I’ve written most days for the last fifteen years, and I plan to write most days for the next fifteen years.
I make a living from writing, but it’s not the only reason I pound keys.
Most people will find good reasons to avoid writing in the coming years.
And they will miss out, sadly.
Here’s why you’ll want to keep writing:
It will give you a sense of purpose.
Writing and publishing means you contribute to something greater than just you.
With AI coming, I believe those who have found a sense of purpose will be rarer than gold.
Writing gives you this because purpose has much to do with contribution.
It forces you to gather skills and experiences.
Writing well has as much to do with crafting compelling sentences as it does with having something worth writing about.
Go out and live, and then write about it. The two go hand in hand, and by sticking to a consistent writing schedule, you’re incentivised to live an interesting life.
It will attract like-minded people to you.
Writing online is a tool to gather a global (and local) tribe around you.
My writing has built a community of people around me, many of whom I’ve met in person. You’ll find people link up with you when you write from your heart.
There’s no more powerful asset than social capital and friendships.
Writing is a tool for community.
It gives you a therapeutic creative outlet.
Writing is a form of therapy because you airlift swirling thoughts out of your skull to the page.
You formulate your concerns and share them publicly if you like, and this is cathartic. Writing also gives me a sense of achievement every time I complete an article, newsletter or book.
It’s essential for my mental health, sense of connection and enjoyment.
It sharpens your thinking in a distracted world.
With more noise than ever, AI-generated content, social media overload, and attention spans shrinking, clear thinking becomes a rare and valuable skill.
Writing forces you to clarify, question, and refine your ideas, making you sharper and more mentally agile. You will stave off mental decline. Over time, this compounds into a competitive advantage.
The best thinkers are often the best writers.
It allows you to actually improve the world.
When people write to me to thank me for the ideas that helped them, I can sense I am really making a dent, no matter how small.
Language and words can be an immense tool for change, inspiration and impact.
Your writing provides the opportunity to really do this.
Writing is latent opportunity.
The more you write, the more opportunities you create. What opportunities you seize depends on your interests and goals.
For example, by writing content and growing a newsletter, all sorts of things open up to you.
Your newsletter becomes a source of attention for your products, events, workshops, coaching, message, stories, art and so on.
It future-proofs your relevance in an AI-driven era.
AI will flood the internet with generic, regurgitated content.
But human writing with depth, nuance, humour, and originality will be more in demand.
Readers will crave real voices, fresh perspectives, human stories, and authenticity, which are things AI can’t replicate.
Writing consistently helps you stand out and remain relevant in a world drowning in a slurry of meaningless information.
It trains you to spot and capture life’s insights.
Writing turns you into an observer of life. Instead of letting moments slip away, feeling like time is moving too fast, you naturally start noticing patterns, lessons, and stories worth sharing.
I see this continually as a writer. I’m constantly noticing how life’s lessons can be delivered in writing.
This awareness sharpens your intuition and perspective, helping you connect dots that others miss. I have seen first-hand how my writing habit makes life itself more interesting, rich, and meaningful.
It helps you build a body of work that outlives you.
Most people drift through life without leaving a trace of their thoughts or experiences.
Writing gives you a permanent, evolving body of work , like a living time capsule of your ideas, growth, and wisdom.
Decades from now, people (even your future self) can look back at your writing and gain something valuable.
Few things in life offer this level of legacy.
What’s stopping you from writing?
If you’d like further support with your writing, where I show you the 16 secrets I learned over 15 years of online writing to take your writing to even higher levels, you’ll want my Online Writing Alchemy course.
The course shows you everything you need to know to write powerfully so you grow an online tribe of fans and buyers.
If you’d like to support me and access hundreds of locked articles like this one, you’ll want to become a paying subscriber here on Substack for less than the price of a couple of coffees each month:
Writing on the internet provides you with social proof and social currency.
All what you said about "Writing" are actually true. I think 'Everyone Should Write.'