time.
• 14:31
  SPEAKER_00: And then I was at a retreat last fall with a group of entrepreneurs, and one of those people looked at me and they said, if you really believe that you can help people through doing a membership community for writers, then you will be doing people a disservice if you do not have the courage to do this.
• 14:49
  SPEAKER_00: And it was in that moment I knew that it was something that I had to do, even though I had never done it before, even though I didn't really know what I was doing when I started, I vowed in that moment that I was gonna have to find a way to get this done.
• 15:00
  SPEAKER_00: And I have.
• 15:02
  SPEAKER_00: And so I want to let you know this is something I did not do lightly.
• 15:05
  SPEAKER_00: This is something that means a lot to me.
• 15:07
  SPEAKER_00: I am kind of I'm pouring a lot of time and energy into this group because I believe in it.
• 15:12
  SPEAKER_00: I believe in the power of community to change your life.
• 15:16
  SPEAKER_00: Otherwise, I wouldn't do it.
• 15:17
  SPEAKER_00: There's a lot easier ways to make money and uh, you know, to impact people's lives rather than gathering a community and getting really involved in people's lives and all that stuff.
• 15:28
  SPEAKER_00: But I believe that's how people actually change, which is why I'm doing this.
• 15:31
  SPEAKER_00: So I just want to let you know this is a very, very special thing that I'm doing.
• 15:35
  SPEAKER_00: I'm heavily involved there.
• 15:36
  SPEAKER_00: People are accomplishing really, really amazing things in this group.
• 15:40
  SPEAKER_00: And um, to be really honest with you, I'm having to up my personal game because people are accomplishing so much in this group.
• 15:47
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm looking at all the cool things people in the Daily Rider group are doing, and I'm like, oh my gosh, I've got a lot, I've got to get more serious about my own writing.
• 15:55
  SPEAKER_00: You know, I can't just lead a group or do a podcast.
• 15:58
  SPEAKER_00: I like got to get on the stick with my own stuff as well.
• 16:00
  SPEAKER_00: So uh that's what happens when you're a part of a group.
• 16:03
  SPEAKER_00: It raises you up to another level, and it's really, really a cool thing.
• 16:07
  SPEAKER_00: So I would love for you to check this out.
• 16:09
  SPEAKER_00: You can go to daily riderlife.com slash community.
• 16:12
  SPEAKER_00: There's info about the group there.
• 16:14
  SPEAKER_00: There's an application, and I would absolutely love for you to check it out.
• 16:17
  SPEAKER_00: Um, it's really, really affordable.
• 16:19
  SPEAKER_00: You know, I have not priced this at a crazy high amount or anything like that.
• 16:22
  SPEAKER_00: So please do this.
• 16:23
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I believe in you, and I believe in the power of this group to absolutely change your life.
• 16:28
  SPEAKER_00: All right, that's it for this episode.
• 16:30
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks so much for listening, and I will see you tomorrow.