Plan Your Propsal And You Plan To Win
It's no secret that in the current climate, any time you are trying to make change happen, there are a lot of unknowns. As a result, many people who have great ideas and have a dream for what they want to do with their life feel like they need a safety net before they can take risks. Can you relate? And we get it - the best way to ensure success is by making sure we're prepared for every possible thing that might happen.
But when we spend too much time focusing on all of our might-bes and what-ifs and worst-case scenarios, we can end up forgetting about everything good that could happen if we just took some risks.
So, how do you take a leap of faith when you're scared of what life might throw at you?
By breaking things down into a manageable size and dealing with one step at a time.
Plan Your Proposal… And You Plan To Win.
This is easier than it sounds. If your dream is to get your first book published, find an editor who can help you develop a proposal and an outline so that when you do start writing your book, you'll already have a road map for what's next. Not only will you have an editor who can help you complete your proposal, but they can also help to get the attention of an agent who will be able to represent you.
The goal here is to focus on one step at a time, and as soon as that next step -- in this case, your first draft of your book -- is completed, start working towards the next step: finding an agent. As soon as that's completed, then move on to the next step: perfecting your pitch.
As a side note: if you're looking for a critique partner or someone to work side-by-side with in the book writing process, take a look at our Book Writing Success Guide. This online course will provide you with everything you need to know about book proposal, outline and pitch building and will be available to you for FREE.
To start learning more about this, go here. [ARTICLE END]
Dear Readers, A lot of what we share here at The Slight Edge is based on the author's personal experiences, making it all "real." But sometimes we find out some unique yet unrelated information that makes for good stories as well. Here's one I recently found out from Mary Thomas…
"The five or six years that followed my mother's death were almost a blur. I think I was in a state of shock. My mother was the light of my life and now she was gone. I did not know if I could go on. Ever.
"I had been earning a little money from my freelance work, but it wasn't enough to enable me to live on, so I stopped and took a part-time job as a waitress in the same hotel where my mother had died and continued living with my father at our home in that same small town where we had been living all those years.
"I also went to an employment agency and was told that I could get a full-time job at a nearby restaurant, fill in for my mother if she did not come in. It sounded good to me because I needed the money.
"One day, I received a letter from the employment agency telling me that my application for full-time work had been accepted at a restaurant about 40 kilometers (about 25 miles) away. They gave me directions to get there and how to apply for a motel room if I needed one because it was not possible to return home every day.
"When I got the job, I was told that the work schedule was from 3:00 to 11:00 p.m. with a one-hour break from 10:00 to 11:00 p.m. After my first day there, I called the agency and asked for another part-time job so that I could work two jobs and make more money to keep me going.
"I took a job as a waitress again on Friday, Saturday and Sunday at a hotel coffee shop/restaurant about twenty kilometers away from my home because it paid more than working only three days a week at the other restaurant."
Now, here's where it gets interesting.
The very next weekend, Mary, who had been living in the small community for many years, decided that she would go home to the family cabin she had inherited and sell it. During this time, she also wanted to find a new place to live.
She called up one of her friends and asked if he would be willing to meet her at the cabin if she drove him home. He agreed and got into her car. He said he wanted to take a nap before they left town and he fell asleep almost immediately while Mary was sitting in traffic on the highway going home.
While she was sitting in traffic, she was between two semi-trailers and she thought to herself, "If I die right now, nobody would know." She then went on with her life.
During this time of driving, she met a man in another car and they began talking. She had no idea who he was or where he was going. The only thing they had in common was that they were heading up the same mountain road.
After a while of driving along the road, Mary came to a fork in the road and there were two signs pointing toward the right saying "No Tresspassing" or "Private Property. Keep Out". Mary, who had never been up that mountain road before, was pretty sure she knew which road was the right one to take.
She made the turn with two giant semi-trucks barreling down the same road towards her. In a split second, Mary made a hard decision…
To continue reading this story, go here now. [ARTICLE END]
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Conclusion
Like anything worthwhile, developing and maintaining the Slight Edge is a continuous journey.
There will be ups and downs. There will be hard times. There will be times you feel like you want to quit.
But what you now know is that getting started is the hardest part – so get started! After that, you can apply all of your mind-power toward maintaining your actions toward reaching your goals and dreams. And as long as you do that, then you'll find that applying The Slight Edge does work… in fact, it works every time!
A Final word from our founder...