Soulful Authors: Your Why

IMPORTANT FORENOTE

ALL of this content is taken directly from the Soulful Author Journey, a program led by Burning Soul Collective’s CEO Lauren Eckhardt.

Reaching your writing dreams is hard. Period. I know from experience how easy it is to give up on a story. When the whole world crushes against you and your authorship it seems almost impossible at times to persevere. For a lot of writers, it is our dream to grow up and be an author one day, and for some, simply having that dream feels like it should be enough for us to achieve our goals. But really, if that were true, we’d see hoards of people accomplishing their dreams everyday, right? That’s why when things get rough, it is important to establish your why.

What is “Your Why?” Why is it so dangerous not to have one?

Your why is that fuel in your tank when you need it most. It's the thing that keeps pushing you when everything else is screaming at you to give up. It’s the motivation you need to overcome the billions of obstacles standing in front of you.

You need to know why you’re working your butt off to reach this dream.

What does it mean to you? What does it mean to your life? If you don't have that urgency or a deep enough reason connecting you to why you're writing this book, the path to reach your goal is going to be much, much harder.

It’s not uncommon to see people get pretty far into the book process and then suddenly start to dial it in because it gets too challenging. Rewriting, editing, receiving feedback, improving – it’s a tough undertaking.

It’s hard to face the truth, but sometimes passion is not enough. Sometimes, that light in your soul you feel when you write will only get you so far. You discover yourself prioritizing other things over the one thing you really want to be doing. You tell yourself “I’ll complete this book by the time I’m 25…28…30…35…” but the years keep rolling by. Soon, the fear that you may never achieve your dream grows too heavy. You may reach a point when your dream feels like an unbearable weight. Dreams should never feel this way.

Finding Your Why: Dig Deep

Think about the true purpose behind you writing this book.

If you feel like your immediate response is a kind of surface level answer, dig deeper. If you recognize yourself having the same core “why” as in the past, consider choosing a different one. Dig deeper. If this past why has yet to drive you to complete your book, then it is clearly not strong enough. Keep moving forward, search more.

You'll know when you find it. Your body will react when you hit the right reason. It's a mix of butterflies and anxiety and a little bit of fear because suddenly it feels like everything is elevated to a brand new level of significance. As humans, there is a part of us that understands tomorrow is not guaranteed. There's a reason why you have to do this right now.

Questions to Consider

Why do you want to write this book?

What will drive you to complete this book? What's at stake if you don't write this book? What is the urgency keeping you from giving up?

What are the goals you want to achieve with your book? What does the fulfillment of writing this book mean to you? What legacy do you want to leave behind?

What is the eternal impact you hope your book might bring? What do you want your loved ones to remember about you? How do you want your book to reflect the life you've lived?

Write down your why. Carry it with you and reference it every time you feel like giving up, when you catch yourself consistently sacrificing your dream for the sake of other things. In any story, every hero has an internal motivation, an urgency compelling them onward in their journey. It’s the same for you, you are a hero in your own life, so what’s compelling you?