April 4, 2018
The number three people
For the last few days, folks have been sending answers to the question:
What do you enjoy enough that you’d like writing about it every day if you had time?
The replies fall into three roughly equal groups:
- “I have no idea what I would write about every day.”
- “I have a couple ideas that might work but I have no idea how to make money off it.”
- “I know exactly what I would write about every day!”
I have thoughts about 1 and 2 but the group I want to talk about today is third.
Here’s a partial list of topics that came in from the “number three people”:
- Men’s doubles tennis
- Cameras
- Artisan bread
- Cocktails
- Vegan cooking
- Road bike cycling
- Chess
- Video games
- Lifestyle design
- Struggles with minimalism
- Aerospace structural analysis
- Travel
- Sustainable farming
- etc etc etc
Many of the messages I got from the “number three people” were full of passion, excitement, and optimism.
Several left me wishing he or she would start writing because I wanted to read more, even in cases where I wasn’t particularly interested in the topic. I was attracted to their love for the subject and their unique point of view. It’s infectious to be around people like this (even if only virtually).
But here’s the thing... almost none of the number three people are currently focused on serving a target market that would make a good audience for this daily writing practice.
e.g., “Jane is so passionate about canning root vegetables that she could write about it every day, but she doesn’t have time or energy to do so because to she works 50 hours per week as a software project manager to pay the bills.”
This strikes me as a little sad but don’t get me wrong...
I am NOT suggesting that all these number three people should quit their good paying jobs to start blogging about pickled carrots.
But... mightn’t it be worth experimenting with on the side?
What about doing the writing just for the fun of it? With no expectations about reach or accolades or remuneration.
With no care for the inevitable critical voices, whether they be internal or external.
What if you found it wasn’t really that hard to make time every day to write a few hundred words about your favorite subject?
What if before you knew it, you had a six month streak going and five hundred people were enjoying your messages every single day?
What if they started asking you interesting questions and suggesting topics for future messages and seeking you out for advice and recommending you to friends and wondering when you’re going to write a book?
What if you woke up one day to discover that you had become a recognized expert on artisanal bread or continental knitting or men’s doubles?
Do you think you could make a living at it then?
I betcha could.
Yours,
—J
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