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6 powerful writing tips to skyrocket your confidence

Feel your writing confidence hitting a snag? Take heart. It happens with everyone. Implementing these 6 writing tips will instantly put your swag at the next level. 1. Hate the gentleman who focuses on data You’re talking to people, not presenting thesis. Readers don’t want you to bombard them with empirical facts and figures. Don’t sermonise. Tell ‘em a story and tie data in it to prove your point. Don’t underestimate the power of storytelling. It has always touched our souls and will continue to do so forever. 2. Hate introductions An artist isn’t a respecter of conventional rules. She bends them. Shun conventional introductions: Firstly, it may be mentioned that the deep importance of technology is felt by everyone, no matter whatever field you belong… In the beginning, we would like to state that the issue of health has become a major concern for everyone, and therefore… During present times, we know the fact that inflation is soaring, and consequentl
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The naked truth about writer's block we'll hate

"I only write when I'm inspired, so I see to it that I'm inspired every morning at nine o'clock." Peter De Vries Yesterday while I was cradling my daughter to sleep, I played a podcast by Seth Godin called Akimbo. (Podcasts and audiobooks are great timesavers!) Seth talked about writer’s block, and condemned it completely. He said that there’s no such thing like plumber’s block or engineer’s block, but people say that they’re going through writer’s block. Having balked down repeatedly by the same sentiment, after listening to Seth's podcast, it has got clear to me that writer’s block is a clever way of saying that I’m not afraid of putting my work in public, but there’s an internal problem, beyond my reach, which is impeding me to go forth. It’s also a smart way of saying that we’re willing to engage in hard work, but a mysterious problem of our mind is preventing us from doing so. The naked truth though? We're scared. Scared of be
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A surprisingly simple system to get your work done without irritation

Do you also have this feeling? Most of the time I feel that I’m not utilising my time and energies as best as I can to rev up my progress. This feeling twists my stomach in discontent, even though most of the times I remain busy. I mean, I don’t waste my time in Facebook, or in watching any mind-numbing web series. Maybe it happens with you, too. You might think of decluttering your life by crossing off secondary things (switching off phones, turning off the Internet, packing off television and so on.) But even when you do it, you feel that there’s a void – something which is sucking your productive time like a leech. Despite your hectic timetable, you feel that you’re not making progress on your core goals. When you look 6 months back, you get a view that you’re still where you were then. And then it gets downright hateful to swallow this shitty lump of guilt, right? If like most people, this situation fits on you, then here’re a few measures you can take up: Ask
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Why successful people get their tasks done and others fail

I’m reading Miss Anne Sullivan’s letters, which she wrote to her former warden of the Perkins Institution for the Blind. Miss Sullivan has given an account of the progress that her deaf and blind pupil Helen Keller made as she taught her. It never appeared to me that she ever got in a hurry to teach her things, or that she overthought about the complexity of the task handed to her. She went slow. She took one thing at a time, and once it was done, she moved on to the other. Teaching a deaf and blind child isn’t easy. Many would say that it’s downright impossible. But Miss Sullivan didn’t let negative stories play in her mind, and she continued to do the little that she could at that given time. If I had been in her place, I might have thought and thought about the disparity between human beings. Maybe I would have thought that fortune didn’t favour the child, and the world is unfair. I would have got worried over the point whether Helen would be able to learn or not. “I
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An open secret to success you ignore

How success happens? Slowly. Gradually. And then in a smash. Suddenly. But we remain unaware of the slow changes that unfolded bit by bit beneath the surface, and feel no major activity took place. Behind the scenes work is hidden, because after all, it’s behind the scenes. It’s solitary, boring, hard work. Work that makes you fall and sucks your energy. Work that forces you to pass through dreary deserts and long droughts. Despite your massive efforts, you feel no progress is taking place, and this feeling could remain in your heart for months or even for years. Your belief in yourself begins to waver, and you feel like calling it quits. Let’s say that you’re trying to become a writer. You read different books, research the market, decide your target audience, and then assimilate all the information that you gathered to change it into a book. During all this unattractive time, you fall and fail several times. Friends and reviewers tell you that your arguments are g
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Are you also not successful because of this common reason?

Ever wish that an authoritative personality would uncover your amazing talents and put you up in front of the world? That personality making you so successful that folks begin to cheer in awe when your name is pronounced? This could be a cool storyline for a fiction, but let the harsh sun of this actual world shine on your soft skin – even if it scorches it, burns it, tears it. Waiting for such a miracle can keep us waiting, waiting, waiting. But most of us, inspired by fantastic fiction, are drilled and drugged with the notion that an influential personality, noticing our deep talents and potential, would make us rise, following which we’re going to be wildly successful. This thought stops us from taking the real action and keeps us occupied with the shallow. It arms us with an excuse for not taking risks, not putting our work under people’s scrutiny, not trying out with our greatest powers. Because we hope to be lifted up by a lofty figure like Richard Branson or Tom C
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Astounding: This would prove if you’re a self-starter

"Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty." Attributed to Thomas Jefferson Ever thought why we join a gym, get a job, show up on time when it’s irreversible? Because the alternative, where you’re at a liberty to act as per your own choice, offers you the luxury of rationalising your laziness, procrastination, excuses. You show up on time at your workplace because you know that it might affect your incentives, promotion, a salary raise – and in the worst case – your boss can even kick you out. You workout and sweat and gasp in the gym because you know you won’t be able to stand the reproachful glance of your physical instructor. You reach the airport at 4:00am because you know the flight won’t wait. You think not about your dishevelled hair or clothes or slip back citing a mild headache. On the contrary, when you try to self-start, you feel that you’re loading yourself with way more than you have the capacity of. You leap on the first excuse to delay
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How to check off mind-racking work without feeling overwhelmed

Ever felt that you have an irritating traffic of tasks jostling in your mind to get checked off? Emails, assignments, medical, home errands and your to-do list can go on. A mere thought of these tasks is overwhelming. You try to do it all, but you feel that your hands are tied. You feel confused, clueless, and even frustrated. You think deeply about getting it all done, but soon your mind spins up clever excuses to keep you off it. And? The next moment you find yourself putting your feet up and having your favourite drink or watching television or scrolling on the social media. Because confess it to yourself – you know how to distract yourself. You know how to get yourself busy with something easy and dumb so that you can keep your mind far from grappling with the tough. But the revulsion of this escapism? Even though you’re busy in such mindless, low-quality activities, the burden of pending tasks continues to silently scream on you in the background. Has it ever ha
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6 astonishing tips to wake you up fresh and energetic

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For quite some time, and especially after my mother whispered goodbye to this fleeting world, I’m having difficulty waking up fresh and energetic. Yes, you might say that waking up with that cloggy feeling in mornings is pretty general, but if due to them your normal work is skidding off the rails? The alarm bells begin to ring, bang, pound. And if you snooze, you lose. You have to wake up. Well, first joining a gym and racking my bones to the point of cracking appeared clever. I reasoned that this way I’ll fall asleep as I threw myself on the bed. Good idea? But this required a heck lot of time and effort. Going to and from gym, managing office and personal work – all this appeared a little beyond the time and energy at my disposal. (Additionally, I hate sad and crappy music played in these places. Isn’t it true that all that we expose ourselves to – knowingly or unknowingly – has a bearing on our thinking?) Second I thought of purchasing some physical exercising ma
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The hidden and more poisonous enemy to success

Ever found yourself avoiding projects that entail risks of failure and mind-racking work? Yeah, I’m talking of work that you put up to be reviewed and judged. Not the work that you tinker around with to fill up your time with a ‘productive’ activity – which is for the sheer sake of practice. Not the work that you know you would shove away so that it gets lost in the dark gulf of obscurity. Here I rather am talking of work that stands the hair-raising risk of rejection, failure, condemnation. Work in which you squeeze out your heart and soul and blood. Not 100% sure if you thirst for risk and are prepared to be slapped with rejection even after putting out your best – but I confess here that yes, I try several crutch activities to avoid work that entail risk and toil. This is the reason why before publishing on my blog, I feel hesitant – because I fully know that my work would be up there to come under people’s scrutiny. I instead prefer to read something which melts away
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