If you only ever try to fix what you’re bad at, you might get better over time… but when you focus on what you’re already good at, you’ll make a lot more progress now.
So I'm doing both. I'm leading with my strengths to make progress now, while working on what I'm bad at to boost my progress in the long-run. I figure this gives me the greatest Return On Time Invested (ROTI).
I was driving home to Vermont after a quick trip to Massachusetts when something crystalized. Not a revelation, exactly—but a moment where the things I've been thinking about lately all snapped into place.
After writing my newsletter for a year and a half, I'm most proud of my own growth. Thinking back, my writing felt like it'd improved significantly. As did the format and cadence of what I publish. Systems are my thing. Finding a way to feed two birds with one scone is quite possible my greatest strength. So, I'd felt good about my consistency, but pretty frustrated with my audience growth. An early trend of new subscribers recently started to slow, backslide, surge to life, then dwindle again. So it goes.
While I drove along 89 North, I listened to a podcast interview with 61x Moth Storytelling Champion, Matthew Dicks. It was then that my resolve around the MAP Year project hardened, even further, into cement. As someone who frequently attends Moth storytelling events as a spectator, with hopes of taking the stage himself, I'd been looking for some inspiration.
I felt a jolt of determination when I realized storytelling was the very thing that'd been holding me back this whole time. I'd got past the fear of publishing. And built the habit of showing up. But the part where a story actually lands was still missing... I'm a ramblin' man who lacks structure when it comes to making his point in a way that resonates. And, thanks to Matthew Dicks and my newly fortified focus on learning more about telling better stories, I'd just found a few ways to help me work on it. Considering my goal is to reach my dream of writing professionally, I'm thrilled about how the MAP Year creates accountability around investing in myself.
After I got home, I opened my laptop, did a quick scan, then ordered the following:
If I'm using the Artist's Way like the steering wheel of this ship, resources like these are the sails. I'm psyched to see what I learn from using them. So here's to chasing dreams and to getting better along the way. And to doubling-down on what you're bad at by using what you're already great at.
onward.
-dmac