I’ve committed to publishing posts “every other Wednesday,” and the post meant for today wasn’t quite ready. This is a good thing because I’m getting better at judging the quality of my writing. Not all on my own, though. Pia, one of the best writers I know, has been so generous with feedback on this newsletter.
In this post, I will just share brief lessons I’ve learned from writing.
Writing this newsletter, I’ve made progress on some of my explicit writing goals, but I have also grown in other unexpected ways. I want to share both lessons with you along with resources I have discovered.
My Writing Goals
When I started this newsletter in early 2021, I had two goals in mind
Learn how to write better (because I was always average in English class)
Share information with my community that is helpful and applicable
In learning to write better, the saying that you attract what you focus on has been my exact experience. Specifically, by prioritizing improving my writing (starting a newsletter), I more easily find resources about writing better. My friend Anna shared this terrific Guide to Good Writing with me. It is a guide on not-so-obvious but common grammatical mistakes. Making your intentions public is a reliable way to attract support.
Early on, I also found this Essay Writing Guide that focuses on a specific type of writing: a short piece written by someone attempting to explore a topic or answer a question — an essay. I also wrote 70% of what I’ve learned about Writing, a summary of Steven Pressfield’s book: Nobody wants to read your sh*t.
Through sharing information with the community, I’ve learned more about putting the user first and striving to understand what learning is most valuable. In fact, in a recent conversation with Khushi, we talked about how it’s critical to find a way to invest in your relationships and give to your community.
Writing these posts and sharing helpful information is a way for me to be less self-serving and do something for others. For Khushi, it includes organizing and planning events that bring people together. Speaking of which, check out the hacker house she’s organizing: Treehouse, an exclusive co-living community for women founders building the world's next unicorns!
Find a way to serve others around you beyond your own goals. This has been a reliable source of finding meaning for me.
Unexpected lessons from Writing
These lessons are more disconnected. I stumbled upon them really.
Most people do not read or at least don’t like to.
You should work from a new location to focus and be more productive.
A friend recently asked me how to make your personal, non-school deadlines real. How do you take it seriously without that external motivation of a grade in a class?
The answer is simple but hard: Make it public. At every point, lean towards telling someone about your deadline or goal, and it’ll feel real faster than you expect.
Commitment and consistency bias is our tendency to continue to act according to the previous commitments we've made.
If writing down your ideas always makes them more precise and more complete, then no one who hasn't written about a topic has fully formed ideas about it. And someone who never writes has no fully formed ideas about anything nontrivial. — Paul Graham
What I’ve been reading
I read Sahil Bloom’s newsletter religiously. He’s pretty good at talking about productivity through stories and his own life experiences. The posts are also short enough that they’re digestible — all things I aspire to for this newsletter. Check it out here.
I’ve recommended Gad’s Newsletter before but I don’t always add context. He’s the director of the dual degree program I am in (M&T), a Professor at the Wharton School, and is a great mentor, especially regarding career decisions in Technology and Business.
If you’re in the tech x entrepreneurship space you have probably seen this piece about Launch House already. It’s worth the read on more accountability on the startup scene.
Also, Justin recommended following Dare Obasanjo on Twitter. What he tweets about is best described by his Linkedin bio: 10X Product Leader. Plus he has great humor.
Thanks to Cathy Chen for reading drafts of this.
Thanks tomiwa
Keep up the good work