Authorpreneur Coaching: Stop Comparing Yourself (Day 3 of 3)
So far, we've looked at several misconceptions (excuses?) that people have about writing books and self-publishing that keep them from getting started.
We talked about people believing that self-publishing is TOO HARD, takes TOO LONG, or is TOO EXPENSIVE when, in fact, writing and publishing a book can be incredibly EASY, sometimes done in a WEEKEND, and is 100% completely FREE.
We also talked about how people struggle with Imposter Syndrome because they think that they aren't good enough to write a book or that they don't deserve to have 'published author' status.
But there's one more thing that I commonly hear people say when they're coming up with reasons to NOT take action and it has to do with COMPARISON.
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How do I know that people struggle with this? It's because, as a coach and mentor, I've heard the same thing over and over again.
It's similar to Imposter Syndrome and believing that they aren't good enough, but instead, it's about how someone else is 'better' or has 'already done it'.
And here's the thing; WHO CARES?
There is a thread of truth in this misconception because it's likely that someone else IS better than you or that someone else HAS already done it.
But that's not the point.
What you need to understand is that YOU and YOUR STORY are UNIQUE to you. Your EXPERIENCES and your PERSPECTIVES are UNIQUE to you.
Tony Robbins may be well known and the best in his business, but he doesn't have YOUR STORY.
And YOUR STORY may be exactly what someone needs to read.
People connect with people and stories for all kinds of different reasons. They may identify with you and your story because of a similar or shared background story or life experiences.
Somewhere out there will be someone who NEEDS to read your story. It will be YOUR STORY that they relate to and connect to. It will be YOUR STORY that inspires them to make a change.
I once coached a lady who wanted to write a book with helpful tips and relatable stories specifically for military wives. To me, it was obvious that her story was a powerful one and one that would help lots of people.
She truly knew what it meant to be a military wife and all the specific challenges that this entails. Once specific frustration that she has was how difficult it was to finding steady work and contribute financially to the family since they would relocate frequently.
And she had compiled a list of things that people, specifically military wives, in this situation could do.
She had a great perspective on the actual day-to-day struggles that come with being a military wife, so anyone in the same situation would instantly be able to relate to her.
But even though I thought this was a great topic for a book, there is no way that anyone other than her could write that book.
And, in a way, she owed it to the people that she wanted to help/serve to get her book written and published.
Does someone else know "more" about what military wives go through? Probably. Does that matter? No.
Writing books and self-publishing is NOT a competition. Someone else writing a book that helps people does not take away from anyone else doing the same thing.
I hope that you will push forward and start to write YOUR STORY in YOUR BOOK, even if you don't completely understand this yet. I assure you that there are people out there whose lives will be BETTER because of the effort that you put into writing your story and getting it published.
If you need help with this process, please just let me know.