A sample out of the add-on guide (Turn Your Project Into A Book) that came with the book, Get To Know Your Backyard Opportunity.
Introduction
Share
the juice
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Okay,
let’s get straight to the point. You are done with your project, or
are thinking of starting one. Projects abound and for different
purposes. Every project is with a defined goal and time frame.
Whatever the purpose, save for a few classified exceptions, the
lessons of every project should not stay with the individual or group
who undertook the gig. Out there, there are folks who will find the
lessons useful, and the story should get to them. Someone’s whole
life could be turned around with a single line of counsel from your
project. So let’s share the juice.
Personally,
I love projects for their ‘seasonal’ nature — you start
them, create something out of it (value), and then sit back and
consider what the next one will be. That opportunity it provides to
finish and take a breather is crucial, and I value it greatly. Why?
Even God himself rested a bit after His work, and also designed days
to have nights when we all turn in for a rest and wake to a new day.
Projects
are like days — we finish them, rest up, and wake up to a new
or related one, with renewed energy, focus, and with time taken to
collect the lessons of the past one and apply them to the upcoming
one. I like this breather, this time to pause, for I am not one for
the forever project — the one without an end, draining you of
all creativity, and leaving no room for reflection.
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My
Story
So
in this guide, I share the lessons I came away with as I sat to
package the contents of my personal project, a 21-day local interview
project of small business owners in my local community of Austin,
Texas.
Towards
the end of last year, I was in the middle of a difficult time,
working a job I didn’t like. It took a toll on me and made me think
long and hard about how to create a change. I sat down and collected
my thoughts on what I liked, loved, and could do, and put it all
together. Out of this gathering, I created a 21-Day project of
venturing out there to see how I could be useful to others in my
local community, small business owners, to be precise.
After
a few considerations, I decided to simply have conversations with
them. Initially, I was hoping it could turn into some sort of side
gig where I will be able to solve a few problems for small business
owners, but I decided to hear their stories instead, sort of a
long-term thinking approach. I chose to create relationships instead
of a one and done deal, or a touch and go thing.
This
led to a number of interviews with some of the finest small
businesses in the city of Austin, Texas. Also, I came away with and
gained greater insight into some essential skills in blogging,
writing, communication skills, and dealing with people in general.
After
the project, I realized what a useful project it is to challenge
myself and step into the unknown while using my skills at the same
time. In that spirit, I decided to share the lessons with others in a
book.
Why?
This happened in my local community, and realizing there are local
communities everywhere, the opportunity for others to do something
similar is all over, I decided to package it all into an actionable
guide/book that shares my story and teaches others at the same time.
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Recognizing
Value
This
is when I started packaging my project into a book, or turned it into
a book. And having gone through the process, I know projects abound,
with each having its unique lessons. But for lack of packaging or an
inability to turn them into a single source product, their lessons
vanish or end up staying with only those who were involved in the
project or the single individual who did it. There’s a way to
overcome that.
First
thing to think about is this: The earth is full of value, or things
that are useful. Whatever good thing that you set out to do, it
always leads you to take on challenges, and in taking on challenges,
you figure out how to do something that probably has never been done
before, has been done by a few people, or has never been done the way
you did it, or intend to do it. That’s value.
So
how you see something, and how you do it, how it helps you solve a
problem, and how well you solve it are all unique forms of value.
Value in the end is perspective.
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How
Do You Eat An Elephant?
I
know, I know, the value conversion process is not always easy.
Questions like “Where do I start?”, “What do I say?”, “How
do I know I have lessons?”, “How do I arrange it all?”, “How
I do I know it’s even useful to someone else?”, and others can
stop you entirely from even attempting. But take heart, even an
elephant can be eaten, entirely, and that’s what book-writing can
be sometimes, a giant amorphous task.
But
like all things, they are never as bad as they first appear. With
thought, planning, and a one thing at a time approach, you’ll see
it all coming together. Do the first thing, the second, the third,
and then the fourth, and on and on, and you’ll see your courage
growing to match the task. And with a rise in courage, an elephant
could soon become a fly. But you have to start first.
For
example, let’s say you are done with your project, and want to
package it all, and you sit down to start. You could start with the
end in mind: The book. Okay, with that let’s start with the first
thing you did to work on your project. Write that down. How did you
end it, or what did you achieve? Write it down. What was your goal,
what happened during the project to get you there, and what did you
learn? Write those down, too.
With
those 3 you have the basic pieces of any journey: A beginning, what
happened along the journey, and how you got to your destination. Same
way with a book — an introduction, a body, and a conclusion.
These are the same 3 things in life itself — birth, life’s
work, and value created, or the impact you had. The great 3.
Now,
with this start, the elephant is now laid out on a table, the
butchers table, and ready to be sliced into various pieces. These
very pieces are what we are going to eat one bite at a time to finish
this ‘elephant’ and give birth to the book. Now, we have
perspective, right? Good.
As
the saying goes, “Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be
understood. Now is the time to understand more, so that we may fear
less.” — Marie Curie.
Now,
what’s a book, really? Okay, a book is a written material that
contains chapters that express thoughts on different things or
recounts an experience, fiction or non-fiction. Now, what are
chapters? You probably know chapters are most simply one, two, or
three short essays that breakdown an idea. So they are short essays,
right? Okay, what, then, are essays if not short 3, 4, 5, or 6
paragraphs that make a point or flesh out an idea? And on and on,
till you realize that it all starts with a single letter, an a, b, c…
This
is what writing is, at heart. A few letters become a word; words are
strung together to make a single statement. A group of sentences are
put together to become a paragraph, expressing more on an idea. Like
this one you are reading. And then paragraphs become essays, and then
chapters. And the book is on the way.
How
do you build a skyscraper, if not a brick at a time?
(Note:
This is not to belittle the art of writing, but I write it with the
understanding that anyone who has finished a worthwhile project or
thinking of starting one has a decent writing ability, or a fair
understanding of what makes up a book.)
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Nothing
To The Grave
Yet,
some may to me, “No, Kingston, I can’t write. I don’t even like
it. It’s too difficult.” Or, “I don’t think I have the
patience nor the time.” Or, “I cant sit and comb my mind to bring
up value or lessons, nor document my journey while my project is
ongoing.” Yet others may say, “I am just a verbal guy, I am good
with saying it, or just speaking.” Okay, okay. What I say to you is
this: Does that mean the value of your project dies with you, or your
lessons go to the grave?
No,
no. As a minimum, have you seen those books that are written by the
author and someone else? No, not the one that both authors wrote
together, like co-writers. But the one that says, ‘By Mary Beth
with John Grisham’ — meaning Mary Beth worked with or hired
John Grisham to put the whole thing into written words. Yeah, that
one, and I bring that up to mean that even if you can’t write,
someone else can help you do it.
There
you go: There’s almost a way around the mountain, and the value of
your project should live on.
The
Benefits?
Okay,
before we go on, let’s put the carrot ahead of us. Let’s flesh
out why it’s even beneficial to turn your project into a book.
What’s the benefit of writing a book? Let's take a look at the
following
................
For
The Store
One,
a book is your own personal way of storing your story. You did
something worthwhile, that you enjoyed, and challenged you. That must
be saved. If for nothing at all, for review and a way to measure your
progress. Review? Yeah, how can you build on something that’s not
clear? It’s difficult to do that if the only place the story is
stored is in your mind, foggily. A book makes things clear and puts
it in a ‘safe’ for later.
Also,
for personal reasons, it’s good for that nostalgic feeling we all
have when we look through our personal journal or diaries after a few
years and realize how far we have come or have grown. That look-back
often leaves most people with tears, and surely that good smile and
head shake that says how thankful we are for what we did, went
through, what we overcame.
Sure,
a book is not a diary, but the day may come when you may sit and pick
up your own book a few years later and see what you wrote.
Listen
to President Barack Obama, many years after the publication of his
first book, Dreams From My Father. (His political leanings do not a
matter here, just his humanity and the point of what he says.)
“For
the first time in many years, I’ve pulled out a copy and read a few
chapters to see how much my voice has changed over time. I confess to
wincing every so often at a poorly chosen word, a mangled sentence,
an expression of emotion…”
We
all have those look-backs from time to time, and instead of a foggy
mind to do it with, a book is a clear and sure way to see what has
changed or how far we have come.
Also,
if your book is published and distributed, there’s no way it will
be lost — even if a storm comes through your town, pulls up
trees, washes away homes, takes people’s belongings with it, and
damages your one and only personal manuscript, your book will still
be in existence.
Give
To Others
It’s
usually $3.97, $5.99, or $12.00, the price of a book. But when you
pick up a good book, more often than not, the value you get out of
the book far outweighs what you pay for it. That’s if you see the
value and can apply it in some way in your own life.
Critically
looking at the trade-off, you are actually giving to readers, if you
write a good book. What may have taken you more time and money to
make, considering everything you went through and learned, you give
away at a fraction of the cost, if you strive to write it well and
load with value. This is great value to your reader.
Price
is what you pay. Value is what you get — Warren Buffet.
So
if your book’s value exceeds the price by giving in content more
than the cost of the book, it’s a giveaway. And as we all know,
it’s far better to give than to receive.
Your
Book Will Go Where You Cannot
Okay,
let’s talk a little bit about who we are as human beings and our
situation. We all have have limited resources and ability. We cannot
be everywhere at the same time, and do not have unlimited powers.
Yet,
we all have something to say, but have limited hours in a day, and
can only speak for so long. This is where a book comes in — it
can speak and go where you cannot, it takes over and carries your
message long after you are no longer able.
Let’s
take Warren Buffet’s case, for example. In his twenties, Warren
Buffet picked up a book — The
Intelligent Investor — on
value investing written by Benjamin Graham. Warren loved the book so
much that in his decision to go to grad school he chose Columbia
University after finding out that Ben Graham, the author, was a
professor there. Through a series of conversations, Warren later
ended up working for Ben Graham on Wall Street, and that led to one
of Warren’s Buffet’s most influential and treasured relationships
in business and life.
The
principles of value investing in that book is largely responsible for
the making of one of the smartest investors on earth now. But for
sure, when Ben Graham sat to write his book, he wasn’t thinking
about Warren Buffett, nor did he even know he existed. But the book
went all the way to Omaha, Nebraska to Warren.
Remember
readers are learners, and learners who apply what they learn are
leaders. Putting a book out there gives you a chance to connect with
some of the finest people out there, and could even lead to key
partnerships, even friendships like we see in Warren Buffett’s
case.
How
can two walk together unless they agree? (Amos 3:3) Show who you are
in your book and the right people will connect to you.
Opens
Doors
Yes,
you are writing your book to share your knowledge and discoveries
with the world. But you know what? The book being out there is
actually a living and breathing resume, or portfolio, for you.
Problems are opportunities, and many people out there are always
looking for problem solvers. But to find a problem solver, there’s
a “get to know” process, a time to find the right person. This is
what we all know as the interview process.
Yet
the interview is a way of dealing with or getting rid of uncertainty,
a way to find out more about the ones we want to hire. But then
again, what’s fear, doubt, or uncertainty’s great nemesis?
Knowledge. And your book is a your way of sharing your knowledge.
Also
while an interview may be a good way to present your abilities, it’s
too strict and formal a process that may not reveal much about who
you really are. Neither can a written resume, which has space for
only a few things, and is often only one page or two.
Also,
folks looking to hire are, above all, interested in your thinking
process, how you approach problems, how you present things, and your
communication skills. And writing a book on your project shows all
that without you having to say a word. It’s all there in the book
as a living resume (if it's a topic connected to the job you want.)
A
good example is the story of the author of the App Design Handbook,
Nathan Barry. Listen to Nathan himself:
When
I still did consulting work I was on a call with two people from a
company that was deciding whether or not to hire me to design their
new iPhone app. This was just after my book, The App Design Handbook,
had been released and the junior person on the call had read my book
and loved it.
The
manager wasn’t so sure about hiring me. If my design was so good,
why wasn’t I working in the Bay Area?
I
listened to the two of them go back and forth for a minute before the
manager relented and said, “Actually, of course he’s good enough,
he wrote the book on the topic.”
How
would you feel if you could say you “wrote the book on the topic”?
Do you think that would help your career?” — Nathan
Barry
There
you have it. There’s a reason why the word ‘author’ is closely
related to ‘authority.’
It’s
Your Way of Collecting Your By-Product
Why
should it go to waste? When I say that, I mean the lessons of your
project. Plus, it could possibly be another stream of income.
One
of the finest lines I have read about the process of creating is out
of the book ‘Rework’ by the founders of the company
Basecamp, formerly 37 Signals, Jason Fried & David Heinemeier
Hansson:
“When
you make something, you always make something else. You can’t just
make one thing. Everything has a by-product.” — Jason Fried &
David Heinemeier Hannsson, Authors Of Rework
In
that book, the section on by-products shares the story of how two of
their books came into being: Here it is, in quote:
Our
last book, Getting
Real,
was a by-product. We wrote that book without even knowing it. The
experience that came from building a company and building software
was the waste from actually doing the work. We swept up that
knowledge first into blog posts, then into a workshop series, then
into a PDF, and then into a paperback....The book you are reading
right now (that’s Rework) is a by-product too.” Rework,
page 90.
There,
is how you turn your experience into a book. You may say to me,
“Kingston, I see what you mean, but I don’t have a company,
neither have I built software.” Well, you’re right, but did you
just complete a personal project that could be useful to someone
else, to a person who is just starting out?
In
principle, your project and building software are the same. You may
not have a grand app, but at your level, which may be lower, you
still created something of value through your project. Why not share
the story and teach others through a book?
Or,
you may be thinking of starting a project that could help other
people. Why not save the lessons in a book for others? And this is
why I stress the importance of blogging your project the entire time
when you are at it? It’s easier that way to collect the experience
later for packaging, even if for your own personal report or review.
Even
in the great book, the Bible, it says a similar thing about how we
should roast what we took in hunting. A project is a hunt, not unlike
the ancient hunting we all read about. In principle, it’s the same.
It’s a dare, a reaching out, an outgoing to gain what we don’t
currently have. (The word ‘project’ itself is made up of two
words — ‘pro’ meaning ‘for’ and ‘ject’ mean ‘to
reach out, or go out’, as we see in the word ‘eject’. )
With
that comes a by-product. It’s wise, then, to ‘roast’ that
by-product by turning it into something valuable. Here’s the verse:
The
slothful doth not roast what he took in hunting. But the substance of
the diligent is precious — Proverbs
12: 27
Whatever
we do has a by-product. Let’s save it.
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End Of Sample
If you enjoyed this sample, and are thinking of working on a personal project or have already completed with lessons worth sharing, consider sharing it through a book. The full guide takes you into the nuts and bolts of how it all comes together into a book.
You can take take a look at the table of contents here. It also comes with a workbook to help you gather the contents of your project and organize it all before you start writing. This makes the writing process a whole lot easier.
Get the whole deal!
