It happened twice in the same week.
After several weeks of coaching, two of my clients hammered out specific, clear, right-on-target short-term goals for their writing.- "I'll finish and submit a personal essay in the next six weeks," Jeff declared.
- "I'll get out of the house and write my queries in a cafe this week," said Sharon.
Jeff worked diligently on the essay but along the way, something else emerged. A clear angle for the book he'd been dreaming of. Heck, not just a clear angle, but an entire structure for the manuscript.
"I'm being pulled to work on this book now," he reported in our next call. "But if I choose to follow this new direction, am I abandoning my initial goal to publish the essay?"
Together we found a way for Jeff to embrace this new development and pursue both projects.
Sharon's case was a bit different.
This home-based freelancer intended to get out of the house to invigorate her motivation, get fresh ideas and generally feel a bit more connected to the world beyond her computer screen.
Instead, Sharon reported that after a good cafe work session, she took a break and went outside to sit on a bench in the town square. As she sat, who should appear but a former colleague, someone who'd recently become an editor at one of the regional pubs she's been eyeing.
After catching up, Sharon pitched a story idea on-the-spot. The editor was receptive. In fact, he liked it enough to arrange a follow-up call with her later in the week.
Jeff didn't set out to "discover his book." It just happened.
Sharon set out to "get assignments," it's true, but she didn't expect to have a conversation with an assigning editor when she left her house for a query-writing session at the local cafe.
In their own ways, Jeff and Sharon each experienced the power of synchronicity: that happy, fruitful and unexpected "match" between intention and outcome. They each "got lucky." You can, too.
Ready to get lucky with your writing goals? Just follow these three, simple steps.
- First, Jeff and Sharon set specific, manageable, meaningful goals. They sat down to write with a crystal-clear understanding of what they wanted to do and why.
- Next, Jeff and Sharon showed up for their work focused and relaxed. (This is key.) They didn't waste energy on self-doubt. They didn't get caught up in perfectionism, procrastination or any of the other myriad ways we writers tangle ourselves up before we even begin. Using tools they learned from our coaching partnership, each "stayed out of their own way" as they worked.
- Finally, when something a bit different from what they'd expected showed up (a book! an editor!), they were attuned enough to notice and respond to their good fortune--not turning opportunity down because it wasn't what they were expecting.
image credit: Caitlinator (Flickr)
What writing project would you like to "get lucky" with this month, and what are your plans to get you there?
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