A video of Harry Dry on copywriting had me hypnotized to my iPad.

My wife broke the spell with a gentle punch.

I paused to see her looking up with her mouth open and a finger pointing at the terminal speaker.

“…and Kana Sorta please report to gate A3 immediately. This is your last call or doors will be closing.” 

Before I could pack up my wife was turning back to spur me.

Finally I was that guy.

The guy late for his flight and holding up the plane.

I was too prideful to run, so I took larger strides to maintain my wife's pace.

You can do that when you’re 6 foot 3.

I didn’t dare look in anyone’s eyes as I stared down a full fuselage with no overhead bins left open.

To our defense, Southwest changed our boarding gate 3 times and our departure time 10 times. All within 6 hours.

So here I am sitting in the middle seat writing up the 3 decisions I made during my trip.

Let’s start with one i’m most excited about.

I. Diversify your source of inspiration for fresh ideas.

Ever get tired of hearing the same advice?

I love talking about it, but I’m so tired of productivity books.

I may burp up some lunch if I read about S.M.A.R.T. goals one more time.

There comes a point when no amount of reading can replace taking action.

So I’m looking elsewhere for inspiration.

My best motivation comes from fresh inspiration.

I’m reading different books to end off 2024 to get a fresh perspective on life, creativity, and writing.

Here are the 5 books from my recent book haul.

1. Healing is the New High by Vex King

As a Christian I have to be careful with some esoteric practices.

With discernment, I’m excited to learn new methods of soul-searching and healing from my past.

This book will help me share unique transformative insights.

2. Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin

A book about the ups and downs of creativity and love. With some gamer references.

Krystal recently read a novel and as she explained it I was seeing a movie.

I like books more than movies because it gets into the minds, and nuances you can’t catch from directors. Unless you’re watching a book like Fight Club.

This book will help me to learn how to write better stories.

3. The War of Art by Steven Pressfield

A book on breaking creative blocks.

This book is on recommended lists for writers.

4. Do I make myself clear? by Harold Evans

I am learning that clarity is the foundation of effective communication.

Besides a book on writing, a preacher shared how this book elevated his sermons.

5. Illustrated Man by Ray Bradbury

I bought this to give to my nieces. It was the book that inspired me to write short stories.

I’m captivated by how someone could describe mankind through epic stories.

Rather than regurgitating topical insights, I want to conceptualize my unique experiences.

→ Go outside your usual genre to learn new things for fresh ideas.

Check out how cool this bookstore is:

II. Care about the bad habits as much as the new ones.

This is the first trip home where I was health conscious.

I still blew it hard, but now I was conscious about it, haha.

While scarfing down a milkshake, burger, and fries, a thought crossed my mind.

“How come I don’t care about bad habits as much as I do starting good ones?”

We know how impactful a small habit can be.

Never thought I would have to say this, but my next burger will be lettuce wrapped.

I’m cutting out my bad habit of eating bread like there’s no tomorrow. It’s time to tone up.

Call it strict, but this will have a bigger impact than starting a new habit.

→ Focus on cutting out bad habits as much as you do starting new ones.

III. Create a system for routine tasks and responsibilities.

There are things in our life that we do every day or week.

Sometimes we forget tasks, neglect priorities, and fall short of goals.

It’s hard when having to juggle so many roles.

Creating a system keeps all the balls from dropping.

I want to create a system for 5 roles in my life;

1. Human

2. Husband

3. Disciple

4. Evangelist

5. Writer

The questions I’ll ask myself for each:

1. What are the can’t dos?

2. What are the will dos?

3. What are the must dos?

The way I will systemize each role:

• What are the daily, weekly, monthly, or yearly tasks, events, and goals?

I’ll pop them all in my planner and check them every day.

→ Create a system for each role to take care of routine tasks and responsibilities.

In short,

One - Go against the grain of inspiration.

If you are a rapper, don’t listen to hip-hop. Listen to jazz.

Find new experiences to draw inspiration from. Give your creative mind room to breathe.

Two - Care more about your bad habits than your good habits.

Three - Create a system for the things you do every day, week, and month.

If you got this far, I’m shocked.

It would surprise me if my writing keeps you on this email for this long.

Please reply with what you liked so I know that something is working in my writing.

I had fun responding and connecting to the previous letter’s replies by the way.

Till next week,

K://

p.s. I’m going to start sharing one new tune for the readers that make it this far.

I love sharing music, but social media isn’t a good place to share what I’m jamming to.

Here’s the first of many:

Listen to the emotion.