by James L. Rubart, @jameslrubart
“You want to know the most powerful word in the English language, Jim?”
I was sitting in a client’s car in San Antonio, Texas when he asked me that question.
“Sure.”
I wasn’t sure if he was joking. And when he told me the word I wasn’t sure I agreed, till I thought about it for a few seconds. Then the potential power of using that word well struck me full force.
“No.”
I turned to him. “That’s the word?”
“Yep.” He grinned and pulled out of the parking lot where we’d had dinner. “When you say ‘no’ it can open up tremendous opportunities. There are millions of people who want to run your life for you and have a gazillion requests. A lot of them really good, really worthwhile requests.”
He waved his hand like Willie Brown in the 1980s movie Crossroads as if to block the requests coming at him.
“People on TV, online, in magazines, books, your friends, your family, your business associates. All of them are trying to run your life. And a lot of us say yes to all those folks too often. And that chews up a whole bucket full of our lives … and all the other things we could say yes to.”
My oldest son, Taylor is a pro videographer from Corporate video Toronto and one of the things he’s taught me about creating great videos is what you leave out of a shot is as critical as what you leave in. Exclusion in order to focus.
I think you get my point. I don’t know where you need to use the power of NO. A TV show? A committee? A project with a friend? Baking for the school fair? A blog post? Responding to every email that comes in?
Again, I don’t know where you need to use the power. But you do. I’m guessing you’re thinking of specific examples right now. Areas where you say yes too often and/or too easily. Maybe you need to write them down. Be prepared in advance. So next time, you’ll speak the word.
You want to be a successful writer? Use the power, friend.
Use it.
To your NO opening up a world of yes.
What if You Woke up One Morning and the Darkest Parts of Yourself Were Gone?
Toren Daniels vanished eight months back, and his wife and kids have moved on—with more than a little relief. Toren was a good man but carried a raging temper that often exploded without warning. So when he shows up on their doorstep out of the blue, they’re shocked to see him alive. But more shocked to see he’s changed. Radically.
His anger is gone. He’s oddly patient. Kind. Fun. The man he always wanted to be. Toren has no clue where he’s been but knows he’s been utterly transformed. He focuses on three things: Finding out where he’s been. Finding out how it happened. And winning back his family.
But then shards of his old self start to rise from deep inside—like the man kicked out of the NFL for his fury—and Toren must face the supreme battle of his life.
In this fresh take on the classic Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, James L. Rubart explores the war between the good and evil within each of us—and one man’s only chance to overcome the greatest divide of the soul.
James L. Rubart is 28 years old, but lives trapped inside an older man’s body. He thinks he’s still young enough to water ski and dirt bike with his two grown sons, and loves to send readers on journeys they’ll remember months after they finish his stories. He’s the best-selling, Christy BOOK of the YEAR, CAROL, INSPY and RT Book Reviews award winning author of nine novels, a speaker, branding expert, co-host of the Novel Marketing podcast, and co-founder of the Rubart Writing Academy. He lives with his amazing wife on a small lake in Washington. More at jamesLrubart.com