Turn Your Project Into A Book ( A Free Sample)

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
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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! 

Why You Should Pay Attention To Your By-Products

Recently I took a walk through my neighborhood after going out for a morning run. After the run, I decided to take a longer route back to the apartment. I often do this to challenge my mind to be accepting of new things, and to break routine.

But taking the different route led me to the neighborhood garden. This year my neighborhood got a new garden that we’ve all come to appreciate very much. From what I hear, it all came about after one lady decided to request the previously unused plot of land from the City of Austin and make a garden of it. How the back and forth went, I don’t know, but when the city gave permission and folks broke ground, I enlisted to volunteer to help get it in shape and create beds for the garden. We got it done, fenced and all.

So it’s all a pleasant morning stroll, or at anytime of the day, when I walk by and see the transformation, as my mind goes back to what it used to be like — nothing like what I see now. Members of the community have bought beds and are growing all kinds of plants, flowers, vegetables, and the like, there.
But with gardening comes things to buy, right? That’s how mulch found it’s way to the garden. A huge pile of it is set aside right next to the garden for use.

So that morning, I stopped by to take a closer look at it — the mulch. It looked like trash, and it was, and it isn’t.

 

I scooped a bit into my hand and took a close looked at what it’s basic ingredient is — pieces of leaves, wood scraps, little tree limbs, and all. Not much of value. Or?

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Henry Ford & Crude Oil

Who started Kingsford Charcoal, the company? Till I read the book Rework by Jason Fried & David Heinemieier Hannssson, I didn’t know. But it’s interesting to find out that Henry Ford did.

And the backstory is worth paying attention to. Here’s a clip:

Henry Ford learned of a process for turning wood scraps from the production of Model T’s into charcoal briquets. He built a charcoal plant and Ford Charcoal was created (later renamed Kingsford Charcoal). Today, Kingsford is still the leading manufacturer of charcoal in America — Rework

On the back of this is another interesting thing I read about in an article sometime back. It’s about the number of by-products that can be had from crude oil, which is what petroleum is. The number was in the thousands.

Enter Wikipedia:

Over 6,000 items are made from petroleum waste by-products including: Fertilizer, Linoleum, Perfume, Insecticide, Petroleum Jelly, Soap, Vitamin Capsules. See link to partial list of 144 by-products listed by Ranken Energy [3]
Worth pondering over, right?

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Gladiator

Recently a friend of mine who loves movies recently bought a DVD of a movie he loves and considers a classic.
I mean this guy loves movies, the suspense, drama, and the layers of storytelling that goes on in movies, he will spend hours telling you all about it, making clear what may not be apparent to you. He lights up.

So when he bought the extended version of the movie Gladiator with Russell Crowe I was not surprised. The DVD was a little heavy and packed.

This edition came with more features, deleted scenes, how characters were created, sound and visual effects, costume design galleries, cast portrait photo galleries, storyboard demonstrations, tales of the scribes, story development, the tools of war, and more. And all this was broken down into a 3 Disc pack.

Here’s the 3 Disc’s contents ( let me just share a few of the contents from each of them):

1. Disc 1: Feature: All new commentary by Ridley Scott and Russell Crowe, Trivia Deck, etc.
2. Disc 2: Documentary: “Strength and Honor: Creating the World Of Gladiator” Never before seen seven part Documentary: The glory of Rome, Shadows & Dust, Tale of the scribes, The heat of Battle, and others.
3. Disc 3: Supplementary: Storyboards, Production design and galleries, Ridley Scott’s own sketches of “Maximus’ Journey” Costume design galleries, visual effects, abandoned sequences…
   

Definitely these are all by-products from the making of the movie, right? And definitely they did not go to waste. My friend found saw value there and bought it. He saw how it could help him improve his understanding of the movie-making process.

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You Can’t Make Just One Thing

One of the most finest lines I have heard about the creative process again comes from the book Rework. Here it is:

When you make something, you always make something else. You can’t make just one-thing. Everything has a by-product. Observant and creative minds spot these by-products and see opportunities.

Henry Ford saw his, crude oil producers see theirs, and movie-makers see theirs. What about you and I?

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You & Me.

 
Day in and day out we wake to get things done, and whether we like it or not our lives are in the making. We are creating something. We are picking up things, including little pieces of information.

If you’ve lived here on earth past a quarter century, you have picked up something worthy along your journey. What have you learned? What interesting experiences have you had? What unique insights do you have? How is that useful to someone else? Is that value?

But more importantly can you offer it to someone else?

Nothing is useless if positioned right.

But if you offer it in a jumbled order, it’s of no value to anyone. It must be geared, organized, and directed towards solving a specific problem for someone else.

What you have are pieces of problem solving bits, and they are not useless. You only have to re-purpose them towards something specific that makes a difference for someone.

Mulch in it’s basic components is little pieces of wood scraps, broken tree limbs, and a lot of ‘obviously’ useless bits. But when organised and packaged for the sole purpose of enriching garden soil, suddenly it’s a product, and it’s valuable.

Do you see your by-product?

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Also, I apply the by-product principle in the offering of my new book, Get To Know Your Backyard Opportunity here. And feel free to let me know your thoughts, too, or share it with someone who will find it useful, if it’s not for you. Thanks.

Walking Into The Unknown

This is an excerpt out of recently released eBook, Get To Know Your Backyard Opportunity.

Walking Into The Unknown

It’s like a voyage of discovery into unknown lands, seeking not for new territory but for new knowledge. It should appeal to those with a good sense of adventure — Frederick Sanger.

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My approach is to go one street at a time. Keep in mind I didn’t know anyone — -business owners, that is — -personally. So I go out and take my chances. But it’s not just me and the chances. It’s me and some goodies in my pocket — the desire to learn, a clear idea of what I’m out to do, the purpose of my project, going about things in a professional manner, goodwill, a desire to write all about it and share the stories I collect, and a clear idea of how to present my project and set up interview appointments. And all of it for free. And lest I forget, joy and a smile. These are trump cards on their own, it’s only up to me to use them well.

Okay, so when I’m out, already knowing about the locality pretty well, I pick one street and go from shop to shop presenting my project to owners.

I was turned down by some, and also run into shops where the owner was absent, but for the most part it went well. For stopping by about 10 shops in one stretch, I will come away with one interview. And if you factor in absent owners and having no prior relationships to tap into, I’d take one interview any day.

Also, besides the tools in my pocket, I also have at heart that in the end these business owners and I are the same at heart. We all want to be loved, to belong, to be acknowledged, and to be part of something good. In this case, I have created this good thing that I know they ( if they get to know my reasons) will definitely want to be a part of. As of writing this book, some of them were the very ones who gave me testimonials to share on my book page, after getting to know me through the project, and a good amount of them are now my Facebook friends.

Also when I’m out prospecting like this, I’m only out there for about 2–3 hours, sometimes 1, at a time. Sometimes I visit only 5 shops in a day. You can see how I spent my day in the behind the scenes posts that I wrote about towards the end of the book, in the later chapters. There, I share everything I wrote about on a daily basis while the project was going on.

In the same way, I’m sure you know your local community very well, so pick a few streets that you will be visiting business owners on during your project. Yet if you already know a few business owners, do your first interviews with them and use that as evidence when you are ready to go out and talk to owners you don’t know.

But after picking a street, simply walk in, like I share above, and present your project. With your presentation in mind, and believe me you’ll come away with interviews.

Again, know you have these in your pocket.

1. Sincerity
2. Goodwill
3. Desire to learn
4. Desire to write about it
5. Willingness to share their story with others
6. It’s all free and costs them nothing save a few minutes of their time
7. A smile.

Do this for 7 days, 2 hours a day, and you’ll come away with 3–4 interviews, at least.

This is for folks who will like to do my kind of project ( with business owners). But for those looking to interview another kind of professionals, a similar approach will work. For, let’s say churches, if you want to interview pastors, it will be visiting a select number of churches in your local community and requesting to meet the pastors. The same list above applies in approaching them, too.

For folks focusing exclusively on interviewing chefs, it will be visiting only restaurants and requesting to talk to their chefs. For teachers, it will be local schools, for stockbrokers, it will be visiting investment firms in your neighborhood, however few there are there, and so on. You get the idea. But the goodies I list above work in almost any situation.

What will I get from all this?

Okay, what will you get from 'walking into the unknown'? The opportunity to step outside your comfort zone is something you should always consider carefully without turning it down immediately, for out of those come some of the best of all a person's personal growth.

Why? The opportunity to step into an unfamiliar zone, where you know no one, or a few people, to share an idea, or to complete a project will draw on the best inside you.

In this case, you’ll be dealing with people you don’t know, but you get out there and engage with them. This is like standing in front of a small section of the world and doing a presentation on why you should be heard. This is not a grand public presentation, but an opportunity to start there, and start working on your presentation skills, and people skills.

The whole world revolves around people, and people are the essence of the world. Some may say animals matter, too. Yeah, they do, but only in the sense that we human beings value them, or their existence helps us. So in the end, an ability to deal with people is one of the greatest skills to have an opportunity to learn.

You have lived in your local community your whole life and may privately hold a desire to travel overseas as a chance to grow and expand your understanding of the world and of yourself. A great desire, I would say, but the reason most people who travel overseas and come back with a new-found self-understanding is the unfamiliarity that being abroad or living in an unfamiliar environment forces you to wrestle with.

It’s like taking the baby bike-supports off your child’s bike and asking him to ride on his own. In that moment, he has nothing to hold on to, but to draw on something inside him, to trust that he can do this. And the capacity that is already inside him but lies untapped will come forth. That’s what foreign lands do to you. They bring out the fears first, and then the treasures deep within.

Well, foreign lands are not always physical. They are mental too. If someone says “I have never done this before,” they only mean that whatever they are talking about is foreign to them, their mind has never experienced something like that. We see this with public speaking. People who are new to it have to deal with stage fright because to their minds this is foreign territory.

So is a local interview project. It forces you to interact with your local community in a new, ‘foreign’ way, and that will test you. But in a good way. It will draw things out of you that you never knew you had. You’ll see your local community in a new light, and when you are done, you’ll have expanded your being, and your relationships, too.

So if the money to travel nor the opportunity do so through a group does not present itself, create your own “foreign” at home, create your own “unknown” right where you are with a local project, and go out and execute.

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If you enjoyed the read, you'll love the whole book: Get To Know Your Backyard Opportunity

 

Why Writing Is A Cornerstone For Any Project

Why Write?

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This is an excerpt from my upcoming book Get To Know Your Backyard Opportunity, a guide that shares my story of interviewing small business owners in Austin, Texas, and the lessons in personal development that I came away with. It also doubles as a guide to help anyone anywhere take initiative on something they love via a similar project in their own local community. This is a chapter on why blogging/writing is key to making the most of the project.

 

Why Write?

 

Grammar is to a writer what anatomy is to a sculptor, or the scales to a musician. You may loathe it, it may bore you, but nothing will replace it, and once mastered, it will support you like a rock. — -B.J Chute.

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Okay, first thing, we are not talking about grammar, not entirely. Yeah, it will come in handy later, but let me draw a bit from the quote above.

Writing is a ‘flesher’ of thoughts. It brings order to things said, and is one of the greatest skills you can develop. Why? Clarity is a quality of all great thoughts, and anything that has to be put into writing challenges the writer to think more carefully — he has to put one word after the other to make a point — and bring out what’s not necessarily clear.

Why not just say it, you may ask? Well, you could, but the spoken word unless written down gets taken up by the air, and is lost forever. What about the memory? Well, it could be collected in the memory, but in time the memory fades. So to rely on it is to leave you scratching your head when it comes time to recollect it for use. And definitely what cannot be retrieved cannot be used. Herein comes the point of this saying: A short pencil is better than a long memory.

But in saying all this, for our purposes here, I do not mean excellent writing. I mean the ability to put down a decent record of your thoughts so that others can read and see what you mean, and at this point mistakes are allowed — that way starters can grow and get better. This is why I do not stress strict grammar, but the ability to start practicing now.

Marco Polo

Okay, let’s look back a little. Let’s see why you know Marco Polo, or the Marco Polo sheep.

Growing up as a kid, I heard a bit of the Marco Polo sheep but didn’t quite understand why the sheep was so named. Later in life, I read a piece somewhere of Marco Polo and why he is renowned worldwide for his documentation of his travels to Asia, and how his book — “The Travels Of Marco Polo”— was Europe’s introduction to Central Asia and China.

But wait, was he the first, or was he the most knowledgeable person about that region of the world at the time? Enter Wikipedia:

Marco Polo was not the first European to reach China (see Europeans in Medieval China), but he was the first to leave a detailed chronicle of his experience. This book inspired Christopher Columbus and many other travellers. There is a substantial literature based on Polo’s writings; he also influenced European cartography, leading to the introduction of the Fra Mauro map. — Wikipedia

There, is the power of the pen, which is said to be mightier than the sword. Well, in our day, it will be punching the keyboard, right?

Yet you may say to me, “Kingston, nah, I am not Marco Polo, I am not that big.” Well, we all have to start somewhere, right? We all can’t be great from the outset. We have to start where we are, though, and use what we have, build a muscle for whatever skill we desire, and then see what opportunities come our way to use it.

Time and chance happens to all things, and I am sure Marco started writing, or had a great appreciation for it at a much earlier time in his life, and took other previous opportunities to write about other projects before he penned the famous book. That writing of the book was actually a chance he took to write it — he could have chosen not to. Plus, his expedition to Central China or Asia, in a large sense, was a project, too.

But what’s more? The likelihood of influencing Christopher Columbus would not have existed without Marco putting pen to paper.

What About This Project?

In this case of a project, how useful is writing? In a number of ways: One, it’s a way of creating a story for yourself while you go about the project. There are many things that will happen during the project, and not recording it means a lot is lost along the way. I see value in all things, and so the chance to record my discoveries, conversations, observations, and even mistakes, gives me a record to look back on. This record is a store of things to learn from, things to improve on, and proof that this actually happened.

Two, you need a platform. This is why I talk about starting a blog. When you start a project like this one, with the few people you may share it with or whoever will know about it ( or even the professionals you end up interviewing), they will like to follow your progress, and reading is how they do that.

So in that sense, reading is how they consume what you are creating. Reading, then, is a form of consumption. It’s like eating, and proper eating demands that food be served on a plate. Your project is something you are serving to others. So serve it on plate, a platform — which is what a blog is. It’s simply a “form” of “plate,” and writing is the tool you use to put it on that plate.

This very book you are reading itself is a platform. There has to be a ground upon which I share my story and the lessons. The story is my ground, and the book is my writing pad, my platform, and I typed the words onto the “plate.”

Three, writing on a platform like a blog, sets you up to share your findings. The project will lead you to discoveries, not only about your neighborhood, people, or situations, but your own self and your passion. Make sure you note those — discovering things about yourself is your great key to thriving on the earth. And when you will like to share some of these, a blog gives you a tool with sharing powers — the social media buttons ( Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Youtube, and others) — to easily distribute it.

Also, the more you write, do projects, and share your thoughts, the more the right people will come to you. The reason people are hesitant to come to connect with others is a lack of information, uncertainty. Lack of information is like walking in the dark, and few people like that. Knowledge is light, and the more you share, the more people know about you, and makes it easy for others to decide how to connect to you, based on what you are sharing. This is how writing improves your chances of getting where you want to go — by connecting you to the right people.

The president of the United States, president Barack Obama, is a writer. During his initial campaign for president, I heard stories here and there about how he sometimes writes his own speeches. How does being a writer help him? Well, in a few key ways.

Connection  — I’m sure some folks read his books (“Dreams From My Father” and “ The Audacity Of Hope” )— especially during his initial campaign for president as a way of knowing more about him as a candidate, and in the process saw his thinking process and what he believed. They then checked if they agreed with him or not on the issues at play for the presidency. For those who did, they easily voted for him. That writing, someway, somehow, helped pave the way for his election. It supported him and connected him to the right people.

So it is with all of us. Your ability to gather your thoughts, package it, and use it to make a point is a rare skill. Not everyone can do that. But you can start small, and with a project that you enjoy, and write all about it. In time, you’ll get better.

Even the great God Himself who created all things, when He sought to record His thoughts, He put it in a book for men to read. This is how we know His will.

A Premise, and Like A Rock

What’s more? The United States Of America, a great experiment in nation building on the face of the earth, in her attempt to free itself from colonial rule, wrote a document that clearly spelled out the grounds upon which they will like to rule themselves, free themselves of the United Kingdom. The document laid clear reasons for what they wanted to do, why they wanted to do it, and shared it with all. Out of this document, in a large sense, the constitution was written, which today governs the country. 

That’s how writing will support you like a rock, as B.J Chute points out in the quote above that starts this topic.

In the same way, you should also, if you were to work on your own personal project, write out a small statement that spells out your mission for the project, and make it clear on your blog. Nothing big, nothing special, just a few words that spell out what you are doing and why you are doing it.

Here is mine:

This is what some owners saw on my blog when I introduced myself. They checked it directly, sometimes in my presence, and said, “Okay, let’s talk.”

That’s how writing can be a support —a tool to help you state your grounds and make things clear.

For you, some good questions to ask, if you were to write yours will be these: Is my purpose clear enough? Does it show why I am doing what I am doing? Is it with goodwill, is it well-meaning, does it serve others besides me?

Write the vision, and make it clear upon tables that he may run who reads it — Habbakuk 2:2

Again, it doesn’t have to be perfect at the outset. No, don’t even worry about that. No one starts out perfectly. Just get your thoughts on to the page in as decent a form as possible. Also, notice in B.J Chute’s quote above how it talks about a process — “…once mastered, it will support you…”  — -showing that it’s a process, and you won’t start out with great writing, but in time, you will master it. It’s the same with everything else and everyone. I’m still learning and striving to be better everyday myself.

Warren Buffet & Basecamp Inc.

Let’s take a quick look at something I read not too long ago. Recently after logging out of my email, an MSN page came up with this headline: Buffet: Stop Blaming The Rich For Income Inequality. The title had Mr. Warren Buffet’s photo behind it. The piece was originally published in the Wall Street Journal on May, 21, 2015.

But far from the meat of the topic is how Warren Buffett got his thoughts out. The author, Dan Bigman, put it like this:

“Buffet, whose net worth we clock in at $71.3 billion, wrote in a Wall Street Journal Opinion piece published yesterday…” — Dan Bigman

Again, let’s not to get into the meaning of the topic, but worthy of note there is one word: Wrote. He wrote. Yeah, writing makes a man exact, as is often said.

There was a matter at issue in the public realm, and Warren Buffett sat down, took out a tool, and made his thoughts clear. He wrote it out. After that, he shared it on a platform, the Wall Street Journal— and from there it was easily distributed, which is how it got to me. But after writing, Mr. Buffet did not spend another ounce of energy to say more. His written piece takes over and does the rest of the work.

How About Getting A Job?

Well, I will again tap into the New York Times bestselling book, Rework, by Basecamp Inc. Basecamp, the company, formerly 37 Signals, is run by Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson. They are a software company based in Chicago.

Why they matter? They are the makers of the popular project management app Basecamp, among other apps, and created Ruby On Rails which is used by a good percentage of programmers and designers today. They also wrote the books, Rework and Getting Real.

In Rework, they stress the importance of hiring writers. Here:

“If you are trying to decide among a few people to fill a position, hire the best writer. It doesn’t matter if that person is a marketer, salesperson, designer, programmer, or whatever; their writing skills will pay off.

Why?

That’s because being a good writer is about more than writing. Clear writing is a sign of clear thinking. Great writers know how to communicate. They make things easy to understand. They can put themselves in someone else’s shoes. They know what to omit. And those are the qualities you want in any candidate.” — Rework, page 222.

Key words to sense out of that? Empathy — they can put themselves in someone else’s shoes. Clear thinking — bringing order to a mental jumble. Clarity — they make things easy to understand. Concise — they know what to omit. All these point to an ability to communicate, and this is one of the chief benefits of doing a project like this, writing about it, and working and being on the same page with all the people you interview through clear communication. Again no one starts out great at this. Start small.

End Of Sample

Trash To Value

After getting a good morning workout in, I decided to take a longer route back to the apartment, and as a way of doing something different. I often do this to challenge my mind to be accepting of new things, and to break routine.

This year my neighborhood got a new garden that we’ve all come to appreciate very much. From what I hear, it all came about after one lady decided to request the previously abandoned plot of land from the City of Austin and make a garden of it. How the back and forth went, I don’t know, but when the city gave permission and folks broke ground, I enlisted to volunteer to help get it in shape and create beds for the garden. We got it done, fenced and all.

So it’s all a pleasant morning stroll, or at anytime of the day, when I walk by and see the transformation, as my mind goes back to what it used to be like. Members of the community have bought beds and are growing all kinds of plants, flowers, vegetables, and the like there.

But with gardening comes things to buy, right? That’s how mulch found it’s way to the garden. A huge pile of it is set aside right next to the garden for use.
So that morning, I stopped by to take a close look at it — the mulch. It looked like trash, and it was, and it isn’t.

I scooped a bit into my hand and took a close looked at what it’s basic ingredient — pieces of leaves, wood scrap, little tree limbs, and all — is.

I thought again of where all these pieces came from. Literally trash, but now in the right situation, for the right purpose, packaged well, it’s a product that people pay for.
Wait, that’s worth thinking over.

What if I took this scoop in my hand home with me. Surely, it’s worth nothing.

Yet, what if I took it to the bank?“Away with this” they’d say.

Still, with enough of it, and in the right environment, to the right buyer, that’s value, worth spending money on.

That definitely should get me thinking. What’s my trash? Is it value? Do I have enough of it? Is it well packaged? And do I know who will find it useful?

Only one thing comes to my mind: Nothing on earth is useless if positioned right.

I wouldn’t be writing this, if this lesson was relevant to only me. But what’s your trash? Do you see it? What is it worth? Who would find it valuable?

By-Products

One of the finest lines in creativity I have read came from the book Rework, written by the founders of the project management app Basecamp, Jason Fried & David Heinemeier Hannson, is this:

When you make something, you always make something else. You can’t make just one thing. Everything has a by-product. Observant and creative business minds spot these by-products and see opportunities.

See, I stopped there that morning to check out the mulch largely because since reading those lines I have decided to pay closer attention to things around me.

They go on, in the book:

The lumber industry sells what used to be waste — sawdust, chips, and shredded wood — for a pretty profit. You’ll find these by-products in synthetic fireplace logs, concrete, ice strengtheners, mulch, particleboard, fuel, and more.

And yes, the mulch at the garden is a by-product from a tree’s death — dead leaves, broken pieces of it’s limbs, wood chips, and others. So in a sense, out of death has come life, if you see it — the packaged trash is sold to gardeners and that puts food on someone’s table, helping someone make a living.

A New Blog For Silver Grill Cafe

I remember walking into the restaurant that day. The place looked inviting and I wondered why I had never been here, though I lived in the same neighborhood. I could imagine myself sitting there with a friend over dinner while watching a game at the same time ( they have TV sets on the walls). 

If you know about my original 21-Day project, which my upcoming book is based on, you may recall my blog post for one of the last days that featured when I first stopped by Silver Grill to set up my interview.

Fast forward almost a year and now I will be writing for Silver Grill Cafe. Rehan Awan, the owner, and I have had a cordial relationship since I interviewed him, and we've gone over ideas on how to improve parts of his business and public relations---email newsletters, menu revamp, advertising, interior decoration, and others.

I offered to help him set up a blog on his website and explore what narrative we can create to build a degree of communications with customers. He thought it over, and we went back and forth for a while, and finally decided to give it a shot. Let's try it, he virtually said. Cool, I thought, let's do it, then!

Now, it's all systems go So from now on, I will be running his new blog. I will create a new page on his website titled “What's Happening” and share with the world all that's going on at Silver Grill Cafe.

If you live in Austin, and are in the neighborhood feel free to stop-by and check out the place. Just remember to say you read about his shop on this blog, Kingston's blog---it should get you a knowing smile, if nothing at all.

So with all that said, here we go. Since I like to do pretty much everything by projects or seasons, I'm committing the next 2 seasons----Fall and Spring to this project. That's 3 months to each season. To a good six months of blogging for Silver Grill Cafe.

What you can expect? There will be a blog post a week---once a week, and the topics will range from menu options, in-store stories, and all that's working and not at Silver Grill. Stay tuned.

Respecting A Penny

There’s no dollar without a penny

While I walked across the bridge, I noticed it on the ground, bruised, run over, and losing it original color. It looked worthless, and I’m sure many have stepped over it, without giving it much thought. But I picked it up. I picked up the penny.
I thought of this habit of mine, and how it affects other aspects of my life. I thought of the value that little things have, and how most seem to miss it, and decided to share the summary of it, knowing that a dollar is not possible without a hundred pennies. 

Here it is:

If you don’t respect a drop of water, you can’t have the ocean. Being faithful in the little is the way to start work on great things. The next time you find a penny on the floor, pick it up. I say this for 2 reasons: One, it’s money — -it’s not worthless; two, and more important, it serves as a reminder to you, in building a better mind, to respect every little thing of value, and the mindset is more important than the amount of wealth you have. Your mind is you.
This thinking is necessary for any creator or person set on making great things. Understanding that things that seem small in value could be turned into very valuable products is at the heart of creativity.
This does not go for only pennies, but many other things in our lives: a glass of water turned into bottled water, and sold; a page of a book — many pages make a book; a sentence, many of them put together becomes a story, and a book; and many others. It all begins with the little things.

Dust is the parent of a star!-Munia Khan

Begin Building An Audience Today!

 Build An Audience For Your Business

Au-Build

 This is for small business owners: coffee shops, convenience stores, restaurants, barber shops, print shops, etc.

 

 Okay, let's keep it simple, you own a shop, and have people buy from you everyday. Your transaction with your customers is simple: they come in, buy what they want, pay you and leave. Nothing more, nothing less.  

Once the transaction is over, there's no further interaction, unless they decide to come back to you for something else. Notice I said "they decide." Otherwise, they are gone, the transaction is over.

But let's step back a bit, and take another look at the transaction. If I were to buy something from you, let's say a toothbrush, there's a chance you that might still have in stock something that will be useful to me (like a toothpaste) and being a human being, when the need arises, when I run out of toothpaste, I will look for a place to buy it from. What's the likelihood that I might come back to you? Unknown, it depends, 50-50, right?

Let's look at a different scenario. Let's say instead of the nameless store/business owner,  I have a relationship with you, one that's decent and based entirely on your courteous customer service and the value you provide me as your customer? 

What if I had a relationship with you that gives me a chance to know you more, to hear from you from time to time through email, beyond my being in the store. What if you gave me special discounts occasionally that saved me a decent chunk of change. What if you sent me information that makes a difference in my spending, and helped ease my way through life. 

What I am saying here is that if you want to build a hearing with your customers, a relationship that's more that a one-and-done experience, build an AUDIENCE. A group of people that received goods from you from time to time. 

Building an audience helps a business last, because after all, the business is nothing without the customer, right?

Hence the customer is king, and learning to build a relationship with the customer, and creating an audience through the process is critical to your business, in that sense. 

So the next obvious question is how to this, right? That's why I built this service. But let's take a look at some reasons why customers will give you access to them, give you their email to be precise.

Incentives

Why people will give you email access?

1. Save money
2. Tips and instructions
3. Freebies
4. Giveaway Contests
5. Insider Information---A behind the scenes education.
   
   I list these to highlight the essence of the exchange: Email for Value. Or something for something.

 Let's look at a quick breakdown of what it will take to build a strong customer base, or audience.

What if we wanted to gather 10,000 emails in one year?

Working Backwards:

With 52 weeks in a year, how many emails do we need in a week?

10000/52 weeks = 192 emails a week

Okay, so how many do we need in a day (this depends on how many times you are open for in a week? Let's say 5 days.

192/5 days= 38 emails a day!

Yet, how many hours is your shop open for?

5 hours? 6 hours? 9 hours?

Let's say 8 hours.

38/ 8 hours = 4.8 emails, which is roughly 5 emails an hour!

5 emails in an hour!

Benefits Of An Audience

1. Test products
2. Way to share your stories of the day, week, or month to lift spirits.
3. Very little need for advertisement expense because you have access to an audience to get your word out.
4. Better understanding of your customers, for it's only in understanding your customer's need that you can serve them well.
5. A way to give value---job announcements, information, correct opinions, apologies, announcements, etc.
6. A tool to organize meetings, webinars, surveys, seminars, etc.
7. To teach lessons about parts of your business.
   
   
   Uncertainty?
   Yes, that comes with all things, so even if you come short of your expected number of emails, you will still have a considerable number of emails with permission to be contacted. The goal is to build a core group of customers who are representative of the typical people you want to serve. 
   
   Is that a good investment for your business? Also, if that's a good investment, what's the lifetime value of a customer you have a relationship with, who buys from you over 5 years, 10 years, 15 years?
   
   
   
   
   Delivery and Fulfillment: How Do I Do This?

Delivery starts with a free demo for two or three days. After those days, you decide if you want the system installed in your business, based on the results of the demo.

If you decide to install the system, I will start the installation process by working on-site with you, in-store, for 1 or 2 weeks, for 5 hours a day after which, if you like it, I will train your staff to do it for a whole year to reach your goal.

How Much Does It Cost?

I bill by the week, so it will cost you $ 500 a week. That's only $1000.00 for 2 weeks, plus staff training, email gathering, and email system set up.

More Questions?


Or, book me below:

If you have any more questions, please contact me here: Kingston at acouplethings70@gmail.com.

Thanks.