Lifestyle Design – Why you absolutely need to write well

You think you want to design your own lifestyle, you have read “The 4-Hour Workweek” and want to get started right away? Outsourcing your work, selling online, living free and happy ever after?

Now here is some advice, learn how to write. No really, learn how to write well, you are going to need it. No matter what you are going to do, you will need it.

Outsourcing

When you are thinking about outsourcing, you definitely have to learn how to write. And ideally you need to be able to describe more or less complex tasks in precise and short language, such that any mere mortal can understand them.

Outsourcing is about getting someone else to do your work, and most often your work requires some specific knowledge, about your customers maybe, maybe about how your business works, your industry, etc.

And what if you loose an outsourcer, and need to hire a new one, who is not familiar with your business. Of course you want to get them up to speed as fast as possible. What could probably be more convenient than having a complete and easy to read manual about your business to give to your new employee.

And writing well does not only mean that you can produce endless sermons of boring blabla. You want your people to actually do work, and not read your newest and greatest 1000 page novel, right. Therefore writing well also means writing short, yet not missing out on important details.

btw. if this did not convince you, read “The E-Myth Revisited” by Michael Gerber, I’m sure he will teach you. And you will gain valueable insights into how business actually works.

Also, non-routine tasks, like stuff that only needs to be done once per month/year, needs to be documented well, or else you or your outsourcers, will likely forget specific details, and you are therefore bound to reinvent the wheel time and time again, which of course is inefficient and causes unnecessary extra-work.

Selling

This of course depends on your niche and industry, but lets assume that you are selling online, or that you plan to sell online. Have you ever though about how your sales pitch is going to be delivered to your potential customers, I hope you have. While video is taking one, most of the information on the Internet is still consumed via reading. And this means for you that you need to write to deliver your marketing message. Of course, you could also outsource copywriting, but this takes as back to point number one, who’s gonna write the instructions for your copywriters?

Maybe you come from a background in Sales, Tim Ferris did work in Sales once, as he says in his book. Then you are maybe more familiar with selling on the phone, or in face to face meetings. You likely know about many of the dynamics that take place in a negotiation situation, and you might be even comfortable and successful doing so. Again, you could outsource sales too, but you’re most likely better of, of you have an Internet strategy as well. I hope you do.

Selling on the Internet is actually not really different from selling via phone and in person. But it is important that you deliver your pitch well, and that means that you need to write well. Also, you might need to write phone scripts for your outsourcers, which again means writing. But just think about the potential, once written, your pitch can be delivered again and again and again. Welcome to the benefits of the net.

Product Creation

So, you think you want to create a product as your muse. An information product maybe, as recommended in the 4HWW? Like DVDs, or an eBook? Well, you see for the eBook you are going to need to write again. And it’d better be good, so that people blog and write about you and help you promote your product. That means writing well. Like writing instructions for your outsources, creating an information product likely contains instructions, self-improvement advice, whatever. If your instructions and your writing are clear and easy to follow, people will have a better time, implementing your ideas, and will likely tell their friends about you.

I recommend 4HWW to all my friends, so I guess it works for Tim.

Oh, and btw. if you think you can just do a DVD and avoid this practice, think again, I’ve found that making videos is much easier if you sketch out a simple structure of your product before starting the shooting. Writing helps you clear your mind and organize your ideas, this will likely show in your video as well. But maybe you are a natural, or you fix it all in the editing room, who knows.

Teaching

Is teaching a part of Lifestyle Design? I certainly think it is. What if you are able to make it, and have the most awsome fun in your whole life, but you have no one to share your joy with? Because all your friends are still dully working away their hours all week long, instead of playing outside with you? Then you need to be able to teach them, to have the real fun. Or you try something really cool, that you want to tell the world about?

Being able to teach well is just most important, no matter what you practice, as soon as you are becoming really good, you start to socialize with the top dogs, you will exchange ideas and new approaches etc. Then you will need to teach your commonity about your latest exploits. And I have found, that it is not only of benefit to deliver a classroom lecture well, or maybe lead a practical course, but rather for effective teaching written course ware is essential as well. I for one really thrive when I have well written instructions to accompany an interesting course.

Also, remember “becoming an Expert” instructions in Tims Book, they require you to give lectures to interested audiences, which means you need to teach. And to write.

So, I hope I could convince you why this is such an essential skill in Lifestyle Design. This is a motivational piece, and I hope I got you out of the chair and into your, well…. writers chair. 😉

btw. This was only about WHY you need to learn writing, I am not going to tell you HOW to learn writing, but I’ll give you a hint: (practice helps) 😉

Have fun,
Cheers
-Richard