18th April 2024
The source of your power, Robert Greene likes to say, is your uniqueness.
We say of the great people: “They’re one of a kind.”
We say of the great works: “It’s one of a kind.”
So are you, Robert says.
“No one else has had your experiences, your perspective, your taste.
Always stick to what makes you weird, odd, strange, different. That’s your source of power.”
Own your uniqueness & express it in your work.
And as Jeff Bezos says, “The world pulls at you in an attempt to make you normal.
The world wants you to be typical – in a thousand ways, it pulls at you. Don’t let it happen.”
A third of the way through writing ‘The Psychology of Money,’ author Morgan Housel threw out everything he had written.
“I just didn’t like where it was going,” he said.
So Housel started over and took an entirely different approach.
Prior to writing, ‘The Psychology of Money,’ Morgan had been writing online for over a decade.
In that time, he developed a unique style. In 800-1000 words, he would tell an interesting story which usually had seemingly nothing to do with money or finance to illustrate an important lesson about money or finance.
He had 2 guiding mantras:
1) “Best story wins.”
2) “Make your point and get out of the way.”
But then, when Morgan sat down to write a book, he abandoned his unique style and conformed to the style of most books.
The typical book chapter is ~4000-5000 words. So Morgan’s initial plan for ‘The Psychology of Money’ was to write 10 chapters of 4000 to 5000 words per chapter.
To hit that word count, Morgan said, he rambled, he added fluff, he included additional examples that made the same point as earlier examples and a third of the way through, Morgan didn’t like what he was writing.
So he threw it all out.
Instead of conforming to the style of most books, he said, “I just owned the style of writing that I have.”
Instead of writing 10 long chapters, ‘The Psychology of Money’ is 20 short chapters.
One chapter is so short that when Morgan submitted it to his publisher, they emailed him and asked if he had sent the wrong file.
“No,” he said, “that’s all I have to say on the topic.”
That’s how he approached every chapter, Morgan said. “I wanted to make a good point, I wanted to use a good story to make that point, and then I wanted to stop, get out of the reader’s way, and move on to the next chapter.”
He owned his unique style. He owned his two mantras.
The strategy worked.
To date, ‘The Psychology of Money’ has sold over three million copies worldwide.
There is no comparison between the Sun & the Moon, they shine when it’s their time.
Similarly, each one of us has been sent to do his own special bit & we are all blessed with our own special gifts,
Own your uniqueness, that makes you what you are & stay blessed forever.