Why do I write?
"The Blank Page Always Listens."
At the end of 2022, I decided to start an email newsletter - this one actually. In under a month, I have been able to grow to a viewership of about 800 readers worldwide, delivering value through content drawn from personal experiences, lessons and larger bodies of knowledge.
After sending out just 7 email blasts, I suddenly am faced with the inevitable question: Why do I write? Why do I care? Why am I giving you access to my thoughts through this medium?
Before I go any further, I want to start by highlighting some of the misconceptions people have around writing - any type of writing.
Misconceptions about writing
You write because you have so much to say.
This could not be farther from the truth. Summarily, I do not write because I have anything to say. I write to find out what I want to say, why I want to say it and how I want to say it.
You have to be original with all your content.
Also, not true. It is commonly said that nothing is new under the sun. From taking pieces of content written by different individuals and adding your touch to it, you grow to find your style and stick with it. When I started writing some years ago (I wrote about 4 short stories after Ordinary Level), I only wrote fiction, because I did not want to write anything that remotely looked like anything anyone had ever written. I quickly realized that this was quite limiting.
And many others. But I will end there for now.
So, why the bloody hell then do I write?
In order to think.
For me, writing is an ideal way to think properly. As Jordan Peterson puts it, “writing is organized thinking”. Through writing, not only do I think critically through what I think I think, I also get to analyze counter thoughts and establish more credence in my ideas after conflicting and bouncing them off those of others.
It is through writing that I arrange ideas into whatever manner or order they are most useful.
It is easy to be under the illusion that you think you know something. For the most part, our verbal response to questions is heavily influenced by our emotional state, or other existing circumstances such as the “vibe”, or person. However, when you sit down to write the answers to those same questions, you usually get completely different, if not slightly different responses.
Writing therefore helps me not only to think more critically, but in a more holistic sense, more honest.
This is why I write.
To share my knowledge, I created a course called “Accessing Global Opportunities” build on what I term the “Four Tenets of Modern Competence”. Get access to it here
Besides writing, Communication is one of the 21st century’s most important skills. An article on Forbes titled “Why Communication Is Today's Most Important Skill” makes this case.
I made a video on my YouTube Channel detailing why you need good communication skills and how to develop them.
Cheers!