Write Every Week for a Year (Part-Time)—and Watch Bigger Things Happen

The compound power of weekly writing is real

photo credit: Brad Pickering; 35 Years of Running with Dave - Post Marathon (Dave) and Half-Marathon (Brad)

Ciao! Today we went on an unforgettable hike with the kids. Our tiniest explorer was in our arms, while our oldest marched ahead like a pro. We followed a wild, rushing river with crystal-clear, ice-cold water, little toes and grown-up feet wading side by side. All around us: jaw-dropping views of the towering 1000 and 2000-meter peaks of the Monte Baldo massif.

Now we’re enjoying a little riposo (= siesta) and then we’ll cool off in the pool because I’m soooo excited…!

Excited to celebrate a huge win in today’s edition #3 of The Substack Guest Post Spring!

Brad hit a major milestone: 52 newsletters published.

That’s incredible. Most (new) writers stop after edition #14 or #16, but not Brad Pickering. He kept going.

Brad was actually one of the very first paid subscribers to this newsletter. When I made the leap from a free newsletter to a paid one back in January last year, Brad was there.

Brad (P. Eng and MBA) is a full-time entrepreneur, investor, and business growth expert. He’s currently a Partner in a risk and insurance consulting firm where he supports some of the largest and most successful real estate owners, developers, and family office capital managers. Part-time, he’s writing the Bigger Things Letter.

“My mission is to help others achieve purpose & success in business, abundance & fairness in money and adventure & love in life.”

And now, I’m thrilled to share his story and this podcast interview with real estate professional Tom Karadza.

As I always say:

Write 52 newsletters in a row and watch it change your life!

Write a Newsletter 52 Weeks in a Row and Watch It Change Your Life

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Writing isn’t something I ever intended to do, but just over a year ago, I felt called to do it.

I still remember writing that first article, hitting the “Publish” button, putting it out there live on the internet, and feeling totally insecure and super proud all at the same time.

After publishing that first article, I shared it with my wife, Candace, and she replied,

“Congratulations, this is great! Now if you could just not have it take you 10 1/2 hours every Sunday”! 🤣🤣

After a year of writing (and being able to write an article in just a few hours 😁), here are my biggest lessons:

• Be Cheerful and Constructive - There are many topics and people I disagree with these days, I’m sure that’s true for you as well. But I always just focus on my perspective through a positive lens and write from there. There is more than enough negativity out there, I’m focused on delivering a positive message to the world.

• Stay on Mission - Similar to the point above, my mission is to help others achieve their Bigger Things. That’s the entire point. I could write about and give opinions on hundreds of other topics, but I need to ensure I stay focused on helping others to:

  • Achieve success and purpose in business,

  • Abundance and fairness in money (of course this means Bitcoin), and

  • Adventure and a life well-lived.

• Generational Impact - My boys are 17 years old, so let’s be serious, they don’t really read my articles 🤣. Yes, they read little bits and every once in a while the whole thing, but generally not. With that said, much of my writing are the lessons and things I feel are important for them and that I want to pass on to them. My hope is that one day they may find this a good resource and read the relevant articles.

• Run Your Own Race - From the very start I decided I would write about what I want to write about, so long as it was on mission. It’s easy to get hung up on the likes (or lack thereof), comments, feedback. I was writing for the reasons in the points above and I had to release “why didn’t this article get as many reads as my last one…” and on. With that said, to every person who liked, commented or sent me a private note or text about an article and how it impacted you, thank you so much. Truly from the bottom of my heart, I appreciate and love the feedback and one text was often the fuel to keep me going for another few weeks.

• It’s both harder and easier than you think - Because I coach and consult as a career, and talk about Bitcoin A LOT 🤣 in my spare time, I use those conversations as a basis for much of what I write. I use writing as an opportunity to crystallize some of the concepts, processes, tools, and advice I’m helping others with anyway.

• Momentum and the Compound Effect - Like all things, writing has a momentum to it. Things add up. Good or bad, they add up. Doing 1 or 2 workouts makes no difference. Doing 100 days at the gym is transformational 💪 💪. Writing for 52 weeks adds up.

• The Power of the Subconscious - Something usually happens each week that makes me think “oh that would make a good topic”. Then I, very gently in my mind, somewhere in my subconscious, start thinking about what I’m going to write about. My mind starts framing it up, so when I finally sit down to write, it comes out quite easily.

• It’s Never Too Late - In life, we are often waiting for permission, justification, and/or approval to do things. We wait for permission to become a writer, permission to start a business, whatever. We confine ourselves and constrain ourselves based on our past experiences, memories of our past, and how we think others see us. At any moment, we can choose to be whoever we want to be. No permission, no justification, or approval is needed. Once I stopped worrying about what others think of my articles, I was able to write with tremendous freedom. So, as Nike says, Just do it!

• Find Someone Who’s Already Done It - As I wrote in a previous article, every time I find myself overwhelmed with something, I just think to myself 🤔… has anyone, ever, in the history of the world, done this before? Yes is always the answer, and so I just need to find that someone and replicate what they did. In the case of writing, for example, I joined the Online Writing Club and Substack School and Kristina became that someone.

Writing Bigger Things has been such a rewarding adventure and I greatly appreciate those of you who have been along for the ride!!

Thank you for helping me achieve my Bigger Things!

I hope this has helped move you toward achieving your Bigger Things,

Brad 💕👊

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Tell Us A Bit More About Yourself

Do you believe writing 52 newsletters in a row can change your life?

Have you already started building your newsletter? How are you doing with it?

I’m curious! Would love to hear from you in the comments.

Wait, please, could you do us a favor? 😘Re-stack and/or share this post, so more people can engage!😘 Thanks!