Ed Gandia shares how to handle slow periods in freelance writing work. He uses Sting's approach to discipline and creativity as an example of how consistent effort keeps your pipeline full even when things feel dry.
Welcome to the High Income Business Writing Podcast, helping you propel your writing business to a whole new level. And now, here's your host, Ed Gandia.
Hey there.
Welcome to another episode of the High.
Income Business Writing Podcast, the number one podcast for business writers and copywriters who want to earn more and less time doing work they love for better clients. With over 1 million downloads from listeners just like you across 101 countries, this episode is much shorter than usual rather than my typical 45 minute format. Today I'm sharing a quick tip with you. This is part of the Audio insights I publish for my private coaching clients every weekday, and I thought you'd find it helpful. So here we go. Hope you enjoy it.
Too often I've found myself in a tough spot in my business, waiting for the skies to part and for new.
Business to fall out of the sky.
Now, I'm being dramatic here, of course, but I know that many of us tend to fall into that same trap. The trap of believing that things will just magically turn around for us. Our pipeline is almost completely dry, we're down to just a couple of smaller projects, and yet we do little or nothing to rectify the situation, mostly because we're feeling sad or depressed or despondent. Now, look, I get it. And again, I've been there way too many times. There have been moments in my business career that, looking back, I can now identify as mild depression being the reason I couldn't get motivated enough to do something about my situation. Now I can't really speak to how to break out of a cycle of depression. I'm not qualified on the subject. I'm certainly not a psychiatrist or a therapist. But outside of depression, there's a lot we can do to turn our situation around. And it starts with just showing up. Sting, the famous musician and songwriter, has spoken extensively about the importance of discipline and routine in the creative process. In his book Broken A Memoir, he writes about the importance of showing up every day to work on music, even when he doesn't feel inspired or motivated. Sting believes that creativity is not just a matter of inspiration, but also of hard work and dedication. That's the part we don't really like to talk about. It's not that sexy, right? In an interview with Forbes, he said, and I quote, creativity is a muscle that you have to exercise every day. You can't just wait for inspiration to strike. You have to show up and put in the work, even when you don't feel like it. That's when you really start to grow as an artist. Sting's approach to creativity is grounded in the idea that it's a process that can be cultivated and developed over time. He believes that by showing up every day and working on music, even if it's just for a short time, he's training his mind and body to be creative on demand. He says that this is the key to producing high quality work consistently over the long term. Sting might be talking about creating music, but the same exact prescription applies to crawling out of a tight spot in your business because it's disciplined and consistency that will give you the creative energy to find smart solutions, better ideas, the right copy, the right messages, the right language in your marketing efforts that will get you out of that hole. The lesson here is to not wait until you feel better or you're more motivated. Until maybe Mercury is in retrograde or whatever. Start today. Start right now. Do something, even if it's small or even if it feels insignificant. Show up and show up consistently, because the universe only works its magic when.
We take the first steps. Well, that's it for today. I hope you enjoyed the episode. And just a quick reminder to grab your free copy of my latest book, Earn More in Less Time. The Proven Mindset, strategies and Actions to prosper as a Freelance writer. You can get your free copy@b2b launcher.com or you will also find the detail show notes to this and all my other episodes. Enjoy and have a great day.
