Looking out at all the blogs, magazines, and newsletters I read, it’s easy to believe the world is brimming with content. However, the untold story is the unfinished work.
Often, as our clients take on the idea of creating content to help promote their business, they get started on articles, and never finish. Maybe they get one paragraph in, or ten. Maybe they complete a rough draft and it’s just not good enough, so they think, and it sits there.
Sometimes the work actually gets finished, and then sits there, unpublished.
So here it is, first a rant, then a spiritual teaching, and finally some practical tips on getting it all done.
The Rant
Your people need to hear from you. We took our kids to a naturopath the other day, worried about some developmental issues, as parents do sometimes. She looked at us and said, “Your kids are fine.”
It reminded me of the time I sat in the office of a Chinese Medicine doctor, who told Holly she could heal from her years of struggle with Lymes Disease. It was the first time I heard someone say it, and I believed it. It turned out to be true.
These are dramatic examples, but I share them because it’s all too easy to believe your voice isn’t needed, that you can’t compete with the flood of voices out there.
I don’t want you to compete. I want you to show up. Your people are waiting for you. There are some people, maybe it’s a large audience, maybe it’s a smaller one, but regardless of how many they are waiting to hear from you. The special combination of experience, personality and the unique essence in your heart that will help them heal in whatever struggle they are facing.
Show up. Forget about all the other voices out there. Your people won’t respond to those other voices. They are waiting to hear yours. It’s not about you, it’s about them.
The Spiritual Teaching
It’s vulnerable to launch new content out into the world. To speak up on stage, or in a group of people. It’s vulnerable to share your opinion. There’s a reason for that.
When you share something real, an idea or story that touches your heart, when you are speaking from a place of power, that power is rushing through you into the words and content and out into the world.
It leaves you feeling tender. The experience of expressing power is tenderizing internally. You express power through maintaining that tenderness inside you. It keeps you sensitive to what the Oneness is sending through you to share.
If you steel yourself to “be powerful” then you lose that tenderness, that sensitivity. You lose access to the power. Your content becomes a little less alive.
Preserve that tenderness.
The Practical Bits
Get support. Don’t do it alone. By this, I mean cultivate a good, honest friend or colleague who can give you feedback. Someone who is willing to say, “No way, don’t send it out there until you tweak X.” Or “It’s good, and you’re going to keep getting better. But it’s good enough. Send it out.”
Or even someone who can just give you empathy about the tenderness. Sometimes empathy alone will let you publish it to the world.
Don’t hold your voice back any longer. Your people are waiting for you, and your tenderness is a sign of your strength.
How about you? What’s your writing process like?
p.s. Needing some help getting your articles written?
Expressing yourself from the heart in a useful way can be quite a challenge. Struggles with perfectionism, wrestles with the blank page, and the voice of doubt and self-criticism can make it all seem impossibly hard.
It’s challenging, no doubt. But it’s not *that* challenging. A little structure, knowing a bit about storytelling, and understanding how to focus and it all becomes much easier.
Want to write more quickly? Want to write more easily? Want to not lose your heart in the process?
Check it out: Heart-Centered Article Writing Home Study program. Includes full workbook, explicit exercises with examples from our clients, and audio class.
25 Responses
I love the tone and empathy with which you write Mark. I feel seen and understood in reading your writing. I also feel hopeful and inspired to expand. which leads me to my interest in the Heart Centered Article writing home study program. I clicked on the link and it isn’t working… it goes to a 404 page. Please let me know when the link / program page is up.
Much thanks,
Shirley
Hi Shirley- thank you for your kind words. Argh! Our website has done it to us again- pages are strangely and mysteriously unpublished. I fished it out of the trash and it’s live now. We’re launching a new website the beginning of July, so it should solve this painful problem.
Thank your for this post. I have a lot of unpublished texts. Thank you for reminding me that people are waiting! I thank you very much for your inspiring example. – I “am” with you since the beginning – but living in Austria with german as first language, to share is a big challenge for me.
Much thanks Sylvia
Sylvia- I so understand- and also remember living in France, struggling to write/speak in a clear way, so I empathize with you. Thanks for making the effort to share your heart with us here.
Oh my, *how* much unfinished content do I have? Files and files! I wake up in the morning with sentences and paragraphs running through me, they come when I cycle, when I walk, when I’m having conversations.
I’m so grateful for this gift – being a channel like this – and so I have a few strategies:
1) Blog regularly (for me, twice a month now). Some of that content gets an immediate outlet where it can help people.
2) Back-burner lots of it (capture draft wisps so I can come back to it and see if I’m still inspired)
3) Shred some! Now I trust that it comes through, I don’t have to hold on to some of those old files of old inspiration because I know new inspiration will come through now.
So many people comment on my blogs that I say exactly what they need to hear on precisely that day. Which totally echoes your point: the content you ‘receive’ is not about you, it’s about the people who you can give it to.
Thanks to your dude Jason, I’m half-way through a solid draft of my book (fiiiiinally!) I was inspired to send Chapter 3 to a client today because she needed it and that felt SO good – again, it’s not for me, I’m just a channel.
Thanks, as ever,
Corrina
Corrina- Amazing! Half-way through your book! Isn’t it so inspiring to be able to share a chapter with a client like that? And I’m so glad you mentioned shredding some ideas- trusting that you can let them go. And yes, Jason is an amazing support- so glad you are flying so high.
Mark,
Talk about hitting me where I live 🙂
I’ve struggled with this issue so much over the last year and as usual, everything you’ve written is so helpful. I’m going to write “it’s not about you, it’s about them” in huge letters and plaster it on my bulletin board. That pretty much says it all.
This post spoke straight to my heart. I am the queen of half-finished. I keep starting posts, articles, books and blogs…and then fading out, usually because of some version of “who am I to say this?”.
I guess who I am is who I am. I know when I’m working with my clients that what I have to say is what they need to hear. I’ll work on remembering the same thing about my writing.
Thanks, Mark.
I have so much content that is finally getting published. i like what you said about vulnerability – but I also sense that there is something to timing and putting the best out there.
My Good Morning, Yogis book is getting printed later this week. It took three times longer than I thought with all of the illustrations and design work. But it’s amazing and I”m so proud. It doesn’t feel vulnerable at all b/c it’s totally right. I’m glad I was patient and didn’t rush the process or put something out there that wasn’t true to the vision.
I’ll send you a copy once it’s out.
NEEDED to read this right now, thank you!
Just this a.m. someone called and said, “I can’t find XYZ on your website. Your Site is confusing. I can usually find anything – I spent 20 minutes and could not find…”
The adult in me was SO glad to get this direct feedback—good to know.
I immediately saw things through his eyes and made some quick adjustments (with more to come). Yea, glad to know.
Now, after the immediate rush of fixing what I could immediately – the tender little girl in me is feeling a little hurt, defensive and down on herself for not being clearer.
It is SO NICE to read your email and be reminded that it IS a little tender to share, create and put yourself out there…. it IS MORE THAN OKAY to let the little girl feel the tenderness, soothe her, and then keep moving forward.
Love what you share, “Your people are waiting for you, and your tenderness is a sign of your strength.”
Ahhhhhhhhh…..yes……..all is well.
I AM right on track – thanks for the soothing, the reminder and for YOU being you.
All the Best, and More!
Suzie
Thanks for the uplift, Mark. It’s remarkable how I can forget that the Divine flows through me not to stay stuck inside but to come through to the other side – out to be in relationship with the world.
I’m aware how I can lose my way when I listen from the outside in instead of the other way around.
I’m also reflecting on how important timing is, how quiet rejuvenates me, and how the deep listening to source energy is crucial for me. When I speak from that place and be visible from that place then I feel it’s “right.” I’m grateful to read this today and to remember.
sending love,
deirdre
“The experience of expressing power is tenderizing internally.”
Thank you for reminding me that creating is an act of humility – channeling.
To think of it in terms of power is totally new to me, even though I have always felt it as powerful.
I’ve called “it” imagination, the well, inspiration..but really, power is a better metaphor.
Thank you for your article, Mark.
It has helped me too. Perfect Timing.
I have to admit – am not a great writer so in order for me to create a content – I have to actually plan it: define a goal, flow and parts of content that will go into achieving that goal.
Hi,
Writing content can be very annoying and you become tired and just don’t finish what you start. I love this post, I find myself in this article very much, I usually tend to start a lot of things then get bored or see how much work it is and just abandon those things. Thank you very much for sharing this! I am going to get that home-study program.
Cadouri Victor
I feel the same way when I’m launching a site…full of self-doubts.
The first time I wrote an article I fel that wasn’t good at all and nobody cared about what I have to say. It turns out that some people find it helpful and that boost my confidence.
Actually I need to write a lot of content on a daily basis. Any tip on how to improve is welcome…Thanks for sharing!
Alison
I think if I really looked at my work and various projects I’ve started over the years, the major problem and common thread running through it all is an inability to actually finish the final 10 – 15%. Like I make it to 90% completion and then somehow get stuck or push things aside for later. It’s a strange thing, really, when you’ve put so much effort in and you’ve gone so far… but can’t manage to put the finishing touches there…
Thank you Mark for much needed inspiration! I have to read it myself a couple of times. Valuable for all bloggers who are struggling to write articles.
Your post is very inspirational. Sometimes it is about doing the best you can and not worry about it being great. Even if your content is not perfect other people can get something from it.
I agree. We shouldn’t belittle our own capacity to be heard. It may seem little in our own eyes but it’s possible that it could make an impact to other people’s lives too. Each one has their own insight on things and it can inspire other people should we give ourselves a chance to be heard. We just need to believe that our actions as well as our voice is important like everyone else’s.
Practical bits and rants work for me. It can be so difficult to continuously come up with worthwhile content. Any tips on organizing my thoughts are great. Appreciated!
Thanks for this lovely little post, especially the rant- I don
You are so welcome! And woo-hoo! Celebration! Check out her first blog post everyone!
I love to write content and your post was very informative to me. Thanks for the information.