For centuries, ideas that influenced societal happenings have been communicated in written form for others to read and reflect upon. Religious and political bodies use the written word to propagate their messages. You may not believe it. But there is something you know which some others NEED – if you would only write about it. In this article, I explain how – by writing to share what you know – you can make the lives of others better. And by so doing, you’ll contribute to the development of people in your society – and even beyond! .
(Published online: Aug 18, 2006)
What If Napoleon Hill Had Not Written Think And Grow Rich?
What would this world have been like if Hill had not written that wonderful book? Think back to all the successful people you know who have mentioned that reading THAT book transformed their lives. Imagine if they had never read the book i.e. it had not been written. The implications would be multiple fold. Let’s consider a few examples.
Maybe today, Dr. Walter Doyles Staples would not be the accomplished person whose works have been a source of education and inspiration for thousands of people worldwide. Robert Kiyosaki would probably not be the person we know today, whose personal childhood stories and reflections have influence a thousands to rethink their approach to the education of their kids. And the need for a reform of our traditional educational system, to help their kids succeed in life.
You Can Change Lives Through Your Writings
By writing, we give others the opportunity to embark, more intelligently, and therefore with greater chances of success, on a journey that we have made. Anyone who has applied honest and diligent effort to a particular cause, can write competently about what s/he has done. And it would benefit others who desire to pursue a similar goal.
Now here’s an interesting poser about Robert Kiyosaki. Millions of adults worldwide have bought his books and followed his advice about how to educate kids to achieve financial independence. And they did this even though they knew Robert and his wife(Kim) had kids of their own. Have you ever wondered about that?
Well, I have. And the ONLY logical explanation for what should have been an unreasonable action on that part of the parents is this: They (wisely) chose to look beyond Robert NOT being a parent. Instead, they focussed on the intuitive common sense logic of the ideas he presented. As many stated in their written testimonials about Roberts books, those ideas resonated with those they had themselves battled with, during their own childhood years!
When I read those commentaries/testimonials by people (including kids), I could not help wondering: Would they have ever taken any corrective action for their own kids’ sake, IF someone like Robert had not written about his experience? So again, we’re back to the questions with which I started this article: What if Robert had never written his books? One thing at least is certain: our thinking about how children should be educated to achieve financial success in life, would be worse han it is now. That is the value that Robert’s writing has added to millions of lives the world over – mine inclusive (the distance between our continents of residence notwithstanding).
Many People Who Should Write Are NOT Writing
In many societies, people undergo unique experiences of all kinds on a daily basis. For each person, the learning acquired through those experiences literally shapes who they become over time, and ultimately determines whether or not – or better still how well – they succeed.
Each one of us can draw upon such experiences, to teach others how to deal with them successfully, should they encounter similar challenges in their lives.
Each one of us has a distinguishing trait or quality that sets him apart from others who do what s/he does. Therefore if you were to write a (non-fiction) book or article based on your area of competence or experience, there’s a good chance that someone will find it useful.
It might help to inform (or remind) you, that even Napoleon Hill was initially plagued with self-doubt, when Andrew Carnegie first asked him to write "Think And Grow Rich". Hill worried – among other things – that he was not "qualified" or "competent" enough – at the time – to write it. But thankfully, he eventually brushed those fears aside, and did us all a favour by writing the book that today has changed millions of lives for the better.
You Don’t Need A Teaching Qualification To Share What You Know With People Who Need It!
Let’s say a person who survived years of isolation as a prisoner of war, decides to write a book about what he went through. Do you think he would need to get a writing degree to do that? Or indeed to speak to audiences in seminars about (a) what it feels like and (b) how to survive under such situations? Of course not. We’re talking about personal experience here. Nothing beats that. Not even the biggest academic qualifications in the world!
Now, even if you feel you cannot write the story by yourself, you can engage the services of a freelance writing professional. It is worthwhile to note however, that developing your writing skills would ultimately enable you do more spontaneous writing than you could if someone was doing the writing on your behalf.
You Can Write While Still In The Process Of Acquiring The Experience(s)
Incidentally we need not wait until we have achieved the goal we pursue, before we can write for others to learn from us. A person who never won the gold as an athlete at the olympics, could draw from his/her "failures" to coach a younger athlete with potential to win the gold.
Taking this further, a person who has "failed" in a bid to achieve a goal could, with a positive mental attitude, articulate a set of learning points about what caused him/her to fail. S/he would then use them to teach others (one-on-one or through a book or article) about what to do to increase their chances of success.
You do not need to wait till you become the Managing Director of the company you work for, before you begin to share the useful learnings about achieving career advancement, that you pick up along the way. This is because while you are busy "climbing", others coming after you will be in the process of taking the decision to start "climbing". And compared to you, they will be less experienced or knowledgeable about what to expect.
Many of them are likely to appreciate hearing from you, up front, some hints about what they will face during their journey. And how you dealt with the challenges that cropped up – including what you think they can do to make good progress.
In my case, I am sharing insights gained from my experiences as an entrepreneur, through writing articles and books, and in daily interactions. Begin documenting as much of your own experiences as possible. This will equip you over time, to share useful learning with others, and make their journey less difficult.
No one person has the duty of teaching others about how to succeed in life. Every one of us can teach what s/he knows to those who need to know. And one effective way to do it is by writing. And unlike speaking, it is also more enduring: once you’ve written it, you will not need to write it again. And all who want to read it, will always be able to do so, when they go to the library, bookstore or website where it is available to get their copy.
I Found Supporting Evidence That "You Need To Write", In Dr. Spencer Johnson’s Book: "Who Moved My Cheese"!
Who better to tell you what it feels like(or takes) to survive as a start-up entrepreneur, if not someone currently in the struggle – or recently out of it?
If you wanted to get an authentic update on the socioeconomic situation in Nigeria, would you ask your “Professor Uncle” who travels once-a-year to Lagos on official visits? Or would you ask your Aunt who lives in Lagos, and visits New York on business every other month? The latter of course.
The above is why I chose to start writing about my experiences early in my entrepreneurial career, rather than wait till I get “up to the very top” before doing so. But I got even more convinced that this was the right thing to do, when I read the little book titled “Who moved my cheese?” written by Dr. Spencer Johnson.
The Book’s Parable About Hem & Haw(2 little people) As Well As Sniff & Scurry(2 Mice)
The book narrates an engaging parable about 4 characters – Sniff and Scurry (2 Mice) and also Hem and Haw (2 little people). The parable illustrates the various ways different people react to unexpected changes/setbacks that occur in their lives on a daily basis.
It admonishing us to learn to laugh at ourselves, and the mistakes we make in life – so as to be able to learn from them and “move on” with our lives. Dr. Johnson uses the analogy of “moving cheese” to illustrate how our circumstances/situations in life will inevitably change. He argues that we all need to be prepared for those changes when (not “if”) eventually they occur. If we’re prepared, and we respond quickly and intelligently to them (instead of protesting and complaining), we will often find that we end up being better off in the long run.
Dr. Johnson takes the reader through a series of scenarios in which the 4 characters employ various methods to deal with the unexpected changes. The 2 little people – Hem and Haw – unlike the mice, had major problems getting over the setback (not surprising is it? A typical human reaction!) and moving on with their lives. Hem in particular remained adamant that it was “unfair” for the cheese to have been moved. And he prevailed on Haw (who over time became more disposed to trying to find a way out of the fix they were in), to stay with him till things “returned to normal” – or until “someone gave them an explanation” for moving their cheese.
Remember! It’s a parable. If you think about it, sometime in the past(or possibly even now) some of us may have been just like Hem. Never seeing any good in a change that affected us (in our opinion) “negatively”. An example: a lateral movement from your job to another seemingly less glamorous one in your company.
"Haw" Starts Writing To Share What He Learns BEFORE He achieves Success
And here’s the lesson I picked up from the book: At a point, Haw decided that since the mice had taken off in search of another cheese almost immediately the initial cheese had moved, he would do the same. So, he left Hem, (after trying without success to get him to go along), sitting and complaining, and began his search.
As he journeyed, he made a lot of new discoveries, gaining new and fresh insights that excited him a great deal. In fact, he found the learnings he picked up while trying to find new cheese so profound, that he decided to write each learning on the wall (in form of a short phrase). This was so that anyone who was coming along after him, would benefit from the knowledge he had discovered.
Examples of the phrases he wrote are: “If you do not change, you can become extinct”; “When you move beyond your fear, you feel free”; and “Imagining myself enjoying new cheese even before I find it, leads me to it”.
I have chosen to adopt the method used by Haw, by writing to share my experiences even before I get to the "top" as an entrepreneur.
Even before he found new cheese, Haw began to share the little knowledge he was picking up along the way/during the journey.
He felt (quite rightly too) that there was no point waiting till he got to the “end” of his journey, and found new cheese, before he shared the little he already knew.
This was because he recognised that he was experiencing useful – though sometimes painful – lessons that could benefit others tremendously, if they knew them before facing similar challenges.
Summary
I personally believe that it takes strength of character and tremendous self belief, to repeatedly share painful lessons learnt in the pursuit of a challenging goal(s), especially while still working to achieve it(them).
Another lesson we can take away from Dr. Johnson’s book, is that we can each move our own cheese (become “masters of our fate”), instead of waiting for others to do it for us.
Years ago, I chose to move mine by leaving the comfort of what should have been a comfortable job in a corporate organisation, to follow my longstanding vision of running my own businesses. I also decided that I wanted to spend much of my time, sharing with others my achievements in various areas of my past, present and future endeavours.
We need to share information/knowledge and discoveries about life, and how to live it better, with each other. We need to do so regularly, and with passion. Our actions in this regard must be borne out of a genuine desire to enrich the lives of others, and help them get ahead like we are doing.
A society where this happens continually, and spontaneously, would be a very successful one. Many developed countries are already on the path toward attaining this state.
Developing countries which desire to achieve similar progress, will need to challenge many more of their members to share more often – and selflessly.
Writing is a powerful and cost-effective way to do this. Any society that wishes to develop fully, MUST encourage her members to write – and read – as frequently as possible (especially non-fiction). You can play a role today in the development of your own society. Do this by acquiring qualitative experiences in the pursuit of worthwhile goals, and writing to share what you learn to help others do the same .
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