The inspiration for my first book

The thing that inspired me to finally write my first book and put it out into the world was not reading one of the greats. It wasn’t a motivational talk I heard. It wasn’t divine inspiration, or a commitment to self-expression. 

The thing that inspired me to finally write my first book was reading a mediocre self-published book that my friend wrote. 

“If he can write this, and people like it well enough, then I can do it,” I thought to myself. 

Maybe I had a chip on my shoulder. Maybe I was envious. Either way, it wasn’t more consumption and critique of great work that got me over the hump. It was reading something I thought wasn’t very good that inspired me to write something better. I knew I could do better. 

We have two choices when we see people release art that isn’t as good as ours. We can get bitter, shut down, and be the billionth person to label this life as unfair. Or we can choose bravery, just as they did, and release our work too. The first choice turns you into one kind of person. The second choice turns you into another kind of person. Which kind of person do you want to be?