OLD POST ALERT! This is an older post and although you might find some useful tips, any technical or publishing information is likely to be out of date. Please click on Start Here on the menu bar above to find links to my most useful articles, videos and podcast. Thanks and happy writing! – Joanna Penn
Podcast: Download (Duration: 27:43 — 6.3MB)
In today's podcast, we tackle some of the most common questions I get on the blog: “How do I beat procrastination?” and “How do I actually achieve my goal of writing a book?”
Rajeev Dewan is an author, speaker and Peak Performance Coach based in Sydney, Australia.
His book ‘Be, Do, Live‘ is a personal growth and achievement roadmap.
In this podcast, you will learn:
- What is a peak performance coach anyway? (They bring out the best in you).
- Top 3 tips for beating procrastination
- You need a strong enough desire to achieve your goals. What will you give up to write your book? We all have the same amount of time in the day.
- Find someone to be accountable to for your goal of writing
- Get into motion. Actually put pen to paper.
- Advice for writers who fear rejection – from publishers, or family and friends
- Be clear on why you are writing. Separate the process from the outcome. Be detached.
- How you can achieve BHAGs – Big Hairy Audacious Goals (and yours may be to write a book!)
- A huge goal can pull you forwards towards it, even if it may be achieved years into the future
- It is amazing what you can achieve over time – think big!
- Progress is better than perfection (quote from Dale Beaumont who is interviewed here on being an Author Entrepreneur)
- Tips on actually writing your book and discipline to get it done
- What is your writing style – when is your best time?
- Enjoy the journey. Remember that the book you write can change your own life!
- How journalling can help even when you are writing a manuscript. There are no wasted words.
- How Rajeev got amazing testimonials from his book, from such greats as bestselling author Stephen M.R. Covey and self help guru Brian Tracy. You have got to ask and be persistent!
You can find Rajeev and his book at his main site BeDoLive.com.
You can also connect with Rajeev on Twitter @rajeevdewan
If you enjoyed this audio, you might also like to listen to “How to Write Your First Book” which is an interview with me on the topic.
Great tips. The crazy thing was that while listening to this, I got ready for my morning. I brushed my teeth and started writing as I listened. Normally I only listen to music while I write but I found that I still managed to bang out two paragraphs.
I like what was mentioned here about time just being an excuse. You can always make time for things that are important to you. That might mean trimming down on social networking, reading less blogs in the morning, or watching less TV. But the time is there to write, you just need to make it work for you.
That’s so right Chase. We all struggle with this – there are always things to do other than write. For me, it’s writing that is not my novel – the next blog post, rewriting my ebooks etc …but we all have to break through that!
Thanks for the podcast, Joanna, great information. Though I didn’t write while I listened — as Chase confessed — I did multitask, so thanks for the audio. Your list of related articles looks interesting as well. I’ll be sure to check into those … later!