SELF-REFLECTION
The Lost Communication Trainer Is Back as a Writer of Medium — E³ Writer Q&A — József Manhertz
Never-before-seen tips for writing on Medium from a Hungarian thinker.
What a great feeling to answer these questions! My intention to put my spoken words into writing became more definite. Why? Because this will bring me closer to myself and maybe to you.
Thanks for the opportunity for self-reflection to Malky McEwan for inviting me to the E³ publication.
Not a Medium member? You can read this article for free here.I’m happiest when
I am happiest when gardening because I connect with nature. For me, gardening primarily means serving nature. Good air, exercise, relaxation, and creation are desirable, but these are only about me.
Nature is perfect in itself, an expression of the highest intelligence. Nature does not require anything from me; it would remain perfect without me, especially without modern civilization.
It is only necessary for me to serve, not for nature, because developing the ability to give affects other areas of my life. I try to extend respect for nature to others, as the key to our joint success is community building, i.e., communication. I consider the connection with nature to be the basis of communication.
I cannot prevent deforestation. At home, however, I plant many new trees, thus expanding the living space of wild animals, who still live in harmony with nature. My garden is a microcosm of nature, where I learn about life a lot.
Ancient Chinese wisdom says it all:
Want to be happy for an hour? — Eat something good. Want to be happy for a year? — Get married. Want to be happy for life? — Get gardening!
Why I’m on Medium
After nearly three decades of working as a communication trainer, I retired from the stage in the spring of 2018. After that, I just built my YouTube channel as a vlogger. In my videos, I spend time alone in the Hungarian mountains and talk about further deepening my communication skills.
In 2022, I became completely silent and withdrew from the online space. Although I was successful, I still questioned the social benefit of continuing my operation until then.
Fiery worldly events and my intuition made me turn intensely inward. I linked my contemplation with the construction of our garden pond. This is an active meditation for me, in which the new inner order is also reflected externally. The process is still ongoing.
What if I kept my retreat forever? — I asked myself while sitting on the lakeshore. I am satisfied. I live in good conditions in the northern mountains of Hungary (Bükki National Park) in a small village surrounded by forest. That is fine. Let the world go its way.
I received an indirect answer to this question in the summer of 2023 because Hungary was included in the Medium Partner Program. Before that, I only wrote a few articles here in Hungarian. I was primarily a reader.
As a result of this impulse, I became enthusiastic and made a new return plan. Am I able to reproduce my previous local success by adapting it globally?
I expanded the narrow space of the Hungarian language with English. The expansion of space does not only mean the proportion of languages spoken (15 million versus 1.5 billion) but also cultural interaction. Just the thought of scaling up the multiplier effect gets me excited.
I started the fun by writing on Medium, the warmest home for written words. I can see the life of the Medium ecosystem from the very beginning, with all the ups and downs. Undoubtedly, we have a bright future ahead of us. I am an optimist but also a realist because I see the decline of intellect.
We are living in the transition between the collapse of the Gutenberg galaxy and the birth of the digital galaxy. The ability to hold attention and read is degraded. (See pedagogical research.) I see Medium as a refuge in an era of spiritual decay, a slight upturn in a downtrending chart. An investor would call it an “entry point”.
That’s why I’m here. Wherever I go…
My favourite life quote
“A good traveler has no fixed plans and is not intent on arriving.” - Lao Tzu 老子, Chinese philosopher (fl. 6th cn. B.C.E.)
I know where I go, but it does not matter if I arrive. Because it does not matter who I become; it is just that I know myself now. It does not matter what my hundredth step is; I just have to be open to the next step.
This is how I am in harmony with the world. Time will tell to what extent I can implement this attitude.
I write about
My writings are two-layered.
The outer layer can be classified into one main topic, such as communication, psychology, lifestyle, or business. In all cases, the inner layer is personality development, which aims at self-transformation.
Formulated from a different point of view, I approach the development of our relationships through self-development. Behind all our successes, we find good relationships.
In short, I share my personal development experiences.
The connections behind global events are becoming brighter to me. That is why I am expanding my topics and will write about cultural phenomena, the economy, and even politics. The inner layer is unchanged: What can I do to improve my situation and, through myself, the situation of others?
The niche is me — my personality, which attracts the right people.
My best writing tip
Writing tip? For what? Are there still any writers left among us? Okay! Let’s take it seriously, literally.
Authors today are not writers but typists. Fewer and fewer people use paper and pen.
The pen name of the writer is irrelevant. We should call it a keyboard name instead.
Don’t call it that! Just in case someone remembers to grab a real pen.
Many studies prove the cognitive advantages of handwriting over typewriting. Handwriting has a more direct connection with our mind, can express it more clearly, and improves its functioning (learning and memory).
In my experience, the writing process is much more creative and enjoyable when I use pen and paper in the beginning. The advantage of typing is quick editing.
Integrate this old-fashioned method with modern technology so readers will love you. Because your writing will reflect your personality more directly.
Open secret #1: People want to be connected.
Extra tip: If you already have a pen in hand, try calligraphy and lettering. This will unleash the artist within you. Guaranteed. I love it!
Do you think art has anything to do with writing?
No comment.
The advice I’d give a new medium writer
Comment!
In more detail: read and comment.
The Medium ecosystem thrives on multiple levels of engagement. Claps, highlights, listing, and following are all significant impulses, but commenting is the most direct form of relationship building.
My personal Medium policy prohibits clichéd and banal comments such as “Thanks, great writing!” Any spam bot and gold digger can do this. I only comment if I can add something to the author’s thoughts—confirmation, discussion, addition, motivation, or anything positive. Here is a list of my creative comments. (These are seeds for future articles.)
This is how I show my friendly openness. When the author’s and my thoughts are connected, the space for communication opens up, and thus there is a high chance that it will manifest itself in a following.
Open secret #2: Your comment will be seen by other readers of the article, and they will be curious about you.
Before I started writing in English last year, I got 685 followers, mainly by commenting. They are mostly valuable connections. Follow-back hunters also appeared, but their proportion is negligible.
Commenting on Medium is like having valuable conversations during a conference break. You know, networking. Test my clap and response skills at the end of this article. :)
Also, consider supporting our human-centric ecosystem. Read my in-depth analysis of the Friend of Medium membership that will broaden your perspective.
My greatest professional achievement
I will share two important insights, but first about the facts.
In 2004, I created the Public Speaking and Rhetoric Training. We held it every two weeks with a permanent full house, and it soon became the most popular communication training in Hungary.
There was a year when you couldn’t get into us for nine months because the participants immediately booked their place for the next training session. Okay, this fact is only pleasing to my ego.
However, the greatest joy for me was that the participants in the training were transformed. Some of them finally passed their oral exam, and others got management jobs. Furthermore, I supported teachers, lecturers, politicians, and other influential actors to go public. My heart beats faster when I watch the practice videos.
I ended this wonderful era a couple of years ago, as I indicated earlier. I’m crazy, I know. Maybe one fine day we can start again.
Lesson #1: Dissolving the fear of public speaking expands the space of action in other areas of communication (i.e., relationship building).
Lesson #2: The development of oral communication is also reflected in written communication. This is not about the techniques, because they are different, but about the connection between the writer and the reader.
Which lesson is interesting to you? Highlight your choice, and if there is interest, I will process the unusual path of communication development on Medium.
10 things I wish I’d known 25 years ago
I was 27 years old in 1999. My advice to my then-self:
- You’ve thought too long about renting an apartment. Do what you think is right in your heart on time. This way, you face fewer obstacles.
- You have built a successful business, and you are satisfied and free. However, this only ensures your daily livelihood, not your financial security. Make an investment plan!
- You will have financial difficulties. Spend time maintaining the level you have reached, and then you will not have to burn energy to start over in the future.
- You ran away from your parents’ house and found refuge in solitude. Keep a balance between spirituality and everyday life.
- You decided not to get married. It turned out to be one of the best decisions of your life because, after a few years, you met the perfect lady for you. I am infinitely grateful for that. Thank you!
- In nine years, you will forgive your father in front of an audience and then ask for his forgiveness. Do it earlier, because your soul will be free, much freer.
- In three years, you will transfer your business to the Internet. Don’t over-plan. Publish your printed newsletter digitally, because everyone opens and reads the email. Such a conversion will never happen again.
- Borrow money and buy a good video camera with lots of cassettes. Record all your public speeches and start vlogging at home. Distribute it on CD in a subscription system, then in downloadable form, and when YouTube launches in 2005, upload them all.
- Conduct expert interviews on the topic of your lectures with your microcassette recorder. Digitize it, send it out on CD, and later start your podcast channel.
- Improve your English skills, chat with foreigners, and translate your writings, because in 25 years….
What advice would I get if I received a message from myself 25 years from now?
Uncle Józsi, help me!
If I could change one thing about myself
I would act faster because enthusiasm has a short half-life. You know, our enthusiasm is like radiation from nuclear fission material. Penetrating.
This changed everything
After high school in 1991, I “won a free all-inclusive vacation” as the mandatory military service of the Hungarian Armed Forces. Damn it!
This happened during the disintegration of the Soviet Union and the socialist Eastern Bloc. Therefore, due to personnel changes in the offices, I was unable to find anyone who arranged it so that I did not have to enlist.
The end justifies the means. I fought for my freedom, but I failed. It was the most pointless year of my life, just like my high school years.
At the age of twenty, in love, just released from the clutches of creativity-killing public education, with the offer of a sales position for a global company (MAPEI) in my pocket with a bright vision of the future, full of energy and enthusiasm, I experienced the sweet taste of freedom for the first time in my life.
This sense of life was destroyed* by the military.
*diverted to another path
After the depression of the first month, I shook myself and then adapted to the situation. The saying is true for me:
“What does not kill me makes me stronger.” - Friedrich Nietzsche, Philosopher (1844–1900)
I got what I could out of the year. I will write the lessons learned and the funny stories.
I think the most significant change in my life was that after the military, I no longer looked for or accepted job offers from companies. I immediately became an entrepreneur, with a new vision, even more energy and enthusiasm, and, of course, more freedom.
I predict
Human relationships will become increasingly valuable.
One of the negative effects of globalization is the erosion of relationships through the Internet. Someone very aptly said that…
“Social media is already less social, rather media*.”
*The number one tool for manipulating society
Artificial intelligence adds fuel to the fire because it imitates human intelligence through images, articles, and comments—to mention what I experienced on Medium.
Politics turns people against each other. Individual isolation is a general trend; we rarely communicate, even with our neighbors.
The number of good relationships decreases. And what there is little of, its value increases.
The way out of the deepening social crisis is strengthening local communities. This is just as true for virtual relationships. The Medium ecosystem plays a key role in the regeneration of intellectual space.
What I can do
Setting an example.
As a simple person, I can make the most positive impact on the world by appreciating my environment and my relationships. That’s enough.
The effects of my actions spread like the ripples of a stone thrown into the water. I have nothing to do with the waves, only the stone. That is, with myself.
Want to create more positive waves in the lake of your life? Let’s splash together using the Follow button!
Last tip: With the subscription, you get early access to all my articles.