Transcript

What If? · 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 DailyWriterLife.com.
0:22
SPEAKER_00: In the late 1990s and early 2000s, the military historian Robert Cowley coordinated a fascinating series of books called What If?
0:32
SPEAKER_00: And the series featured essays by prominent historians, each looking at a particular what if question in history.
0:39
SPEAKER_00: For example, what if the Mayflower had never set sail?
0:43
SPEAKER_00: What if John F.
0:44
SPEAKER_00: Kennedy had not been assassinated?
0:46
SPEAKER_00: What if Teddy Roosevelt had won re-election in 1912?
0:50
SPEAKER_00: What if Abraham Lincoln had not issued the Emancipation Proclamation?
0:55
SPEAKER_00: And what if Martin Luther had burned at the stake?
0:58
SPEAKER_00: Those were fascinating historical questions, and these books allowed historians to let their imaginations run wild and speculate on what might have happened if history had turned out a little bit differently.
1:09
SPEAKER_00: Well, this is a great exercise not just for history buffs, but for you and I as well.
1:13
SPEAKER_00: As you think about your goals as a writer, ask yourself, what if?
1:18
SPEAKER_00: What if you wrote that book that you've been planning for the last three years?
1:21
SPEAKER_00: What if you started that podcast you've been thinking about?
1:24
SPEAKER_00: What if you wrote every morning for 30 minutes?
1:27
SPEAKER_00: What if you started calling yourself a writer when people ask what it is that you do?
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SPEAKER_00: What if you started writing for clients and 18 months from now, you were making as much money in your side business as you do in your day job?
1:41
SPEAKER_00: Well, here's the fantastic thing about these what if questions.
1:44
SPEAKER_00: They aren't just imaginary scenarios cooked up by historians or cooked up by me on this podcast.
1:49
SPEAKER_00: These are real-life flesh and blood situations that are possible.
1:54
SPEAKER_00: And they're not just possible, they're actually likely to happen if you do the work to make them a reality.
2:00
SPEAKER_00: The Canadian hockey player Wayne Gretzky famously said, you miss 100% of the shots you don't take.
2:06
SPEAKER_00: So isn't it time you started asking yourself, what if, and finally took your shot?
2:12
SPEAKER_00: Here's today's challenge.
2:14
SPEAKER_00: Take the next 30 seconds to write down your answer to the question, What if?
2:18
SPEAKER_00: Don't overthink it, just do it.
2:20
SPEAKER_00: And I think the answer might surprise you.
2:22
SPEAKER_00: Thanks for listening, and I'll see you tomorrow.