It's hard to meet people as passionate about learning as you are.
But when you publish your ideas, you attract people who think like you.
The more niche the topic, the easier it is to attract people on your intellectual wavelength.
2. Writing helps you understand yourself.
All of us have unprocessed feelings and emotions. Writing is the best way to identify what's making you uncomfortable. By writing, you gain clarity in your life.
The increased clarity you receive reduces stress and anxiety in your life.
3. Writing accelerates your learning.
If you want to understand a topic better, start teaching it. The act of putting ideas into your own words tattoos them into your mind.
As @JamesClear once said: "If you think you can learn a lot by reading a book, try writing one."
4. Writing makes you more observant.
Every time you write something, new parts of the world come alive.
Every experience, every conversation, and everything you read becomes a potential future sentence. That's why writing regularly wakes you up and makes your mind come alive.
5. Writing establishes expertise.
Excellent essays attract excellent people. If you write well about a topic, the world's experts will reach out to you.
Since writing is a record of your best ideas, your essays will double as a resume that demonstrates your intellectual rigor.
6. Writing will accelerate your career.
Good writers are clear thinkers and clear thinkers are rewarded at work.
By writing, you can gain outsized influence in your company and establish yourself as an industry expert, which will attract opportunities.
Every article you publish is like a serendipity vehicle. High-level people who resonate with your ideas will reach out to you with career opportunities you couldn't have imagined.
Thus, writing maximizes your surface area of exposure to luck.
8. Writing improves your thinking.
Mathematicians put their ideas on the whiteboard because writing out your ideas lets you tackle harder problems.
Writing is the same. By putting ideas onto the page, you can transcend the limits of scattered thinking and explore ideas deeply.
9. Writing online raises your standards.
Thinking in public raises your standard for quality.
When I was a kid, our house was always cleanest when guests would come over. The same is true for writing. You think better when you know you're going to be seen and critiqued.
Why is now the time to write?
It's never been easier for average people to share their ideas. If you write well, your ideas will find their way to some of the smartest and most successful people in the world. As your reputation grows, so will the opportunities available to you.
Writing regularly is one of the best habits you can build.
If you want to write regularly and become a better writer, sign up for my free 50-day email series.
If you're feeling stuck in your professional life, start writing online.
Here's how it can accelerate your career:
1. Building a Network:
Writing shrinks the world.
Historically, if you wanted to break into an industry, you had to move to its hub. Not anymore. By writing online, you can build a network from your couch.
Meet people online. Then travel to build relationships in person.
2. Building Expertise:
Quality writing begins with clear thinking.
Once you write about a topic, you can speak about it more clearly, which will help you crush job interviews and establish yourself as an authority.
Learn about topics that interest you and share what you learn.
The 20th century had two iconic dystopian novelists: George Orwell and Aldous Huxley.
Everybody knows Orwell's book: 1984. He outlined a dystopian future where censorship comes from banned books and ideas. Without access to truth, people would be passive and easily manipulated.
Orwell's vision became the standard.
Growing up, my book fairs had a "banned books" section. We were rightly encouraged to read them and explore suppressed ideas.
The lesson: In a world of information scarcity, banning information is the most effective form of thought control.
1. Creators are Rewarded: It's basically free to produce and distribute ideas now. Take advantage of that. When you share ideas online, you attract an audience of like-minded people who become friends and business partners. But passive consumers don't receive the same benefits.
2. Creation is Cheap: Joe Rogan is basically a one-man show. He doesn't have an expensive headquarters in the middle of Manhattan. Instead, he has a humble studio in Austin. With a couple of microphones, he has more reach than most big-name media companies.
1. The Mind Creates Reality: The American Psychological Association once invited William James to give a talk on the first 50 years of psychology research.
He simply said: “People by and large become what they think of themselves.”
Then, he left.
2. Make One Person Responsible: If you want to get something done, it’s tempting to put a huge number of people in charge. But often, when too many people are in charge, nobody accepts responsibility.
This saying is illustrative: “A dog with two owners dies of hunger.”
It's taught him to look for the kinds of world-changing ideas that've made him one of the world's most successful investors.
Here's how you can also find secrets:
Thiel's definition of secrets isn't the one you grew up with. He’s not talking about spreading gossip or talking behind people’s backs. Rather, he's talking about important truths about the world that other people don't realize.
Thiel's obsession with secrets is famous in this interview question: What important truth do very few people agree with you on?”
The answers are keys into hidden chambers of knowledge, free from the distortions of lies and propaganda.
Problem #1: Teachers don't tell students why writing is important.
Great writers have a stamp in the record of history. Warriors define the years. Philosophers define the centuries. Good writers can make more money, attract like-minded people, and shape history from their couch.
Problem #2: Students only write for the teacher.
Imagine if only one person ever read your writing. You wouldn't write much. Kids should write for an audience. Once their ideas spread, they'll get hooked on the craft.
As a friend says: "Compliments lead to competence."