Earn Money Writing? What the lobsters in the pot say

12th February, 2010 - Posted by admin - 4 Comments


So you want to earn money writing? A word of advice – don’t listen to the lobsters.

Nope, haven’t lost my mind. Bear with me.

Have you ever boiled lobsters before? What happens?

They try to get out of the pot. They struggle and climb and grab and tussle. Eventually one starts to make some progress. It grabs hold of the rim of the pot and, inch by inch, emerges from the boiling water.

And then another lobster pulls it back in.

Can I be completely honest with you here?

If you’ve been reading this blog for a while, getting emails from me, thinking about learning how to earn money writing, but have yet to take action… it may be time to tune out the lobsters.

The lobsters are those folks in your life who tell you:

  • It’ll never work.
  • You can’t do it.
  • It’s probably a scam.
  • Nobody’s going to hire you to write for them.
  • You’ll fail at this (just like when you…)
  • Just settle for what you’ve got.
  • What makes you think you’re so special that you should get to do what you love for money?
  • and more

People love the “security” of keeping things just the way they are. Change seems risky. They don’t want to go through change in their lives – and change in your life is just about as threatening.

So just like lobsters in a pot, they try to pull you back in as you begin to climb out. It’s not always that they’re trying to keep you stuck – they may think they’re protecting you.

But here’s what I’ve experienced, and what I hear from dozens of people I’ve taught how to build their own writing business:

I was my biggest lobster.

And once I pushed past my own fears enough to catch a glimpse of what “could be” if I’d be willing to trust myself to build a business using the skills God gave me… it worked. My focus, determination, and regular usage of anti-lobster earplugs (still with me?) has enabled me to provide for my whole family… and has generated enough work to keep a whole team of writers busy.

So, what’s at stake? (or steak! now that I’m thinking surf and turf!)

Listen to the lobsters, and:

  • Stay stuck
  • Stay at a soul-sucking job that’s not even beginning to tap your unique talents
  • Stay in a situation where you feel yourself diminishing rather than shining

Or, shut them up, take action, and:

  • Spend your days using a talent that’s highly-prized and well-compensated
  • Pursue your passion and purpose, using your wordsmithing skills to create all kinds of possibilities
  • Break free from the confines of being told when and where you must work and how much you can ever hope to make
  • Create the life you long for, however that looks for you

There are two ways I can help you with that – but I can’t do it for you (and I wouldn’t rob you of the thrill of accomplishment, anyway):

  1. Build your own freelance writing business.
  2. Build an information marketing business.

My passion has grown from wanting to get paid to write to wanting to help you set yourself free from the pot of boiling water. I can’t help you if you choose to stay in there – but if you’ll climb out, you’ll amazed by what you can create.

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4 Comments

Laya Bajpai

February 12th, 2010 at 2:53 pm    


Hi Sue,
Nice analogy, funny, but so true. I actually experienced this. I had people asking if I knew what I was doing. They asked questions like do you know how to set up a blog? Oh you have actually set one up.
Thanks for inspiring me. You always manage to do that :)
Laya

admin

February 15th, 2010 at 6:48 pm    


Laya – I believe it! Maybe it’s just that people are expecting things to stay the same, so it really catches them off guard when someone changes or does something unexpected. Understandable – but not always great the way it gets verbalized : )

Elizabeth Strand

February 16th, 2010 at 12:39 am    


Hi Sue,
That was a truly wonderful blog-I really enjoyed reading it. I too am surrounded by nay-sayers about my hopes of writing for $$.It seems that I’m always being plagued by some kind of disaster — major personal & family illness since the LA Nitro Conference. But your blog has given me another shot in the arm and I’m inspired again, not to give up. Thanks, Sue

admin

February 16th, 2010 at 11:03 am    


Glad to give a boost, Elizabeth : ) You CAN do this.

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