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Transcript

This is Your Only Competition · 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: Everywhere you look, it probably feels like you have a competitor.
• 0:26
  SPEAKER_00: It might be authors on social media, in bookstores, in a writing group, or even within your own family.
• 0:32
  SPEAKER_00: But the truth is that you're not competing with other authors.
• 0:34
  SPEAKER_00: You're not in a race with them.
• 0:36
  SPEAKER_00: There's no finish line, no referee, and no prize at the end.
• 0:40
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, there are bestseller lists and literary awards, but those don't mean much in the grand scheme of things, sorry to say.
• 0:46
  SPEAKER_00: For one thing, traditional bestseller lists are never a hundred percent accurate.
• 0:50
  SPEAKER_00: Did you know that the New York Times bestseller list is a ranking of books put together by an editorial team and not an actual reflection of book sales?
• 0:59
  SPEAKER_00: And when it comes to Amazon bestsellers, we all know that it's easy to make a few sales in an obscure category over a couple of hours and technically become a quote unquote Amazon bestseller.
• 1:10
  SPEAKER_00: Now, when it comes to literary awards, the truth is that the average reader could care less which books won which awards.
• 1:16
  SPEAKER_00: Few people outside of authors and publishers really care about that stuff.
• 1:20
  SPEAKER_00: Plus, literary awards are just a reflection of people's opinions.
• 1:24
  SPEAKER_00: It's just a group of people who say we like this one book better than this other book.
• 1:27
  SPEAKER_00: That's really all that it is.
• 1:29
  SPEAKER_00: So, no, those things don't reflect your real competitors.
• 1:32
  SPEAKER_00: Your only real competition is yourself.
• 1:36
  SPEAKER_00: The question is, who were you ten years ago?
• 1:39
  SPEAKER_00: Who were you a year ago?
• 1:41
  SPEAKER_00: Who were you a month ago or even a week ago, or perhaps even yesterday?
• 1:46
  SPEAKER_00: Have you grown?
• 1:48
  SPEAKER_00: Have you changed?
• 1:49
  SPEAKER_00: Have you learned some things?
• 1:51
  SPEAKER_00: Have you improved your writing craft?
• 1:52
  SPEAKER_00: Have you grown your business?
• 1:54
  SPEAKER_00: Have you made some mistakes and then course corrected?
• 1:57
  SPEAKER_00: Have you looked fear square in the eye and done what you needed to do anyway, even though you were scared witless?
• 2:04
  SPEAKER_00: If so, that means you're better than you were before.
• 2:07
  SPEAKER_00: It means that guess what?
• 2:08
  SPEAKER_00: You're winning.
• 2:09
  SPEAKER_00: You're doing just fine.
• 2:11
  SPEAKER_00: So my advice is to not worry about the quote unquote competition.
• 2:16
  SPEAKER_00: Just focus on improving yourself day after day, year after year, and I promise you're gonna get there.
• 2:22
  SPEAKER_00: Here's today's challenge.
• 2:24
  SPEAKER_00: Take thirty seconds and write down three ways you have improved over the last year.
• 2:28
  SPEAKER_00: Then give yourself a big old pat on the back, because guess what?
• 2:32
  SPEAKER_00: You're doing great.
• 2:34
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks for listening, and I'll see you tomorrow.