Write of Passage Weekly - The Courage to Take the Stage

Hey ,

There’s this viral video of a lone guy dancing to music in public. I find it fascinating. He’s out there by himself, thrashing and gyrating. He looks crazy, but he’s having the time of his life. Soon, someone joins in. Then another. All of a sudden, hundreds of strangers are rushing to join the party. 

That video is a masterclass in psychology. The first person to do something always looks weird. People laugh and point fingers, thinking, I would never. But once others start joining in, that lone dancer goes from looking like a goon to looking like a genius. 

Maybe that’s how you see your favorite writers — as geniuses. They can start a virtual flash-mob with a single tweet, so you forget that they started by dancing alone. They started by publishing into the void and hearing the crickets of indifference.

You may think that your favorite creators are out of your league, or beyond your intellectual capabilities, but that simply isn’t true. The gap between you and your favorite creators is smaller than you think. All you need is the courage to take the stage. 

You’re filled with captivating ideas that are uniquely yours, and the world wants to hear them. Once you have the courage to be marvelously different, authentically you, you can inspire others to do the same. Once you have the courage to dance alone, others will start to join you.

Join us for Publish in a Day, and start dancing with a support system and a group of like-minded peers. It’ll be an all-day writing flash mob. You’ll come with an idea, then write, edit, and ship a piece of writing that you’re proud of — all in one day.

The next workshop runs this Friday, January 19. To secure your spot, join today.

To taking the stage,

David