The ‘100% Rule’ of Writing (and Life)
…and how it will change your entire world
The secret I’m about to share applies to everything you do (and stand for), not just writing.
But we’ll use writing as the tool, because if we can follow the rule here, we can change almost anything in our lives. The 100% Rule is a binary choice.
Once we adopt it we clear the path for thousands of additional decisions. If you want to be a commercial writer, or you want more discipline in your writing life — this rule will help.
This won’t be some painful conversion either.
First, an anecdote —
I get a ton of email every day, from writers and creators all over the world (80+ countries). Many of these emails circle the same theme — “I don’t feel like a writer. I can’t find the motivation. I don’t know if I’m any good. How do I know if I have what it takes?”
Sure, skill-level and writing quality varies greatly among writers.
One readers trash is another’s treasure.
But this one rule will change the way you attack your next writing project — be it an entire novel, or single article.
When you adopt the 100% Rule, an entire world opens-up.
This doesn’t require extra skill, some new journaling method, or a week-long retreat in the Himalayas. Nope, this is a one-second decision.
The 100% Rule
Most of us are bogged-down with over-choice. We have so many decisions to make — whether we should start a new project, is our creative work good enough, or what should we work on first?
The 100% Rule eliminates a thousand extra decisions.
Let me explain.
It’s 1,000X easier to decide to be a daily writer than it is to be a writer 98% of the time.
This is the crux of the entire 100% Rule.
You make a binary decision about who you want to be — Are you a daily writer or not? When someone asks you, what kind of writer you want to be, how will you respond?
When you go all-in on a decision, you eliminate a hundred little decisions.
This is where the rule applies to the rest of life as well.
- Are you the kind of person who tells the truth all the time?
- Are you the kind of person who never treats a customer unfairly?
- Are you the kind of person we can count on, every day?
- Are you the kind of person who eats well all the time?
- Are you the kind of person who does the right think, even when no one’s watching?
- Are you the kind of person who would never betray your family?
The 100% Rule is a simple, one-second decision with profound effects on the rest of your life. Once you accept a certain path, all future decisions are made.
If you decide to be a daily writer, then you write daily.
You don’t write 98% of the days. That creates a series of endless decisions. When you adopt the 100% Rule for writing, you make the decision once. You choose to be a daily writer. Done. You never have to make a daily decision again.
It’s not about willpower.
It’s not about time, either. We choose what we spend time on.
When you adopt the 100% Rule, the process is freeing. There’s a large weight off your back. You decide who you want to be and act as that person every day.
When events challenge this decision, all you have to do is refer to who you are. “I am a person who doesn’t drink soda pop.” All the decisions after that are simple.
You can adopt the rule in dozens of key places in your life.
Who do you want to be? Now be that person. All the time.
Now it’s time to tell the others
When you choose to be a daily writer, you choose to put yourself on a path. While you can’t control the outcome, you can control the cumulative effort.
Part of writing every day includes keeping your tribe informed about your latest work. Whether you write fiction or non, you need an email list.
…and I’ve got just the ticket.
When you apply the 100% Rule to your marketing content, you can collect email addresses with every article you write.
Every story you write becomes a little advocate to encourage readers to join your tribe.
If you want to learn how I do it, I created a free email masterclass for you. It’s called the Tribe 1K.
I’ll show you how to get your first 1,000 readers (or your next 1,000) without spending a hot nickel on ads.
We’re waiting for you.
Enroll in my Email Masterclass. Get Your First 1,000 Subscribers
August Birch (AKA the Book Mechanic) is both a fiction and non-fiction author from Michigan, USA. As a self-appointed guardian of writers and creators, August teaches indies how to make work that sells and how to sell more of that work once it’s created. When he’s not writing or thinking about writing, August carries a pocket knife and shaves his head with a safety razor.