“God please no.”

I’m sitting at my desk. It’s the 1st of January. I’d just spent a week wrestling with the decision to spend more time on my book, Magnetic Writing. I thought this morning would be a fresh start with blazing energy.

But instead, a thought hit me from nowhere:

You’re writing the wrong book.

I was suspicious. To go from ‘you’re building the wrong business´ to ‘you’re writing the wrong book’ so quickly made me think perhaps I was burning out. So I spent the day walking, reading, and thinking.

By dinner, I knew I was right. It was painful to admit I had spent hundreds of hours going down the wrong direction, but I’m glad I realised it. Let me give you three reasons why (and the lessons underneath).

Lesson 1: The more time on a project, the more timeless it must be

The crack in my confidence came because I revisited one of my favourite podcast episodes—James Clear with Tim Ferris. Clear explains he only focuses on evergreen content because of the runway it gives, even if it means slower initial growth.

If your asset becomes out of date, it is unsellable. Which is especially important for a book. You might spend thousands of hours on it, so you'd better make sure you can sell it for decades. The longer it lives, the more popular it can become.

I was approaching Magnetic Writing all wrong. It was tactic-heavy, and tactics change.

I’d felt the pain of this mistake already. So much of my content has had an expiry date. After 5 years, I’ve begun to wonder what would be different if my body of work were evergreen. As I reflected during Christmas, one question I asked myself was:

“What mistake am I repeating that I am not thinking about?”

And that’s when I realised I was heading down the same track, just with a different tale.

The lesson:

The more time you spend on an asset, the more timeless it should be. If the words exist forever, make them work forever.

Lesson 2: Don’t ignore your intuition

When I realised I was ignoring something I already knew, I asked what other blindspots could be lurking around the corner. The answer was uncomfortable.

I was writing a book that I wouldn’t finish reading.

Don’t get me wrong, I know it was becoming the best book on how to grow your business through writing online. But a week before, I was on a call with a friend, and I told him that I literally couldn’t finish a book on tactics.

I get bored 30% of the way in. As soon as I see scripts and templates, my eyes glaze.

And yet here I was, writing the same.

I thought I had to write like this. When I peeled apart that belief, I realised that in the planning phase, I read several "books on how to write books" and took their advice for gospel. They were highly tactical. One even said that the more principle/philosophical stuff is rubbish. I nodded and put my blinders on.

But there are no rules for how you write.

In fact, one of the few universal tips worth following is to create things you wish existed. Following someone else’s prescription is a quick way to lose yourself.

I love books that make me think. That shares vulnerable stories and principles. That can be funny for serious topics. They don´t necessarily have the perfect framework or structure. But they leave a lasting impression and form the deepest relationships.

They actually change my behaviour because I finish the bloody things!

And is that not the purpose of a book?

The lesson:

There is no right way to build. There is only your way. Do not ignore your intuition; it exists for a reason. Especially creative projects. Have faith in your taste. Learn from everyone, but copy no one.

The final lesson was the most humbling.

Lesson 3: If it isn’t different, it’s a disaster

When I looked at Magnetic Writing with fresh eyes, I realised 70% of it was around getting clients and creating a quality offer.

It was great advice, but I am not a business guru. I enjoy talking about business, but I don´t want to be known for it. Yet here I was, carving out a reputation in that direction. The problem was that anyone could write what I was writing. The Internet is full of people telling other people how to make money. My book was adding to that noise, when actually, there is something more important I want to say:

Writing will change your life.

The more you write, the more you discover about yourself. The more you attract like-minded people. The more you create opportunities. The more you build leverage, which leads to impact and freedom.

I don´t just enjoy writing.

I love it. I wouldn´t trade it for $10,000,000

And that´s the energy I want to share in the book:

How to make writing your life.

So why didn´t I write that before? Fear. I was holding back my love for writing because there’s a part of me that whispers, ¨You´re not a real writer, who are you to talk about this?¨

But is that not the same demon many of us wrestle with?

Is that not the perfect reason to write this book?

The lesson:

If you are not different from the crowd, you are the crowd. When you find something you love, scream about it. What makes you weird, makes you win.

I´ve spent 3 weeks on the next edit now. I know it´s a solid pivot because the pages are coming to life. Hopefully you´ll enjoy it too.

You can join 1000+ people on the waitlist here.

Cheers,

Kieran