Write Nonfiction NOW!

What Makes You and Your Book Unique?

Another business area writers tend to avoid—or not even know exists—involves branding. I sort of knew branding existed, but I ignored it. Now, I’m having to go back and try and fix the problems it’s caused in my business, which involves not only me as an author but me as a writer, journalist, editor, writing and publishing coach, teleseminar and workshop presenter, speaker, etc. I have an information products business—or I’m growing one—and without a brand to put all the pieces together (including five blogs, an online column and two websites), no one will ever find me. At the least, I won’t get the media coverage, the traffic, the clients, the readers, or the sales I’d like to have.

Today, one of my regular guest bloggers, Michelle Tennant Nicholson, chief creative officer of Wasabi Publicity and co-founder of www.PitchRate.com, offers a tip on how to begin branding yourself, your book and your business so you can become unique and get found by the media and the readers (buyers) and clients you want.

What Makes You and Your Book Unique?
By Michelle Tennant Nicholson

If you want the media — and potential readers and clients — knocking on your door, you have to ask yourself; “What makes me and my book unique?”

So what is it? How do you or your book differ from the competition? What can you offer your readers and customers — and the media — that your competition can’t?

Take my client and Yum Yum Dishes founder Tracy Adler for example:

“When I was pregnant with my second child I would often sit down for a quick bite and eat a WHOLE bag of chips in one sitting. I was definitely setting a bad example for Elliot (my first child) on portion control. But “Hey,” I was pregnant.

Then I had an idea…

I came up with Yum Yum Dishes — a 4-piece ceramic dish set that would train children on the right portion sizes. It wouldn’t be hard to get Elliot on the program — he had no choice — but I knew there were other parents out there that wanted an easy way to train their children on what was and wasn’t a healthy-sized portion. I had one problem: How would I let the world know about Yum Yum Dishes?”

Well, Tracy’s problem wasn’t that hard to solve. She became clear early on about what made her unique and whom she wanted to help. You know she could have joined the masses of ‘weight loss experts’, but she would have gotten lost in a sea of dietary supplements, workout regimes and ‘mind over fatter’ gimmicks. So amidst millions of ‘weight loss experts’ out there, Tracy became a ‘portion control expert.’

Sure, her product can help people lose weight. But Tracy isn’t obese — and she never has been. She’s one of the fittest people I know. And she’s committed to helping people (especially children) prevent obesity by controlling their meal portions. Her target market is composed of mothers — especially those who are concerned with teaching their children healthy eating habits and healthy portion control.

So how do you know if you’re unique?

Google!

Google your name, Google your brand, Google what you think is unique about you. See what competition is out there for the way you’re currently positioning yourself. Think there’s more competition out there among “weight loss experts” than there is for “portion control experts?” You bet. About 7.6 million more!

Once you’ve gotten an idea of who your “competition” is, dig in a bit deeper. Are you currently attracting your ideal reader or client? Or are you attracting readers that aren’t on your “wish list?” What messages resonate with your ideal reader?  What problems do they have?  What solutions do you offer? Figuring all this out will help you stand out and position yourself to swoop in for the media coverage and readership you desire.

About the Author

Twenty-year PR veteran Michelle Tennant Nicholson is Chief Creative Officer of Wasabi Publicity and co-founder of www.PitchRate.com, a free media tool that connects journalists, publicists, and experts.  Called a five-star publicist by Good Morning America’s Mable Chan, Michelle specializes in international PR, working regularly with the likes of Oprah, Larry King, BBC, The Today Show and other major media. Contact her at PR blog http://www.StorytellerToTheMedia.com where she teaches tips from the trade.

Why Don’t You Start—or Finish—a Writing Project? Answer #1

Today I’m going to begin tackling a topic I will return to numerous times over the next few weeks: why writers don’t start or finish their writing projects. Why am I going to return to the topic? Because more than one answer exists to the question, “What stops you from writing—or finishing—a book, ebook or other writing project?”

Why am I even broaching the topic and asking the question? Because many writers ask themselves this question over and over again and come up with no answer—and then continue feeling unsuccessful as writers and authors. Even I ask myself this question now and again. I have more writing projects started and not finished then I care to mention as well as a few dreamed up and not started as well.

Let’s start with the first answer I have to the question, “What stops you from writing—or finishing—a book, ebook or other writing project?” What stops many writers from writing or completing the projects they say they want to write lies in the fact that they never start. Plain and simple. They talk a lot about what they want to write. They mull over it. They outline it. They research it. They might even write proposals and query letters about it. (Ooooh….that one sounds like me!) However, they don’t ever sit down and write the darn book, ebook, booklet, or article.

Today, here’s my writing coach tip: Start writing whatever it is you say you want to write. Don’t put it off any longer. As Nike likes to say, “Just do it.”

If that isn’t enough to get you to your computer to open a document and start typing, do this: Be accountable. Here are a few suggestions for how to accomplish that:

• Start blogging your book—If you do this, your readers will expect you to continue writing. For more information on this, visit www.howtoblogabook.com.
• Get an accountability partner—Ask a writing friend or the members of your writing group, club or critique group to hold you to a certain number of words per week; knowing you have to show up at meeting with the pages in hand will drive you  to write rather than to show up empty handed and red in the face.
• Get a real deadline—Set a deadline with a designer, editor, POD publisher, magazine (by sending a query and getting your article accepted), or even with a friend; then meet the deadline.
• Decide to have a “product” to show by a certain event—If you want to have a finished book in hand for your next teleseminar or workshop or to take with you when you go home to visit family, that will make you accountable for keeping some deadlines.
• Enter a contest or challenge—Enter a contest or challenge with a deadline and/or word count, like Write Nonfiction in November; this will keep you motivated for at least a short period of time. Hopefully, you can keep up the momentum after the contest is over if you haven’t finished.

Sometimes an Article Leads to a Book Deal

For those of you who have never considered writing an article on the subject of your book, here’s some inspiration to become a journalist before ever beginning a book manuscript. New York Magazine contributor Jennifer Senior landed a book deal with Ecco following her popular article from July. “All Joy and No Fun: Why Parents Hate Parenting,” a piece in which she discussed recent studies about parental unhappiness, garnered Senior quite a bit of attention. Now she has a book, All Joy and No Fun: The Parent’s Paradox, scheduled for release on the HarperCollins imprint in the fall of 2013.

I can’t promise that any article you write will get you a book contract, of course. The fact that Senior’s article ended up being linked to on popular websites–ones not usually concerned with parenting issues, like BoingBoing and the Freaknomics blog–caused it to get noticed.in more places than just the magazine And the subject was poignant and pertinent, by which I mean it hit many people emotionally and it had relevance to their lives. Senior posed a bit of controversy as well; people thought she agreed that many parents are unhappy in their “job.” That added some buzz. If you can write about a subject that has all or most of these elements, or that ties into the news as well, and get it published in a well-read and popular magazine, you might find yourself getting noticed as well.

Even if you can’t, publishing articles on the subject of your book helps you build platform and create expert status for yourself. It creates a buzz around what you do and what you know. Consider sending off a query letter to a magazine editor today.

9 Reasons to Write a Book through Blogging

I have devoted a whole blog to the subject of why aspiring authors should consider blogging a book rather than writing a book. I suggest that taking this approach offers a quick and easy way to get your book written. It’s also a great way to gain readers in the process, thus accomplishing your pre-publication promotion without too much effort. Additionally, you can use your material in more than one form—blog posts and book pages.

I don’t know anyone who has done a better job of this than Rebecca Morgan, bestselling author, consultant and speaker. She turned her blog into 17 different books in one year! For that reason, I asked her to send me a guest post about why she thinks blogging a book represents a good way to write a book. Here’s what she had to say.

9 Reasons to Write a Book through Blogging
by Rebecca Morgan

I’m the author of 25 non-fiction books, 17 of them from blog postings. Previously, I had authored four books and coauthored four others. Two of my books have become bestsellers, having sold more than 200,000 copies each and been translated into nine languages. One landed me on Oprah, 60 Minutes, NPR, and in USA Today.

I will never write the traditional way―me and my keyboard for hours at a stretch―again.

Why is writing a book through a blog better? Here are nine reasons.

1. It establishes credibility and high search engine rankings before your book is published. With frequent content embedded with your keywords, your blog rises to the first page of Google listings. Then when your book is ready to sell, you are already at the top of the search engine results.
2. You can see what attracts people to your topic, and then write to those issues or subjects. Watch your analytics to see what search engine phrases people use to find your blog. If they fall within your target area, write more of those.
3. You can note what topics are most popular. See which ones stay in your top 10 list, and write more to those topics, as people obviously are interested in them.
4. You can build a community among those who write comments, subscribe via RSS and Feedblitz. Capture the email addresses in Feedblitz so you can send special mailings to them, offering special deals on your book and future related products.
5. You get feedback on your postings through comments. Entice people to comment through thought-provoking questions. See which ones create the most buzz.
6. You can show your writing style. If you are wanting a major publisher for your book, your agent and/or editor can easily see your writing style beyond what you put in the proposal, which fast tracks your book.
7. You can generate media coverage before the book comes out with an online presence beforehand. I was contacted by radio, TV and national newspapers (the Wall Street Journal, for example) before the books were released because of my blog.
8. You can create cross traffic from other related blogs by swapping “blog love” (getting on each other’s blogroll). Those blogs will send more readers to your site.
9. You can search by your blog name and/or URL to find those who list you on their blog roll. Offer them your affiliate program so they earn money from sales made to their readers. Ask if they’ll do a book review. Offer to be on their podcasts to discuss your “blook.” Offer to give five free books to their readers for a contest.

It was easy to assemble 17 books ranging from100 to 238 pages in length from my blog postings since the writing was already done. However, I began one blog with the intention of writing a book through it, so in that case I started to write from an outline as I had with previous books. Then I’d interject postings on events that happened that I wanted to share. I committed to writing every day and did so for 18 months; I then cut to 3-4 times a week. When I started to compile my writings into a book, I realized I had 2,000 pages! So I divided them into separate books.

If you write 750 words (approximately three pages in the finished book) each day, you could have the writing of a 120-page book done in 40 days. You would still need to have an editor go through it and have the cover and inside designed and laid out, so add another 2-6 weeks to the process. You could have a book ready to go to press in three months!

So start now. Perhaps look at past postings to see if you have the guts of a book, then flesh out what is needed.

About the Author

Rebecca Morgan is an international keynote speaker, trainer and consultant, the author of 25 books—two have sold over 200,000 copies each and are translated into nine languages, the creator of over 400 audio products (MP3s, CDs), webinars, teleseminars, and transcripts, the sole writer of two award-winning and money-making syndicated blogs, and the writer and/or editor of two ezines. Additionally, she is the principal/partner in three companies and one not-for-profit. In 2009, she released 17 books and revised two others. In the last 10 years, she’s interviewed 300 industry experts in her teleseminars.

To learn more on the nuts and bolts of how to create revenue from your non-fiction content, attend Rebecca’s 6-part webinar series, “Making Money In Your Jammies: Create Revenue from Blogs, Teleseminars, Webinars and Related Products” starting Oct. 26. But hurry, as there is a 40 percent discount if you register by Oct. 20.

Making Money in Jammies

Publishing Coach Tip: Make Promoting Yourself and Your Book Fun

You will find a ton of information here in this blog about promoting yourself and your book. Building author platform, of course, involves promotion. Selling books involves promotion. However, most writers don’t want to take on the roll of promoter, marketer, PR specialist, social networker, or anything else along these lines–even though it’s necessary–because these activities involve wearing a business hat rather than a writing hat.

Some writers even say none of this is necessary. They argue that good writing and good ideas sell themselves. Sometimes that is true but not often in today’s publishing environment.

In fact, much of being a promoter involves writing, and much of wearing a business hat can be fun. Writers must be willing to change their mindset about these tasks. In other words, YOU must be willing to change your mind about taking on the job of promoter for yourself and your work. When you change your mind about being a good business person and promoter, you will start feeling good about this job. In fact, you’ll start enjoying it.This means you must change your thoughts about promotion and the business end of writing.

Yes, this is possible. I’m a testament to this fact.

I didn’t want to take on any of these jobs, and now I truly enjoy promoting myself and my work. And I spend a lot of time doing it. I don’t know that I’m the best at it or that I’ve mastered how to do it most effectively or efficiently, but every day I try to learn new methods and techniques to make this aspect of my work as a writer easier, less time consuming and more fun.

You can do this, too. Simply start by changing your mindset. Everything begins with how you think. Decide today to change your mind about wearing both a writer’s hat and a business person’s hat. Decide that you will wear both and that you will find a way to make this enjoyable.

I didn’t want to do any of the things necessary to build an author’s platform and to promote myself and my work. When I realized I had to do it to become a published author, I didn’t just resign myself to this fact, I embraced this fact. I decided I would do it, do it well and really go for it! I got excited about it. In that way, I changed my mind about this task. I changed my thoughts. I began thinking about promotion not as a chore but as an opportunity–a way to get published and to get my writing read. Actually, many more people read my blogs today because of my promotional efforts–because I wear a business hat a lot of the time. I find that extremely rewarding and fulfilling. That makes me want to wear my business hat more often.

Just yesterday I taught a client of mine how to use Facebook and Twitter to promote his book. He is, let’s say, “technologically challenged.” Yet, he came to me determined to promote his work on line every day and to find a way to enjoy it. Once he mastered the basics, he found he loved using Facebook! He like Twitter, too, but not as much. He perceives himself as a writer, but now he is a social networker, too. He’s a promoter, and he’s promoting his work with a positive attitude, which changed how he feels about the business end of being a writer.

You’ve got the tools to do the same. The information on how to promote yourself and your work lies within the posts of this blog. Combine that with your ability to control your thoughts. Your thoughts determine how you feel. So make promoting yourself and your book or other written products fun.

Talking and Entertaining are Not Communication!

Many authors and aspiring authors approach their first media or speaking experiences believing they must be entertaining. After all, a good speaker or talk-show guest has the gift of gab and the ability to keep an audience engaged and laughing, right? If nothing else, they have the ability to impart knowledge.

According to media coach and regular guest blogger Michael Ray Dresser, host of the well-known radio talk show Dresser After Dark, a place where many authors promote their books, it takes more than that to get audience members to take any sort of action—buy a book, sign up for a mailing list, go to a website, register for a class, or call for coaching services. Speakers of any type must be able to communicate, and communication happens on a personal and an emotional level, he says. Today, Dresser gives us another lesson on how to effectively communicate with our listening, rather than our reading, audiences.

Talking and Entertaining are Not Communication!
By Michael Ray Dresser

One day Bob called and asked me to give him a “no holds barred” critique of his speaking performance. Bob was an author and a great radio guest—both entertaining and informative—in the middle of a media tour. Bob also was a fantastic speaker, he could capture an audience’s interest and attention from the moment he uttered his first words. He was on the talk show circuit and was doing two and three shows a day.

So, why call me? His Amazon ratings were not moving and his radio interviews were not generating book sales.

I listened to his presentations and interviews. Bob was talking at the audience; he was lecturing and explaining things to the listeners. He was talking at the audience and not to them. He also was talking about himself and his accomplishments. There was no compelling reason for the audience to take action—to go a web site or book seller and purchase his book.

When you are interviewed or speak to an audience, you have to be intentional. You have to be systematic and have a clear sense of purpose about why you are being interviewed or why you are speaking. You have to know why you are there.  What is the purpose of your presentation?  Is it to inform?  Is it to entertain?  Is it to call your audience to action?  Or, is it all of the above?

Your presentation has to have a reason for being, otherwise it gets lost in entertaining talk. If, like Bob, you want to mobilize an audience to action (to buy a book or some other product or service) you have to reach them on a personal and emotional level. You must speak to their emotions and to something they relate to personally; what you say must fit within their frame of reference, not yours. You can’t use the time you have to let the audience know how wonderful you are; nobody cares! Your focus must be on what your subject matter does for them. How does the information you are presenting benefit your audience?

If you fail to connect through understanding—empathy—you wind up behind an “empty microphone.” All of your “entertaining talk” will not sell a book, a product or a service.

Considering that the reason for Bob’s media tour was to sell his book, the fact that what he was saying was not relevant to his was not serving their needs or his own. He was not relating to his listeners in a way that he was seen as the connection to solving their problem. They listened but couldn’t hear him. They might as well have tuned in to another radio station.

If your subject happens to be about health care, for example, make a key point. Then, immediately afterward, tell a story about a father who lost his job and his health insurance. Explain how this caused him to borrow money to buy his sick son medicine. This allows your audience to realize—to intuit—that you emotionally understand their concerns. Now your message is about them, not about you (or about our friend, Bob).

When you introduce a relatable “human factor” scenario into your presentation and then tie that to a solution you are offering, to the benefits in your book, your topic or your point of view, the resultant effect is a call to action—a motivation for your audience to pick up a copy of your book, participate in a seminar or whatever your objective might be.

Unfortunately, Bob did neither of these things. Bob did not define why he was speaking in such a way that his audience could personally relate. He, therefore, ended up with no call to action.

Remember, communication is about your audience and how what you say will benefit them. It’s about them.  It is not about you!

About the Author

Michael Ray Dresser, host at Dresser After Dark, is a talk show host with passion, skill and talent for coaxing outstanding content from guests whose messages shine with confidence, clarity, and relevance.  His engaging interview style sets the stage for authors, experts, and trainers worldwide to captivate, inform, and inspire action.

His 27-year career in radio and media skills training got its start when he sat down behind a microphone at a radio station in Fairbanks, Alaska in January of 1983.  Since then, he has interviewed thousands of radio guests from all over the world.

Dresser is a sought-after media skills trainer serving clients around the globe with his proprietary media skills training system.  His forthcoming book, “Why Do They Listen? Creating a Compelling Connection with Your Audience Anytime, Anyplace, Anywhere,” will guide experts the world over to achieve winning results through the power of engaging conversation.

www.dresserafterdark.com

Creating an Audio File Out of a Blog Post

One of the writing coach tips I’ve written about recently involves turning your blog posts or other work into audio files that you can then use on your website, in your blogs and elsewhere for added online exposure.

To show you that even I can do it, since I’m not very technologically savvy, here’s my first step. I produced a recording with my digital recorder from a blog I wrote earlier this week on turning passion into productivity. It creates a wave recording. I’ve uploaded it here.

Writing Coach Tip 1

I  put it on the home page of my website by using the link my blog created. There, I was having some trouble creating a separate link, but the link created in WordPress worked. You could, however, just link to your blog post creating more blog traffic, which is another neat thing to do.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Sell Books and Find Clients with Increased Exposure Online

Do you want readers to find you and your book? Would you like to boost sales of the other services and products you sell in conjunction with your book, such as coaching, e-books, cds, videos, workbooks, teleseminars, workshops, etc.? Is it your desire to help readers, customers and clients find you so you can build your success as an author and businessperson?

If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, then you’ll be interested in what my regular guest blogger, L. Drew Gerber is CEO of www.PublicityResults.com and creator of www.PitchRate.com,  has to say in today’s blog post. He claims its time to stop focusing on “traditional” PR and marketing methods and to focus on “new” methods instead.  The best way to achieve your goals, according to Drew, is by increasing your exposure online, and he offers three great—and proven—ways to accomplish this.

Sell Books and Find Clients with Increased Exposure Online
By L. Drew Gerber

It’s no secret that the PR and marketing game is ever changing and that positioning yourself to be found online is becoming more and more important. Ninety percent of journalists are finding all their information and sources online, and your potential readers, buyers or clients are doing the same thing. No one flips through the Yellow Pages anymore. If they have a problem they need solved, they’re searching the web for a solution. So building a foundation online should be at the top of your priority list.

Here’s how to start:

Online Press Kits — These are key to positioning yourself as the media’s go-to expert. They can help you reach page one of the search engines. Most importantly, you’ll be easier to find. Most online press kits offer a platform where you can store and organize all your materials — your bios, your headshots, story ideas, media angles, and more — that the media will need when using you as a source. Like having a resume when you’re on the job hunt, an online press kit tells the media you’re serious about being chosen.

Article and Press Release Portals — These are a great way to start positioning yourself as an authority figure while building links back to your website to increase your search rankings. Article and press release portals, most of which are free to use, allow you to distribute your articles and press releases all over the Internet. When potential customers and members of the media search keywords related to your expertise, your article or press release will position you as an authority on the topic. When writing an article, your best bet is to identify a problem and provide solutions using your knowledge on the subject matter. For press releases, share the news and happenings of your business while highlighting your expertise. Always include a professional bio with your contact info and links back to your website so readers will get to know you and be able to get in touch with you.

Media Coverage — Link farms, link sharing sites, video portal sites, article portals, and press release portals are all legitimate and fairly effective strategies for building links to optimize your website and help you increase awareness and boost your exposure. But those sites almost never have the Google Page Rank or website traffic of a popular news or entertainment website. The truth is, one placement on a coveted media website can produce more referred traffic and help move you higher up the search rankings than submitting dozens of videos, articles, or press releases to online portals. An online placement in a major media outlet can drive traffic to your site for years and the referred leads from a media website like CNN are usually already qualified because you’ve gained many of those visitors’ trust through the implied endorsement of being interviewed as an expert source. Being featured in the media is instant credibility because you’ve been chosen for your expertise, and your potential clients can’t help but want to know more. It’s also great for your search rankings. Top media outlets have extremely high rankings; so if they’re linking back to your website, you’re online rankings will increase, making it easier for readers and clients — and other media outlets — to find you.

Like I said before, the PR and marketing game is always changing, but increasing awareness and boosting exposure should always be your goals. With technology and the media rapidly evolving, always keep on the lookout for the next big thing that arises that will help take you, your book and your business to the next level.

About the Author

L. Drew Gerber is CEO of www.PublicityResults.com and creator of www.PitchRate.com, a free media connection service for journalists, experts, and publicists.  Sign up now for free publicity advice including a free online marketing course. Gerber’s business practices and staffing innovations have been revered by PR Week, Good Morning America and the Christian Science Monitor. His companies handle international PR campaigns and his staff develops online press kits for authors, speakers and companies with Online PressKit 24/7, a technology he developed (www.PressKit247.com). Contact L. Drew Gerber at: AskDrew@PublicityResults.com or call him at 828-749-3548.

Writing Coach Tip: From Passion to Productivity

I work with a lot of authors who begin working on a book project because they feel passionate about their subject. Not all of them perceive themselves as writers. Amazingly, the more strongly they feel about their topic or about accomplishing a goal by writing and publishing their book, the more quickly they tend to finish writing.

If you feel stuck or have writer’s block, ask yourself if you’ve lost the passion for your subject. If this is the case, you might need to rekindle your passion by trying to remember why you began the project to begin with. You might need to stop writing briefly and start reading about your subject or get involved in some activity related to your subject matter. Then come back when you are reinvigorated or when you have regained perspective on why you began writing your book in the first place.

Consider if you’ve gotten too concerned about what others will think or about your writing ability or some other technical aspect of your book or the writing process. These issues can, indeed, stop you in your tracks, taking the joy and passion out of the writing process. The Inner Critic or the fear of being judged deter many a writer from finishing a book. Remember that there are editors, proofreaders, designers, etc., to help you turn out a professional product of which you can be proud. There is a great book called What You Think of Me is None of My Business. I think this should be changed to “What you think of my writing and me is none of my business” and should be adopted by every writer as their motto. They would never again suffer from writer’s block, which simply is caused by fear of all sorts, including being judged or criticized.

T0day, rekindle your passion for your writing and watch your productivity increase.

Publishing Mentor Tip: Start Building Your Author's Platform Today

If you look back over the last 10 days you’ll find a series of posts about building an author’s platform. (It starts here.) If you’ve never done anything to build an author’s platform, you probably feel pretty overwhelmed about now. If you had never heard of an author’s platform prior to the beginning of this series, you might want to hide your head under a rock and give up your dreams of becoming a published writer.

As a publishing consultant, coach and mentor, here’s what I have to say: Don’t put your head under that rock! Instead, go find a rock, pick it up and use it to build that author’s platform!

That’s right. Pick one of the platform elements I’ve described and let that be your “big rock,” the thing you have to tackle first each day until you get it accomplished–the thing you may not want to tackle but that you know you must. Imagine that big rock fitting at the bottom of your author’s platform, and use it to create the foundation upon which you will one day stand as an author with a huge built-in readership ready to purchase your book or, better yet, books.

And take heart in knowing that I’m there with you. I have not tackled all the elements of an author’s platform. I’ve done a little bit on most of them. I’ve not become an expert at all of them by any means. My to-do list contains many that I have not yet even tried. In fact, writing this series caused me a bit of stress and feelings of overload as well! It also reminded me that I have work to do…and I recommitted to doing it. I must walk my talk!

Now you go do it, too. Find a rock. Pick it up. Put that rock on your desk as a reminder that you are building a platform. Don’t move it until you’ve accomplished that first element of building your platform. (And don’t put your head under it, hit yourself in the head with it or bash your computer with it…) Every day, don’t do anything else until you’ve dealt with your big rock.

Before you know it, there will be a place in your office filled with the big rocks you’ve moved. And you will have built a platform one big rock at a time.