I had always wanted to write a book, and many friends were regularly asking me for job search advice. So, in mid-February 2023, I opened a blank doc and started writing my first book on the topic.
By the end of the month, I had my first chapter and the book outline. In the next month, I had written 4 chapters — half the book. And a month later, I had completed all 8 chapters. By the end of the month four, I had it reviewed by a copywriter, had finalized a title, and a draft cover.
In just around four months from my start date, I was *nearly* done with my first book. A flying start. I was cruising!
But the last 10% was the hardest.
I ran into a few pesky formatting issues with Kindle that I couldn’t figure out. I wasn’t happy with the book cover and had a dispute with the illustrator.
I started a part-time contracting project, in addition to my startup. I was also hosting my parents for the summer. I was exhausted at the end of the days and weeks.
I made no progress in July through September. Nada. I started convincing myself that it wasn’t a worthy or aligned project.
I nearly gave up and moved on.
Luckily, my friend Preet, who regularly checked in on my book progress and reviewed my early drafts, was getting tired of my excuses. After a call where I shared my latest set of excuses, he sent me a text:
That nudge got me back up on the horse.
In a day, I had the PDF published to Gumroad. In a couple of days, I had 5 purchases. By the end of the week, I had figured out the Kindle issues (it turned out to be a rather easy fix) and published to Kindle. By the end of October, I had 150+ purchases, many 5-star reviews, and tons of appreciation & congrats from friends, colleagues, and family.
I most relished the satisfaction of having completed the project and publishing my first book!
Discussing ideas is easy, starting projects is usually fun, and finishing them is the hardest. Finishing requires endurance, discipline, and grit.
But finishing is all that matters.
We appreciate and value the greatest artists, scientists, inventors, entrepreneurs, leaders, friends, and colleagues for what they finished, not what they started. We also personally gain, emotionally and financially, mostly from finished projects.
All the glory lies behind the finish line.
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Notes:
1. Sometimes there are legitimate reasons for abandoning what you started. Maybe you learned something that changed your mind, maybe the book isn’t as good, etc. In those cases, it’s okay to cut your losses. But if this is a repeating pattern, you may be tricking yourself, like I almost did.
2. Because of this principle, I have become more judicious in selecting the projects I start, which is mostly for the good. I don’t sign up for a habitual thing (like a fitness activity) unless I think I can do it for 10 years and I don’t start a project until I’m convinced it’s meaningful and exciting to me.
3. Sometimes more ambitious projects are easier to finish because they are more meaningful and there’s more at stake. But I think setting early milestones and minimum viable products are crucial for motivation and learning. For e.g. before you start a restaurant host a dinner party, or before you write a book, write an essay.
4. I believe broadly sharing what you’re doing before you finish saps your motivation, as you are stealing the reward before delivering the result.