Long-form writing has been one of the biggest changes I've made in my life
This should only take about 7 mins to read.
I've shipped 2-3 pieces of content per day across Twitter and LinkedIn.
Long-form writing has been one of the biggest changes I've made in my life, and it only happened 6 months ago.
The first thing I do in the morning (after I walk my dogs) is write in my Journal. Yes, I started handwriting. This helps me cleanse my brain. When I get to my desk, I take time to do one piece of long-form writing in Notion. I take that piece of long-form writing and extract different ideas, topics, and things that stand out. Some of it is repetitive, and some of it is completely new.
Most of the time, my long-form writing goes off on tangents and multiple ideas. Over time I've been able to reel that in a bit and stay on topic, but I use it as a daily exercise to get thoughts out of my brain. Repetition.
Writing consistently has unlocked the ability to express myself in a deeper way that I was never able to do before I started.
It's a great brain exercise and a release, literally therapy. You are using a muscle that has endless possibilities and output. Everything we do, we process throughout the brain, and the ability to pull information out and put it into words seems simple, but it's not.
When you talk to yourself, you don't remember that conversation. Writing something down, you never lose that thought. It sticks. It's visual. It's there. It's a way to embed it into your thought process for the future.
I have immersed myself into writing. It's a safe place for being vulnerable.
Writing helps me with:
Every day I write, I give my brain the ability to think more clearly. It allows me to communicate clearly with the people that I work with. It allows me to distill my new ideas in a way I couldn't before.
If you're starting a new business or side hustle, take time to braindump everything first. Write it in a Google Doc (or Notion), wake up in the morning, and reread it. Then go one level deeper. Keep writing until you feel like you've detailed the idea until you're satisfied. It takes a bit to get there, but the end-result is clarity, and that's important.
The crazy thing is I am not a big reader when it comes to books; I prefer audiobooks. When it comes to online content (newsletters, tweets, etc.) I am all in on the reading. Then I run into great writers like Julian Shapiro, David Perrell, and others, making storytelling a bit different and unique. It's beautiful.
I believe that everyone (over time) finds their voice. No one else has that same voice and style. There can be similarities, but your wordplay— you own that. It's your asset that never depreciates; it only appreciates if you stay consistent.
I aspire to write a book at some point in my life.
Start off by writing thoughts without any format or restrictions. As your brain releases it, get it on paper. It's the raw process of distilling something that you can't express any other way.
It's an absolute gamechanger.
We all deal with a level stress whether it's financial, physical, mental, or all of the above. Figuring out ways to deal with it and manage it has it's own challenges. Stress for me comes in waves, but my creative side of my brain kicks in to figure out ways to deal with it.
Tweet 1: Awesome resources for some of the best marketing books out there by Kenny (who was also on my podcast).
Tweet 2: An amazing thread on Writing by Rob Lennon.
Tweet 3: Here is a Thread I put together for people to easily connect their Upwork job feed to Slack.
Let’s continue Season 2 with an awesome conversation I had with Kenny Smithnanic. An expert on all things marketing and currently a head of ecomm at Mint Mobile.
We covered a lot of very interesting topics during the episode. I would definitely recommend checking it out if you want to hear us talk about building a personal brand and leveraging it for business, the importance of momentum, the hardest part of growing on Twitter, and other things.
Tool of the week: Chrome Capture (Gif)
URL: Chrome Capture Tool (Extension)
Why Chrome Capture is so awesome:
It's so damn easy to use to create GIF's. It happens in the browser without having to download apps, do editing, etc. I needed to create something for Twitter this past week and all the other tools were absolutely crap. Chrome Capture just WORKED, no issues.
That's a wrap for issue #20
Email me at z@zlatkobijelic.com if you are building something. I'd love to know what you're working on and if there is anything I can do to help you.
Random question:
What's the biggest stress in your life at this very moment?
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