The second secret the gurus don’t tell you when you’re writing your book…
“Oh, I’ll just google that.”
How many times have you heard that or said it yourself?
The instructions you received from IKEA on your flatpack wardrobe/closet are indecipherable so you go to Google/YouTube to see if a video can show how to build it. Or perhaps the argument has been raging for ages about the year in which Rambo was released—a quick google will solve the issue.
Undoubtedly the speed of access to information online through portals such as Google has led to huge shifts in how we all do things. Many people thought that with instant access to information would come instant solutions, instant results, instant transformation.
We now know that the dotcom revolution has brought enormous changes but we are also aware that information alone does not bring about change. Google may provide access to gobbets of information rapidly but this doesn’t mean we know how to make sense of it or apply it powerfully in our own context.
Companies have been born, grown and even collapsed during the information revolution but there is a new revolution in the making. One you are involved in and which can lift your own business to new heights.
Rescue your clients from information overload and deliver real transformation for them
More and more people appreciate that they are drowning in information; they realise the quick-wins they sought through immediate answers and solutions were an illusion. As an experienced coach, trainer, consultant or business owner you know that often the key to turning a situation or business around is not a lack of information. The information to achieve what your clients want is already available to them in a multitude of ways online.
What makes you an expert begins with the first realisation: you understand that simply presenting people with information and strategies very often fails to achieve the desired result.
The second element of your expertise stems from your accumulated wisdom, knowledge and strategic thinking: knowing what to do, how to inspire, challenge and motivate your clients when they struggle with applying information. You may sell yourself as a trainer/consultant/coach but essentially you help people get absolutely clear about why they need to change and the benefits they will achieve through that change—your strategies, when applied, will deliver that transformation.
Information + Knowledge = Fertile Ground for Transformation
Many business writers make the fatal mistake of throwing everything at their readers.
If I push out every bit of information, every fact, every strategy, every nugget of wisdom and insight this will show I’m an expert and help my readers at the same time.”
But at the end of the day this doesn’t work. You simply become another source of information overload… More information, less transformation…
So when you think about writing your book, the book your readers really want to read, you need to see yourself as a transformation agent rather than an information agent. Most often transformation doesn’t come simply from information but from knowledge—the accumulated wisdom, experience and insight that you communicate with your clients to motivate, change and equip them in simple, effective ways to reach their goals.
So, please, don’t compete with Google by overloading your readers/clients with even more information—take time to think about the process of transformation you want your clients/readers to enjoy. Make this the heart of your book.
Oh, yes—the second secret—It’s not about information, it’s about transformation…
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Secret three coming soon…