January 12, 2026

Daily Writing FTW

Something happened today that reminded me of the massive benefits of writing every day for years.

Here’s the story:

Friend-of-the-list and “big idea” guy Pranav Kale interviewed me this morning, and IMHO, I was terrible.

Normally, when someone interviews me, it’s about a topic that I’ve been writing about for a long time (e.g., pricing projects, productizing services, positioning yourself), and it usually goes pretty well.

I have a bunch of useful metaphors, analogies, and anecdotes ready to go.

I can provide lots of clear and concise answers to whatever they ask.

And if they challenge or disagree with something I’ve said, I can go deep with them because I’ve probably had the same debate a hundred times before and written loads of emails exploring the possibilities.

In short...

I feel like I know what I’m talking about.

Today’s interview was different.

Why?

Because it was about something that I’m good at, but that I haven’t written much about.

So what happened?

I was all over the place... long pauses, lame examples, unrelated tangents, conversational dead ends, getting lost...

It was a hot mess.

Here’s the thing...

Writing (and editing and publishing and responding to replies) is how I crystallize my thinking.

If you’re like me and make a living selling your expertise, daily writing is like magic.

It sounds like a lot of work, but the alternative is much more painful.

Yours,

—J

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