By Leo Rodriguez Jr.

For years I told myself I wanted to write a book. I daydreamed about it every day. I was sure I had the whole book in my head and all I needed to do was sit down and bust it out. One day I finally started to write. Everything was fun and exciting. I would go in my room, put on my headphones and just type away in my own little writer world. As I noticed the bulk of pages getting bigger and bigger I thought, “Oh crap, this might be a real book after all!” So I thought I would call a literary agent and meet up with him to give him my draft. He would then get it published, mail me a fat check, and I would tour the country doing book signings. That’s how writers become writers, right? Wrong! I could not have been more wrong.

Little did I know, publishers don’t usually talk to you unless you have a certain number of followers on social media (especially for a personal development type of book). So how was I going to get my work out there? I just wanted to write and nothing else. Well, I was told to start a blog. A what? I’d never even heard of it, so, after buying a domain name and setting up a website and writing a few articles, someone suggested that a podcast might help. A what? Well, I thought, let me just buy a mic and download the software for audio recording, and so on and so forth. My book is not done yet (in case you were wondering) but somehow now a have a Twitter account, Instagram account, a website where I publish articles, and – coming soon to a mobile device near you – a podcast. I often ask myself: why can’t I just write my book and be done? The answer is simple: because that’s not how it works.

I know, as you probably do too, that there are instances where you can just write a book and all of the planets align and you get it published and things take off, but for most of us mortals that’s not the case.

Imagine having a baby who doesn’t cry at night, doesn’t drop his binky when you’re driving, or who doesn’t have diaper accidents that some how go all the way up to his neck… oh, if only!
What about having your dream job but without a commute, annoying co-workers, or a mean boss…

Let’s be real, rarely will something go 100% the way we want it to; many times, we complain so much about the things we didn’t sign up for that we forget to think about why we started. Things will happen, those things are called life. We cannot ignore the price that we have to pay for our goals.

After feeling like I started from zero in the publishing world, I have to keep in mind that this is all because I WANT to write a book. It doesn’t matter what obstacles get put in my way, I will face them head on because I’m only focused on my end goal: my book.

Sure, I didn’t ask for all the sleepless nights and dirty diapers, but I did ask for children to liven up our home with laughter and joy, the other stuff is just part of the package.

When you find yourself doing that something that you didn’t sign up for, remember YOUR WHY. Remember why you started.

Consider these two factors when defining your why:

1. Is it clear? Your why has to be so clear that it leaves no room for doubt or confusion. You have to know 100% why you you’re doing what you’re doing. Not being clear on your why is an easy way to be all over the place and nowhere at the same time. A clear why will help you see where you need to go. That’s how I’m getting through the jungle of getting a book published. If I forget my why I will get lost and end up at the wrong place.
2. Is it strong? Is your why a strong enough reason for why you’re doing what you’re doing? Being clear alone is not enough because you can CLEARLY be doing the wrong thing. When your why is strong it will make you feel different every time you think about it. It will give you a confidence you otherwise wouldn’t get. A strong why will grab you and take you places you didn’t think you could go. A strong why will help you DO what needs to be done. The reason for my why is because I want to share lessons in my book that I hope will help and inspire others. To me, that is clear and strong enough to get me through all of the fun stuff that comes with publishing my book.

A clear why will help you see.
A strong why will help you DO.
Both combined will help you become who you need to be.

 

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EVERY ACTION MATTERS. EVERY DAY COUNTS.