Hey,

Welcome to the Inner Circle. This is where I’ll share the behind-the-scenes journey of writing my first book. I’m excited to have you here.

The book

The book is about why capable people are feeling more burnt out, disconnected, stuck in people-pleasing than ever. The ways we strive to accomplish, achieve, act a certain way, to be accepted. And what becomes possible when we feel safe enough to own what we truly want.

It’s a path I’ve walked, and am walking, and I want to share what I’ve learnt.

The plan

I plan to have a complete book outline by the end of December, then write 1,000–2,000 words each day to reach a complete first draft by the end of January.

The first draft won’t be good. I’m aiming for bad but complete. It’s easier to turn bad writing into good writing than to write well from the beginning.

Where I’m up to

I’m roughly following Chandler Bolt’s writing process. I met some of his team at Craft & Commerce this summer and they gave great advice on writing and publishing books.

In that process, outlining looks like this:

1️⃣ Clarify why I’m writing the book ✅ (more about this in a future email)
2️⃣ Create a messy mind map of every possible idea and how they connect ✅ (see below)
3️⃣ Turn that mind map into an outline of sections and their chapters 🟡

I have one day left to complete #3 and meet my December goal.

How I’m feeling about the project

I’m feeling excited, and nervous.

This project has more unknowns than anything I’ve worked on in the past. Succeeding will involve staying grounded in that uncertainty; sitting in the discomfort of thoughts like “I don’t know what to do” or “this isn’t good yet.”

The reason this project has come into my world now is that sitting in that discomfort feels manageable—even enjoyable—in a way that it wouldn’t have even a year ago. I trust that if I’m consistent in that, persevere, and feel through that discomfort, I can accomplish anything. I’m getting reps at doing hard things. That feels meaningful.

When someone says to me, “I’m excited to read your book,” my response is, “me too.” I’m not sure what it’s going to say yet. That’s the nature of working at the edge of what’s been done before. You can’t see where it’s going yet, because no one’s been there yet. I’m not following someone else’s path. That feels scary, and exciting. And that’s where we get maximum growth, on that edge where something is hard but we feel like we’ll be able to do it. That’s the sweet spot, aliveness, flow.

Open loops right now

1️⃣  Parts of the mind map feel inconsistent. I trust that everything is on the mind map for a reason, but I don’t see a clear thread or narrative through it all yet. As I complete the outline I might have to let go of some topics that don’t belong in this book.

2️⃣ I don’t have a title or a clear way to describe the book yet. Again, it will come. The game is to sit in that uncertainty without trying to force an answer prematurely.

3️⃣ Writing a whole draft in a month is a lot. The important thing is for me to remember that we’re not aiming for a good draft. Just lots of words on the topics. Don’t edit while you write.

The mind map

Here’s the mind map, which I’m about to turn into a full outline:

(Click image to enlarge)

If you can read the scribbles, I’m curious: is there a particular word or topic that resonates or stands out to you?

Let’s goooo,

P.S. If you want to go really deep behind the scenes, here’s the unedited first draft of this email and some other notes I didn’t use. Everything is iteration.