Newsletter #8: The tortoise is calling … but will you answer?

/ Red Sail Writers/
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My letter today is about something I was pondering between deadlift sets this morning: consistency.

Boring, right?

You’re nodding off already.

But I’m not snoozing here. Because I’m realizing this here is a life and death situation.

Metaphorically at least.

All the things that matter to me … if I don’t pursue them consistently … well, I’m basically killing my dreams, right? Taking the long, hard way to a frustrated life, right?

Now, you’re nice. And you probably want to say something like, “Andrea, don’t be so hard on yourself.”

And in a lotta ways, you’d be right. Because there are many things I shouldn’t be spending my time on, consistently or inconsistently, and then feeling bad about.

But I’m not talking about those things.

I’m talking about the things that matter most. You’ve got your things, I’ve got mine. They’re personal and they deserve our best efforts. Which is why there can’t be too many of them.

And sometimes our best efforts are spectacular. The crowd goes wild and everyone’s patting you on the back telling you how amazing you are.

But most times, our best efforts are about showing up, every darn day and doing excruciatingly-boring tasks alone that bring us closer to our dreams and purpose. And keeping the faith when it seems like there’s no progress. Which might be a lot of the time.

You know what was harder than those deadlifts today? Putting on my stretchy pants and walking out my front door. Stop a minute and think about that. This is crazy and literally makes no sense.

That’s the challenge we face when doing our most important things! What Steven Pressfield calls ‘resistance’ in The War of Art.

Even though I’ve always been the tortoise, not the hare—when I was a kid, my favourite aunt told me I had two speeds: slow and stop—I still struggle with consistency.

Which is probably what stirred up such deep thoughts in a stinky gym with no windows earlier today.

I’m guessing you know the feeling too.

Next logical question is: what do we do about this?

The details will be wildly different for everyone but the framework is likely similar.

Start by wrestling with deep thoughts:

  • What am I trying to do with this life?

  • Why is this important to me?

Then get practical:

  • What are the one to three behaviours I need to practice consistently to support my goals or purpose?

Then get boring:

  • Do those things consistently.

  • Wean yourself from the activities and people that don’t align to your purpose.

But, jeez, have a little fun:

  • Use Jerry Seinfeld’s ‘don’t break the chain’ game to track your progress. Cultivate joy when you cross today off on the calendar—indicating your important task is done.

It’s not easy or exciting on a day-to-day basis. But I think—and I’ve heard—that pursuing what matters consistently over the long haul is how we end up feeling satisfied with this one life.

If you’re having deep thoughts on your most important things … that’s great! And remember you’re not alone. You’re part of a team of people who put their stretchy pants on and walk out the door, even when just about anything else seems more fun.

Until next time, keep on truckin’,

Andrea

**********The quote of the month**********


We must all suffer from one of two pains: the pain of discipline or the pain of regret. The difference is discipline weighs ounces while regret weighs tons.

— Jim Rohn

**********Marketing tip of the month**********

Two tips for making your long-form posts reader friendly

BuzzSumo and Moz analyzed a million articles and found that long-form content gets more shares than shorter content.

Quick highlights:

  • 85% of the articles they analyzed were less than 1000 words and averaged 2800 shares.

  • 12% of the articles were between 1000 and 2000 words and averaged 3400 shares.

  • 1.7% of the articles were between 2000 and 3000 words and averaged 4200 shares.

  • 0.8% of the articles were epic—between 3000 and 10,000 words and averaged 5800 shares.

To keep readers engaged in your long-form content, the Content Marketing Institute recommends including a relevant image every 200 words or so.

Not mentioned in their article but worth mentioning: use sub-heads to break up the text.

Source: Content Marketing Institute, Get Your Readers to Stay Longer With These 4 Formats

**********Good vibes**********

Remember City Slickers?

Curly and the secret to life? If you’re in deep thought territory, take three minutes to hear what the secret to life is and how to get it (YouTube video). And if that’s not enough, why not watch the whole movie sometime soon? It’s a classic and timeless comedy that does more than make you laugh.

**********My 60-second commercial**********
I'm an executive ghostwriter, specializing in benefits, leadership coaching, corporate wellness and employee assistance programs (EAPs).

I work with executives and executive coaches who have big hearts, are driven to help others and never open a conversation they're not willing to close.

My clients are straightforward, ambitious, humble, hilarious and I never have to wonder what they're thinking because they say what they mean and mean what they say.

If you're a tough-love executive or executive coach who would benefit from the kind of work I do, please get in touch:

andrea@redsailwriters.com | 647-502-3187 | ca.linkedin.com/in/andreabassett

Let's talk about these thought leadership projects in 2021:

  • Newsletters | White papers + e-books | Ghostwritten articles

  • Workbooks to supplement corporate training

  • Business book ghostwriting (fall 2021, early 2022)