books, writing

Step 96: Don’t Save Yourself

I’ve been trying to space out my Examiner.com posts, limiting them to 2 per month. Guidelines at Examiner require writers to publish once per month to be considered active. A few months ago, I found a slew of great entrepreneurs who I wanted to feature so I spaced them out to last me through the middle of the year. I was saving up the great content to share in the coming months just in case I didn’t find any great leads in the near future.

In the past few weeks, I’ve gotten referrals and requests from entrepreneurs asking me to feature them in the column. Some came in from entrepreneurs I’ve featured before and friends of those entrepreneurs. (They travel in tight circles!) Some have read the column and pitched me a story about their business. I’m proud of the content I’ve put out there, and in return more good content is finding its way to me, even when I’m looking for it.

Anne Lamott, my favorite author, wrote a book called Bird by Bird. When I was a teenager, that book made me want to be a writer. (It’s out of print now which I think is completely ridiculous, but luckily it is available for the Kindle.) On the topic of giving, which all writers do every moment of every day, she says, “it is only when I go ahead and decide to shoot my literary, creative wad on a daily basis that I get any sense of full presence.” She’s hilarious and truthful and right.

We have to keep showing up and giving the best we’ve got everyday, whether or not we’re writers. It doesn’t behoove us, it doesn’t behoove anyone, to hoard our talents and stories and souls. Those who give will always find that there’s no end to what they will receive in return.

The image above is not my own. It can be found here.

1 thought on “Step 96: Don’t Save Yourself”

  1. We were at a baby shower last night, with a wonderful bunch of ladies who didn’t mind making fun of themselves — and when the funny stories started to flow, they just kept on flowing – no egos to bruise here. And we laughed ’til we cried! And the sharing led to a warmth feeling of unity. This blog of yours describes the dynamic. Don’t hold back – there’s no percentage in it, and sharing leads to enrichment in abundance.

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