I am a self-declared “finishing freak.” I love deadlines. Over my years as a business journalist at Fairfax Media (now Channel Nine), I became addicted to finishing. I wrote and published between 80,000 and 100,000 words a year.
At first, finishing a story was a huge challenge. As a freelancer, it took me a whole day to write a 700-word story and more time to do the interviews and research. I just couldn’t say goodbye to a story until I thought it was perfect.
And you know what? It was never perfect. Every story needed some editing. Slowly, I learned the art of finishing and the incredible power that it had to change my life.
Here are five ways finishing and publishing my book changed my life and can change yours too.
- Respect: Getting stuff done is one of the great skills of life. Finishing what you start increases your self-respect and the respect of others.
- Command attention: Writing a (brilliant) book is a huge task. You will stand out from the crowd. Only 0.02% of people ever become published authors.
- Gain recognition: When you have important messages that you know help people, you want to share them. Writing a book means people recognise your expertise.
- Earn more money: When you are an authority, clients come to you. You are the prize. You will increase your credibility and your fees.
- Stay ahead of the competition: Authors share ideas. As soon as you publish your ideas, they become your copyright – just like that. You put a stake in the sand and stay ahead of the competition.