writing

How to Let a New Idea Unfold

March 19, 2012 By Cara Lumen

I’m forming a new idea. It’s swirling around in my imagination. Bits and pieces show up but the overall form is not yet clear. It is still emerging. I’m not forcing it. I’m allowing it to show up when and how it needs to. I’m allowing this new idea to unfold.

In the past, I would have grabbed those ideas and immediately put them into a form. I even have developed a great system for organizing ideas. However, what’s happening for me right now is the realization that this is not the time to be specific. I have an unformed idea that is slowing coming in and I don’t know what it’s going to look like. I need to be patient.

Don’t do it the old way

Since I don’t have an objective for whatever this is, I cannot choose a specific purpose for this idea. I don’t know what it will do or who it will serve. I am listening to my inner self, noticing the signs and signals that keep showing up and testing how I feel about them. I have no target community in mind because I don’t know what the purpose of this idea is yet. There is no business goal because I have no clue how it will fit into my business or if it even will. I’m simply being and allowing and recording what shows up.

Don’t organize your ideas too soon

It is super easy for me to see a pattern in nearly everything but I’m trying not to look for a specific structure in this one. I know only that I am being prompted to write a series of philosophical articles. This is not new for me but I have not done it for ten years. In the process of this unfolding, I have intuitively chosen some esoteric books to review for concepts to explore. I pulled a ton of ideas from the collection of inspiring quotes that I have saved for myself over the years, and looked back over the philosophical articles I have written in the past. If “philosophical” is the only clue I have for the purpose of whatever this is, what does that mean to me? Right now, I’m simply putting these ideas in one document. I’m resisting the urge to organize them too soon. To label and sort these ideas will be to stop the flow of the emergence of the whole.

Allow the idea to reveal itself

If I start putting labels and categories on whatever is emerging too soon, I will limit it with my human mind. I might look at one piece and make a decision about what the whole is about when it really is only one piece of the overall concept. When I allow it to unfold and simply be with what shows up it remains in my unconscious mind where it can make unlimited connections that I am unable to make with my physical mind. On a personal level, I have many questions about how to live this next portion of my life (I’m 79) and I want some answers. That specific desire may be prompting the emergence of whatever this is. I’m in search mode, not teach mode. If I slap on my physical plane reasoning too soon I will miss the revelations that are coming.

Record your ideas as you go

The one thing I do know to do is to record each discovery as it appears and keep all the ideas together. I may take time to explore what organically shows up or I may just write down the basic concept. The connection and sequence of these ideas will show up when it does. For now, I can only put dates on what I discover as a record of my journey in case that is part of the sequence. This segment is certainly part of what is emerging but where does it fit into the overall concept? Meanwhile, I will figure out ways to personally apply these emerging ideas and see how they work.

Don’t be so eager to share your idea

Whenever I learn something that excites me, my tendency is to turn around and teach it. However, since I’m allowing this to unfold and don’t know where I’m going yet, I will keep it for myself for now. I will write for discovery, for my own guidance and decision making process. At some point, I will understand the whole, the purpose of whatever this is and that will allow me to find ways to effectively share it with others.

Why will you share this idea?

As I allow this idea to unfold, I’m not looking to reach and teach a specific target community (although there is one waiting for this message). I have no reason to add it to my business other than I am curious where this exploration will take me personally. I will write these ideas down but only to stimulate thought and curiosity in others. There, I just found my purpose for whatever this concept turns out to be – to stimulate thought and curiosity in others. As I post these parts and pieces as they emerge perhaps the comments of those who are drawn to it will move us all forward. I will allow the whole to unfold.

How will you share this idea?

I do not want this esoteric idea to be limited by the physical plane. The minute I decide that this is a telecourse or an ebook I put a limit on what it looks like, how long it is, how it will be offered and its specific purpose. I want to be patient and allow myself to be shown what it should be. I am willing for it to be an eclectic format. Some ideas may need to be videos, some blog posts, and others may move into ebooks. I don’t know. The content will tell me. I will wait and let it unfold.

Who needs this idea?

At this moment, I have no idea who needs this other than me. I need to think these concepts out. I need to write for my own understanding. I need to explore what resonates to me. I’m going to ignore all my marketing training and let it unfold organically. What I need to understand someone else does too and they will find me. The energy and passion I feel for this discovery will attract those who need this message.

This is a process of discovery

I have no plan. I have no purpose. I have only the stillness and a need within myself for some guidance. I’m looking for new awareness, perhaps new projects, maybe new friends. I have an undefined need and it is being answered – one disclosure at a time.

When an unformed idea nudges, take your time. Let it tell you what shape it should be when it is ready. Be a steward of your idea and let if unfold in its own time.

Write for Discovery

August 9, 2010 By Cara Lumen

by Cara Lumen

To really understand something you need to teach it in some form. You may explore an idea by writing a series of blog posts on the subject. You might learn to do something better by writing an ebook or home study course on how to do it. Or you may just write in order to figure out your own next steps. Writing down your ideas and thoughts is one of the best ways to deepen your understanding – of a topic – of yourself.

I love to write. And I particularly love to write to sort myself out. Sometimes I sit down with only a glimmer in my mind and begin to write what I think about it. Like now. I just finished writing a post on submitting articles and I organically used the phrase “writing for discovery.” I liked the phrase and wanted to explore what that meant to me. So I simply have started this post to see what shows up.

Talk to yourself

All of the answers to everything lie within you. You already know them. You just have to uncover them. Sometimes journaling is a way to talk to yourself – or actually listen to yourself. Sit down at your computer or with paper and pen and ask yourself a question like “What am I to do next?” or ‘Which one shall I choose…and why?” Then write whatever shows up.

Writing it down makes it solid

When you write your thoughts out they are no longer vague, whispy, unformed uncaptured flickers of insights. They become visible. So writing a list of article ideas or marketing plans for the coming year, or the outline of a new ebook or course, makes them begin to come to life. I liken it to having a baby – you know it’s there but you don’t know what it looks like till it is born. The same with your ideas, you have to birth them into words before you can help them grow up to be what they want to be.

What you learn may interest others

Not always, but often what you write will be of interest to others. For instance, my blog Passionately on Purpose http://www.passionatelyonpurpose.com is about inspiring others to believe they can. It’s a combination of practical and spiritual that offers both insights and action steps. So sometimes, my own sorting out process becomes a guideline for another person to begin similar steps. Be certain you are exploring something that interests your own community and gives them insights they can consider for themselves. Emerson had it figured out:

“For the instinct is sure, that prompts him to tell his brother what he thinks. He then learns that in going down into the secrets of his own mind he has descended into the secrets of all minds. He learns that he who has mastered any law in his private thoughts, is master to that extent of all men whose language he speaks, and of all into whose language his own can be translated. The poet, in utter solitude remembering his spontaneous thoughts and recording them, is found to have recorded that which men in crowded cities find true for them also.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

Watch what shows up

Just like the phrase that inspired this article and became its title, keep an eye out for the clarity that shows up. It may come from something you read or something you heard. It may come from your own writing. I found a new focus for my business when I was writing about what I thought people were willing to pay money for in today’s economy. I believe they will buy education – the gift that continues to give, to grow, to enhance, to expand. And I thought of all the valuable things people know and decided I will help thoughtful leaders effectively organize their ideas so they can educate and inspire their chosen community. I can help people focus their ideas into signature information products that enhance their expert status and earn them passive income. So my exploration into the buying needs of my community led me to a new emphasis for my business. Watch what shows up as you begin to develop an idea.

What do you need to uncover?

Are you faced with a difficult decision or do you have to make peace with a necessary choice? Are you looking to make a change and seek insights? Watch for the signs and signals that surround you at every moment and you will find your answers. You might choose to journal every day. You might just stay on the lookout for a question you have or an idea you want to sort out. You might be inspired to write a post, or create a solution for a client that can benefit others. Take some time to sit quietly and listen to what the Universe would like to tell you. Then write it down and make your choices. Write for discovery. Your inner wisdom wants to be heard.

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What Can You Teach That People Will Pay You For?

July 28, 2010 By Cara Lumen

by Cara Lumen

I maintain that the one thing people will continue to buy in today’s economy is knowledge. Knowledge is empowering, knowledge increases in value over time, and it keeps working forever! What do you know that you can teach others and get paid for?

What you already know

Chris Brogan recently wrote a post about his typing skills – how he was a really fast typist and as a blogger that put him hours ahead of others. He suggested we look at what skills we need to strengthen or add in order to make life easier or faster or better or more productive. And it got me thinking about what skills I might need to add. And if I need to learn stuff, others do too and I started thinking about what I knew that I might teach others.

I am a natural organizer of ideas and I can help thoughtful leaders effectively organize their ideas so they can educate and inspire their chosen community. That can mean a business idea or an information product. That can be effective blog content. But the bottom line is I know how to organize and in my coaching and my information products I teach others to organize their thoughts and ideas and set up systems that fit with their learning and working style to keep them focused and productive.

So if I can teach people how to organize their ideas, what can you teach?

It may be as specific as “10 different ways to combine 8 food ingredients to make 7 meals for your family. “ It could be “Best resources for auto parts for your antique automobile.” It could be “How to teach your old dog new tricks.” What is your passion? What do you love to do? What can you teach? That’s the gift you have to give.

What does your target community need from you?

To create a successful information product it has to be on the topic your target community wants and needs from you. Who have you been targeting? What are their current needs? What can you offer them?

When I look at my target community I think they want to be empowered to take control of their future. So I’m offering them ways to learn to create their own signature information products and to improve their writing and idea organizing skills as they do. With a range of signature products I can offer different price points of information and meet the needs of anyone who wants to learn what I have to teach.

How will yours be different?

Here’s the deal. There is a ton of information out there for free – if you have the time and energy and willingness to wade through it. But what if someone did that wading for you and offered you a focused summary with action steps you could read in 20 minutes. Would you pay for that???

Your job is to take your years of expertise wrapped in your unique spin and experience and put it in an information product that makes it simple to consume. You will research new information; you will absorb it, sort it, compare it, update it and turn it into a product specifically for those who want to learn it. You will teach others what you know and get paid for it. How does that sound?

Information products create passive income

The fabulous benefit of information products is that once you create them people can buy them for years to come while you are off doing something else. They also increase your expert status. The more you write the more people understand how much you know. And they are drawn to you to learn more.

One idea can be leveraged into a multitude of products

Some time ago I was scheduled to give a talk in a course I was taking and even as I prepared the outline I knew it had to be an ebook. Later parts of it went into my radio show Passionately On Purpose. Your ideas may end up as blog posts, article submissions, or part of a teleclass or a home study course. You may take one idea and break it into little chunks or you may combine it into a big product. If you have a list of 10 ways to…. you also have ten articles – one on each of those ten ways. Once you start creating information products you’ll be kept busy with the new ideas they generate.

Your job as teacher

We are all teachers in our own way. We teach by example – the kind of life we lead, the words we speak, the actions we take. We teach our children. We exchange ideas with our friends. We lead our group. For me teaching is about learning as well as sharing. Every time I prepare a new course or ebook I learn a tremendous amount. As I organize the material and select the order in which it needs to be taught I learn what is important. As I create exercises that help me own the work I adjust them to help others do the work. Even if you don’t look upon yourself as a teacher, you can see yourself as someone with something of value to share. Whether you tell it to someone, or write an article on it, or create a course around it, you are giving others the gift of your knowledge.

What can you teach? And when will you do it?

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What Are People Willing to Buy in Today’s Economy

July 26, 2010 By Cara Lumen

by Cara Lumen

Our buying habits have changed – dramatically. Part of it is from necessity because money is tight. Part of it is because of our consciousness. We want to take care of our planet by not consuming, wasting and dumping. As entrepreneurs we have to look at our target community and see what we can offer them that they are willing to buy in today’s financial mindset.

People will buy hope

Change is inevitable and we all want it to be positive change. So if business is down we want to have hope that it will get better. Our goal in business has always been to be in service so what does our target audience need from us right now – today – that will give them hope? We each have to examine our business and see what that means to our particular community.

But if I were a betting woman I’d bet they want something that never wears out, grows stronger with use, and enriches their lives forever. Do you have any of that to offer?

People will buy Information

You bet you do. It’s in the form of what you know. Your unique take on your business or life or a particular topic that is dear to your heart is invaluable. That’s what you have to give right now. Information never wears out; it grows with age, and stays in service for a lifetime.

If you only had a few dollars to spend would you spend it on a gizmo that will wear out or an education that increases your value?

Signature Products are inexpensive to produce

Talk about economical – the only thing it takes to produce an information product is time. An ebook is a document written in Word and turned into a PDF. You can make an audio book with a small investment in a desk mike. You can do a radio show on www.blogtalkradio.com for free and put it on your blog as a podcast. You can blog – oh boy can you blog (see I can help you with that at www.magneticblogbuilders.com) and you can teach a teleclass on www.freeconferencecall.com and record it for part of your home study course. You can edit it yourself in Sound Forge or Garage Band. You’ll even figure out how to go to www.istockphoto.com and get graphics for your ebook cover. You can do video with an inexpensive video camera. Even the few investments you might make in equipment will rapidly pay for themselves as your information products begin to attract purchasers.

Signature products fill your sales cycle

And the beautiful thing about information products is that they can be any price range – from free to hundreds of dollars – perfect for your sales cycle. They are a perfect way to offer a price range of products as invitations to your work. Perfect in that they can be purchased online while you sleep and perfect in that they become on-going passive income. Once they are completed people can buy them online for years. Oh yes, and Signature Information Products position you as an expert, they add to your credibility and they help you gain trust with your target community. Pretty good, huh?!

People will buy empowerment

What is the mindset of your Target Community? They want to feel empowered to create their own destiny. So whether they are in a job now and want to increase their value by learning new skills like leadership, or content development, or a new technical aspect of their work or whether they are in business for themselves and wondering how to respond to today’s economy, education and information are the keys to empowerment.

You are the teacher

Information is everywhere. It’s easy to get and a lot of it is free. So how do you make a signature product to sell? You collect and organize information specifically for your target community. You sort it, offer comparisons, create exercises that help them own the material, keep it updated, make it uniquely suited for the needs of your target community and you present it to the people who want to learn it.

Your Signature Products are specifically focused on what your Target Community wants to know. They come to you because you’ve waded through nine books and umpteen articles on the topic and taken all sorts of workshops and researched on line and have organized all that information into something they can understand. It might be a series of blog posts, or it might be a six month course. You are the focuser – the selector of information. You are the teacher.

This realization of the current need for good information products was the catalyst for the new focus of my business. I have a gift for organizing ideas, I’m Your Idea Optimizer and I help thoughtful leaders effectively organize their ideas so they can educate and inspire their chosen community. (See: Create Information Products)

People will buy control of their future

We all want to have control of our future. So whether you become the consumer and invest in the courses that will add value to your body of knowledge, or you become the teacher and create information products that inspire and motivate, education helps you gain control of your future.

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Can Anyone Be a Writer?

June 27, 2010 By Cara Lumen

by Cara Lumen

Question: from a reader I was reading on your blog about how you teach people to write good content on their blog. Do you believe anyone can be a good writer? I write in my journal daily, but I am struggling with writing in my blog. I wonder if people are born creative writers or not. Just like some people can paint a beautiful painting where others cannot. What do you think?

My Answer: What a great question. Yes, I believe everyone can learn to express themselves through writing. It is a craft that you can develop. How to write strong headlines, subheads, lead paragraphs, and closing paragraphs can be learned. But what is most important is that you write from your heart. From your heart to another’s heart. So here’s what I think may be happening for you, you may not be clear about the purpose of your blog. Who are you writing to? What do they need from you that will make a difference in their lives? What can you offer them?

For me a blog is a place for people to get to know me before they do business with me – to see how much value I give and what I believe in and stand for. But a blog can be about supporting a cause, or educating people on a topic, or simply sharing ideas about your passion.

I’m in the process of redefining my blog a bit – and my business for that matter. And that will dictate what I write. For instance, on my blog www.magneticblogbuilders.com people what to know about building blogs and writing for blogs so I’ll write about that. On www.passionatelyonpurose.com my initial emphasis was on business building and internet marketing but I find that the philosophical posts about creating change from the inside out are being read more. So I’ll write more of those.

What is keeping your target community up at night?

For instance, I’m writing a series on allowing yourself to prosper since finances are a concern for everyone. Seth Godin’s blog www.sethgodin.com is a great example of a blog that keeps people thinking. He writes really short posts on one small piece from one of his books. People read them every day.

Find some blogs you like and start to read them. See what those people are doing. I ran across a blog recently that has given me some ideas of features to add to my blog. Sometimes I read a post that inspires me to take one point from it and expand on it. What’s happening in your life? Sometimes I find a personal challenge and write about it because others might be facing the same thing.

Your wonderful question has prompted this answer, which I will share with others on my blog because there are others like you with the same question. Thank you for opening up the dialogue. I could write a whole series of posts to help beginning writers get started. See how it works? Stay tuned to your community and answer their questions.

Develop your own writing style

I write like a talk – I just sit down and type like crazy. Some of the writing is better than others. Sometimes the ideas come out clearly and sometimes at the top of the draft I have to write things like “not clear”, “wanders” and other go-back-and-do-it-again notes to myself.

My most important writing tip was learned a long time ago when I was teaching in my church. The teacher’s manual had a section that said “Students leave with an understanding of…” and listed three or four major points. I could do whatever I wanted to in the class but everything I did had to help them leave with the understanding of those particular points. I have learned since that that is an advanced and key element of good curriculum design. Your post has a purpose. What is it? What do you want your readers to understand?

What do you want to tell people?

What do they need that you can offer? What is your call to action? I have two choices for people to make on my blog – one to join the RSS feed to be notified of future posts and one to join my community which means they give me permission to market to them, to let them know what I am doing. I put out a bi-monthly emagazine with resources and recent posts and whatever I’m offering that month. So that harks back to why you are writing your blog. What do you want them to do? What is the purpose of your blog?

Although blogs started out as online journals, I believe they are most effective when they fulfill a purpose. They need to give great value to those who read them. I love to write and it sounds like you do to. Just focus your purpose more and see how that stimulates your ideas. And if you want some specific help give me a call.

I hope this helps.

Warmly,

Cara