It’s not an Idea.
I went to a book writing workshop this last Saturday with a handful of other areas pastors and leaders. Jonathan, the guy who came in to teach the workshop owns his own boutique publishing company called Rhizome.
I learned several important principles about writing and the book publishing industry, but I loved a story that he shared towards the end of the workshop.
Then he told us about a time he went to pitch a book idea to Michael Hyatt, the CEO of Thomas Nelson. As you can imagine, if you’re the CEO of one of the 6 major publishers in the U.S., you get a lot of requests to review book proposals and pitches. That’s why I love Mr. Hyatt’s approach…
For each request, he invites these hopeful authors to go jogging with him in the morning. If they can pitch the idea to him during the jog, then he’ll give them the time of day and possibly some helpful suggestions on their idea.
Jonathan, with around a dozen other authors, joined Mr. Hyatt on his jog on this particular morning - each of them waiting for the split second, the moment where they could get a word in edge-wise. One of these guys wasted no time and started into his pitch from the get go. As they began jogging, the rest of the authors waited and waited. Mr. Hyatt was going back and forth with this one author for several minutes. Though most of them were out-of-shape, non-runners, they were all hoping the jog was at least 5 miles so they could get a shot at their pitch. Only 2 miles later, Mr. Hyatt stopped jogging after listening to one guy use all of the time on himself. He then said to the group, “Sorry guys, that’s it for today.” Mr. Hyatt then said this to the disappointed group, “Let this be your lesson for today. If you cannot pitch your idea in under a minute, it is not an idea.”
That’s worth the price of a jog.
That’s a vital exercise in any creative process. It is especially important for a new generation of artists, writers, and speakers who all feel like they have something to say. In an age where everyone is busy, overwhelmed, and highly distracted, we have to master the discipline of stating our message simply and succinctly.
It’s not enough to label your blog post “Ramblings”. Nobody wants to sing a song that incorporates so many themes, metaphors, and adjectives that it’s about everything and nothing all at once. There are select few people who can get away with being vague and random. But probably not you or I.
So, before you hit “publish” on your blog post, before you call a song finished, before you deliver your talk, make sure you can state the big idea in a phrase that is an irreducible minimum. This will help refine your art, and sharpen your message until it is unmistakeable.
I still struggle with this exercise - especially when I always have one more story or insight I could “fit in”. But I’m convinced, that our world doesn’t need more messages. We need clear and convicting ones.
