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Tim Ferriss to Seth Godin
So I’m listening to a podcast where Tim Ferris is telling Seth Godin that his writing process feels a lot like his tennis game lately.
He’s all up in his head about it and so he keeps hitting the ball into the net.
So in an effort to solve the problem, his tennis coach told him he can hit the ball literally anywhere. Up in the air, over the fence, in the neighbors yard, just about anywhere he wants.
But there’s only one condition.
Don’t hit the net.
And Tim realizes he's doing the same thing with his writing. Overthinking it, taking way too long to publish, writing and re-writing, and he’s basically hitting the net with writing over and over again.
So Seth interrupts him and tells him to stop treating his writing like a tennis match and start treating it more like a Haiku.
Why?
Because Haikus have constraints.
And when you announce those constraints to your readers, it becomes much harder to let them down. Because the structure does the heavy lifting. You’re not standing on a court with infinite options, second guessing where to aim.
You’ve got 5-7-5, and that’s it.
With writing, your constraints will set you free.
And that’s exactly what I’ve noticed with email. The people who struggle with writing emails almost never have a writing problem. They have a structure problem. They sit down, stare at the screen, and the possibilities are paralyzing.
What should I write about? How should I start? How long should it be? What's the CTA?
But when you give yourself a simple set of constraints… a system with clear steps you follow every time…
Writing becomes easy and predictable, much like a Haiku.
5-7-5.
And that’s the whole point behind the Highly Effective Emails writing guide. It gives you a set of constraints that make writing daily emails feel less like a tennis match and more like a Haiku.
Simple rules. Easy structure. And the freedom to focus on the fun part… actually writing.
So if you want to stop hitting the net with your emails, go here:
Talk soon,
Kevin Hood