Born To Create

Email is all about relationships. Every time we send an email, there is a human being on the other side of that message. For that reason, email is one of the most important things we write for our business and relationships. In this series on “Easy Email Tips,” we’ll dive into an important rule: respond to personal emails within 24 hours.

Most of us feel stressed out by social media marketing. We wonder whether we’re using it correctly, sharing our content enough, or even using the right platforms to begin with. I’m thrilled that my guest today is here to help clear up the confusion. Her name is Tricia Prues, and she is the smartest person I know when it comes to social media. Tricia offers social media services for entrepreneurs and small-business owners, including social media content writing and graphic creation, as well as social media account management (posting, monitoring, and engaging with followers).  In our conversation, we dig into a variety of topics around social media, including how to repurpose content, which platforms to use and how to use them, and how to deal with the curse of knowledge. To read the full show notes, visit http://kentsanders.net/130.

As I’m recording this, I can look out my office window and see my silver 2002 Ford Ranger sitting in my driveway. It has over 200,000 miles on it. It’s been a great truck and I will probably continue to drive it until it doesn’t run. I like to get as much mileage out of my cars as possible! And that’s exactly how we should be thinking about our content.  You have limited time, but an unlimited audience. Because of those two factors, it’s important to repurpose your content in as many ways as you can. On this episode, I’ll teach you 10 ways to do this so you can reach more people and build your audience. To read the full show notes, visit http://kentsanders.net/129.

A few years ago, my wife Melanie was having dinner with a friend from her college days. She mentioned to this friend that I was working on a book. The friend suddenly became very negative and said, “Why in the world would he want to do that! That’s so stupid!” This motivated me even more. But it also reminded me of an important truth: Not everyone in your life understands or appreciates your goals. There may even be some people who actively oppose you when you try to achieve bigger goals. It sounds counter-intuitive, but this is a GOOD thing. In fact, you should be thankful for your critics! I’ll explain why on this episode. To read the full show notes, visit http://kentsanders.net/128.

What lens do you see the world through? Some people see the world through the lens of politics. Some people see the world through the lens of sports. Some people see the world through the lens of Star Wars (ahem). Or technology. Or business. Or a million other possible things. My guest today is going to invite you to see the world through the lens of STORY. His name is Jim Woods, and he’s a writing coach, author, editor, and storyteller. He has worked with bestselling authors and influencers such as Jon Acuff, Gretchen Rubin, Mike Vardy, Kelsey Humphreys, and many others. Jim is an extremely talented writer, but he’s also a coach who will help you achieve your writing goals. Jim believes that ultimately, every problem is a story problem. He breaks down what that means and how it can help you live a more fulfilling life and write better stories. Jim will share some of the TV shows that have helped him understand storytelling. He also talks about the importance of empathy in our communication.  To read the full

I started keeping journals way back in 1992, when I was a college freshman. Since those days, I have filled boxes with journals where I’ve recorded my thoughts, actions, ideas, and creative journey. On this episode, I’ll get into the nitty-gritty of my journaling habit. When do I journal? How often? What do I write about? I’ll also share 3 specific ways journaling helps you become a better business writer. To read the full show notes, visit http://kentsanders.net/126.

A few weeks ago I saw in a darkened theater with my son Ben. We were there to watch a movie I had been anticipating for two years: The Rise of Skywalker. I enjoyed the movie, but let’s be honest: it was a mess. It was clear that the filmmakers of Rise were trying to walk back on story points from the previous movie, The Last Jedi … which had already taken a hard right turn from the story in the previous film, The Force Awakens. Any way you slice it, Lucasfilm obviously did not have the story for this trilogy planned out in advance. And it showed. On this episode, I dive into the #1 writing lesson you can learn from Disney’s Star Wars trilogy. I also break down 3 specific ways to apply this to your next article, blog post, or other piece of content. To read the full show notes, visit http://kentsanders.net/125. 

I was talking to a friend the other day, and he said, “I can’t believe it’s already the year 2020. It seems like it turned the year 2000 just yesterday.” Indeed, it does seem hard to believe that the whole Y2K hysteria was twenty years ago. One of the common themes you’ll hear associated with the year 2020 is the concept of vision. It’s a play on words because “20/20” also refers to perfect eyesight. I can’t think of a better guest to help us think about the power of vision and seeing what our lives can become. His name is Dr. Wayne Pernell, and he’s going to walk us through some ways to increase the power of our lives through what he calls The Significance Factor. I think you’ll love this powerful conversation. Dr. Wayne Pernell, (also known as “Dr P”), is a highly sought speaker, #1 International Best-Selling Author with five books, and he's a Global High-Performance Executive Coach who brings more than thirty-five years of experience in helping leaders set new strategic targets, gain clarity and confidence

In the last episode, we began looking at 7 trends for business writers in 2020. That episode began to get kind of long, so I decided to break it up into two episodes. If you haven’t gone back and listened to episode 122, I encourage you to do that to get the full picture. But to recap, here are the first three trends we talked about: 1. Storytelling needs to be a major part of our communication and marketing. 2. Self-publishing options are getting better and more sophisticated. 3. Authors must begin thinking like “author entrepreneurs.” I mentioned this in the last episode, but I’ll mention it again: rather than seeing these trends as a threat, or in some other negative way … I believe they represent opportunities for reaching people in new and interesting ways. And like most things in life, our attitude and perspective will determine whether we embrace these changes and continue to grow … or whether we ignore these changes and become increasingly irrelevant.  So let’s dive in: the final four trends for busin

You’ve probably heard it said that there are two things in life that are certain: death and taxes. I’d like to add a third thing that is certain: constant change in the writing and publishing world. Or, you might say that the only thing that never changes is the fact that things are always changing! This is the case in nearly every part of life and society today. We live in a time of upheaval and change. This is especially true in the world of writing, publishing, and content creation, especially when it comes to business. Since we’re at the beginning of a new year, I thought it would be helpful to look at some trends I see on the horizon for this year. If we’re going to be effective in our communication, writing, and marketing, we must keep up with the changing times and be willing to do things differently. But rather than seeing these trends as a threat, or in some other negative way … I believe they represent opportunities for reaching people in new and interesting ways. And like most things in life, our a

I live in the Midwest—specifically, just outside St. Louis—and several months out of the year, we have cold mornings. Occasionally, I’ll forget to start my car early and un-fog the windshield. If I’m running late, that means I’m driving down the street with fog or maybe even some ice on the windshield … which is not a good situation. It’s hard to navigate when you don’t have clarity! That’s exactly the message that today’s guest is going to share with us. Her name is Marianne Renner, and she’s going to give us some tips for moving from chaos to clarity in our lives and businesses.  Marianne Renner is a highly sought-after leadership coach, keynote speaker, and author of the Chaos to Clarity Success Journal. With years of understanding human behavior, Marianne uses a unique blend of problem-solving techniques and communication strategies to help clients root out fears, doubts, and limiting beliefs so they can get real results.  As you can see, Marianne is well-suited to be talking about success and clarity. So

Today is January 1, so happy New Year! It’s a great time for a fresh start. I don’t know what your 2019 was like but mine was honestly pretty bumpy. But I wouldn’t frame it as a bad year — in fact, I’d say it was a very good year in that it was a year of major growth, clarity, and learning.  It’s also appropriate because this is a fresh start for this podcast. This is the introductory episode to the Smart Business Writing podcast, and I thought it would be good to take a few minutes and give you an overview of what the show is all about. I want to cover several things such as who the show is for, what you’ll learn, the show format, what this show is NOT, and some guiding principles that form the foundation of the show. To read the full show notes, visit http://kentsanders.net/120.

Just a note: If you are listening to episodes from Jan. 1, 2020 and on, those episodes will be part of the Smart Business Writing podcast. But if you are listening to episodes before then, those will be part of the Born to Create podcast. I hope you’ll check out the archive episodes of the Born to Create podcast, which consists of episodes 001-119 of this podcast. There are some great interviews and solo episodes that I’m confident you’ll find interesting and helpful.

You probably saw that this episode is titled “An Exciting New Podcast Direction!” and wondering what that’s all about. I’m going to take a few minutes here on this episode and share with you how this podcast will be pivoting and what you can expect with my new podcast, “Smart Business Writing.” I’ll be back on Jan. 1 with the very first episode of the new Smart Business Writing podcast. You won’t need to do anything to receive it—just keep this podcast feed active and you’ll get it automatically! To read the full show notes, visit http://kentsanders.net/119.

On this episode, I answer a question sent in by Francis: Thank you so much for your mails, they're really inspiring. Basically, I'm having difficulties in choosing a career or starting one. I'm still finding it difficult to understand my interest, many career entices me. I love being independent in every aspect of my life so working for someone or choosing a job is not my kinda thing. Recently, i have been broody, with questions of personal career choice and what I want to become for my life and future. I'm a graduate with a degree in accounting but I don't feel I really belong in this area of life. Please, I need your advice. To read the full show notes, visit http://kentsanders.net/118.

On this episode, I answer a question sent in by Brian Mays: Priority is a challenge for me. I am creative in my day job, but I'd love to shift what I'm doing as a professional creative to something a bit more niche. It's tough finding time to roll with that and do the "regular things" as a professional day in and day out. I can't remember doing much portrait drawing in the past year, and I miss it. It just never feels as important. To read the full show notes, visit http://kentsanders.net/117.

On this episode, I answer a question sent in by Craig Harmann: How do I build (or rebuild) habits that keep me consistent in being creative? To read the full show notes, visit http://kentsanders.net/116.

On this episode, I answer a question sent in by Catherine Hackman: Do you have any tips for marketing or how to build a platform? To read the full show notes, visit http://kentsanders.net/115.

On this episode, I answer a question sent in by Mark Revisky:  What is the balance between work, leisure, and creative endeavors? Many times my creative work is separate from those two areas. To read the full show notes, visit http://kentsanders.net/114.

On this episode, I answer a question sent in by Jessica Ghigliotti: How do you decide which project to work on next? I have running documents for capturing notes and ideas for a few different books I could write. But nothing is going to happen unless I can pick ONE idea to focus on. How do you choose? To read the full show notes, visit http://kentsanders.net/113.