HOW TO GIVE A BETTER SPEECH THAN OBAMA and change your world - (Churchill and the final edit) by Darren Kelly, Kellcomm, Blog - Day 29

Hi,

Winston Churchill said, “Writing a book is an adventure. To begin with, it is a toy and an amusement; then it becomes a mistress, and then it becomes a master, and then a tyrant. The last phase is that just as you are about to be reconciled to your servitude, you kill the monster, and fling him out to the public.”

I find Churchill’s words rush to my mind after every time I pass the stages of idea discovery, research and writing. It is true that you create the book, but then the book actually controls you. Let me give you one example.

After I wrote ‘The World’s Greatest Sales Lesson’ I sat reading ‘The Sunday Times’ newspaper on a warm Sunday afternoon. I noticed an article on Paul Allen, the co-founder of Microsoft. The article mentioned a magazine article that inspired Bill Gates. The name of the magazine was different to the one I had written about in the book. Had I got it wrong? I never let things I cannot change affect the present moment so I calmly switched off from the subject to enjoy my family barbecue. The interrogation of my facts could wait until Bank Holiday Monday morning. I awoke at 7am the next morning and googled the subject on my mobile phone. I was pleased that it was the newspaper and not me who had made the error. This was good because the book had been released a month earlier!

After I finished ‘How To Give A Better Speech Than Obama and change your world’ I listened to it one last time. I placed the CD in my car stereo and within eight minutes I knew something wasn’t right. I felt the introduction was too long, but I knew the information was also very valuable. I believed that I had cut as much as I could. There was a moment when I thought about not releasing the book in its present form. Then I had the idea that actually made the book flow better.

I decided to take the piece about a major Obama inspiration and see where else it could fit. This took me another five hours to change. However, it was worth it, and I am glad that my instinct proved right. I am often asked if I am happy with the book. I always respond by saying, “I’m as happy as I can be. “ If Obama questions his own words and cringes sometimes at his own oratory, who am I to feel satisfied with mine. My greatest joy from the book comes when people send me messages from the USA, Australia, New Zealand, around the UK and other countries to say that they learned something valuable and enjoyed the process. That feeling washes away my inner critic.

Tomorrow, I will share with you the number one lesson you will take from the book.

Take care,

Darren.


PS: 'HOW TO GIVE A BETTER SPEECH THAN OBAMA and change your world' - is available on iTunes and Amazon NOW!
Audio Version only.
Text version in January 2012.



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