Top 15 Nicolas Cole Quotes

Somewhere, someone else is practicing harder than you, faster than you, longer than you. They want it more than you. And when you meet them, they will win

The number of hours I spend consuming should never equal or exceed the number of hours I spend creating.

Before you begin writing anything, you need to decide who you are writing for. And that decision needs to be clearly reflected in both the headline and the content of your piece.

First, you never want to have three or more long paragraphs one after another. That style of writing has been dead for years, and anyone writing that way on the internet is clinging to a way things were but no longer are. Second, if you are going to have long paragraphs one after another, you want to find ways to change up their internal rhythm so they don’t feel or sound exactly the same. One way of doing this is by using punctuation. Have one paragraph with a lot of short, strong sentences. Have the next paragraph be one long, winding sentence. This is what makes them seem “different.” Lastly, notice how before and after both long paragraphs in the above excerpt there are single, declarative sentences. This is very intentional. Again, you want to subtly tell the reader, “I’m going to tell you a quick story — this will only take a second,” before giving them their next mile marker. There’s something about reading a single sentence after a long paragraph that gives a reader the same feeling a listener gets hearing a chord resolve on the piano. Let your chords resolve.

For articles that have three or less Main Points, you are going to want to use a structure that doesn’t cut your explanations too short. The 1/2/5/3/1 structure is a good framework to use when thinking about how to make a solid argument for whatever it is you’re writing about, without getting “lost in the sauce” and rambling on and on. Here’s how it works: This first sentence is your opener. This second sentence clarifies your opener. And this third sentence is why the reader should care. This fourth sentence starts to expand on the point. This fifth sentence is a story, or some sort of credible piece of insight. This sixth sentence builds on that story or insight and tells the reader something they maybe didn’t know. This seventh sentence is a small conclusion. And this eighth sentence is why that conclusion matters. This ninth sentence recaps what you just told the reader. This tenth sentence reinforces the argument you’re making with an additional tidbit or insight. And this eleventh sentence drives the point home. This twelfth sentence reminds the reader of the important takeaway.

People who succeed in life are people who keep their promises. You know what you need to do. And every day, moment by moment a tiny, faint voice in your head reminds you of what you need to do, or what you had said you were going to do. Start listening to that voice. Step 1 with anything is always: less talk, more action.

Write confidently and declaratively. A lot of people hesitate to “make a point” or “take a stance” when writing online because they don’t want to get criticized in the comments. As a result, their writing stands for nothing, and resonates with no one. It’s safe. It’s self-conscious. And worst of all, it’s vague. The more declarative you can be with your language, the more you will force readers to make a decision. Either they will say, “I strongly agree,” or they will say, “I strongly disagree.” Either of these responses is far better than, “Meh.

Success is a decision you make on a daily, hourly, and even moment-to-moment basis.

The real question is, “What tiny habits can I put into place that will allow my end goal to manifest on its own?

Somewhere along the line, a writer woke up in the morning and thought, “You know, romance is a pretty big category. But I bet there are readers who only want to read romance novels in military settings.” All of a sudden, you as a reader have to make a very concrete choice: do you want to read any romance novel? Or do you want to read a romance novel where the main character is in the military? This is where, again, Specificity Is The Secret. The more specific you can be about why your new category is exactly what your target readers are looking for, the more likely it is readers will see this category of yours as unique and SEPARATE from any and all competition.

The 1/1/1+ structure is a mechanism you should use for very specific sections within your writing: beginnings and endings. Single sentences are great for calling out individual ideas, statements, or descriptions, and doing so several times in a row can elicit a powerful response in a reader. Here’s how it works: This first sentence is a strong statement. This second sentence builds on, reinforces, or repeats that strong statement. This third sentence builds on, reinforces, or repeats that strong statement. For example, I use this structure to emphasize a length of time in my article, “The 1 Thing I Did That Changed My Entire Life For The Better.” Step 2: Like I said, I did this for 2 years. Two. Years. Not 3 days. Not a few weeks. Two entire years. I started to see how the people I was surrounding myself with weren’t very conducive to who and what I wanted to become. I started to realize I was terrific at coming up with ideas but horrible at seeing them through to completion. I started to understand why I struggled to make friends, and how closed off I was from the world. If you notice, immediately following the 1/1/1/1 structure, I went into a lengthier paragraph. This was deliberate. When you use the 1/1/1+ structure, you are building momentum. You are moving a reader quickly from Point A to Point B. But after a few big steps, the reader is not going to want to run anymore. They’re going to want to take a quick break and settle into the thing you’re talking about. So, crescendo with the 1/1/1+ rhythm, and then decrescendo with a three, four, or even five-sentence paragraph. Then repeat.

That’s how I learned that staying true to the process is more important than obsessing over the destination.

But it wasn’t until I started writing about how I was a free agent and available as a freelance writer, that I realized the game had changed.

The inverse rule of “Specificity is the Secret,” is “The Broader You Are, The More Confusing You Are.” Once you understand the role specificity plays in highly effective writing, you will start to see it everywhere. “I want to learn how to cook” is broad. “I want to learn how to cook Chicken Tikka Masala” is more specific. “I’m looking to buy a car” is broad. “I’m looking to buy an electric car” is more specific. “I like writing about sports” is broad. “I like writing about basketball and the qualities all great players have in common” is more specific.

The pipedream that a publishing house is just going to swoop in, save the day, and bring you tea and crumpets all afternoon while you stare out the window working on the next great American novel is dead. It doesn’t exist. Hemingway had a good run, but as soon as the internet was invented, that era came to an end. Today, the writers who succeed, and who actually make money, are more than just writers. They are brands. They are solo-run companies. They are the publisher, the creative director, the distributor, and the writer, all wrapped up into one — and they embrace the additional responsibility, because it means they have more monetary ownership and creative control over their work. Instead of shying away from this new world, and wishing things were different, I encourage you to welcome it with open arms. Either way, this is the direction the publishing world is headed. So as my 8th grade math teacher used to say, “You can either get on the bus, or you can get off of the bus. Either way, we’re leaving.