Let’s suppose I write a book about writing books.

And in that future bestseller, I share all the things that led to the creation of my 8 books so far.

What would that actually mean?

Would it be as valuable as you might believe it will be?

I don’t think so.

Here’s the thing: before I wrote my first book, I lived for 47 years.

This means that whatever went into that debut, was more than the weeks of actually writing, the structure of the book, whatever I ate during the creation, or the authors that inspired me.

It was my entire life.

Every fucking bit.

Everything I did, every second I breathed, every sandwich I ate, every time I fucked, every shit I took, every time I looked at the moon, all the money I spent on drugs (or pineapples) was part of the preparation, part of the phase of conception.

I didn’t just do neat little writing things before my book was finished; I lived a complete life with millions and millions and millions of experiences.

And all of them were equally important, because literally all of them were part of my pre-book existence.

Would you be interested in every time I sat at a bus stop in the rain, waiting for my transport while picking my nose?

Would you be inspired by how many times I showered, how much chocolate I ate, how confused I was around growing up, how many comic books I read, or how much butter I put on all the toast that I ate?

Would you like to know about all the times I felt embarrassed, the nightmares I had, my soccer dreams (that didn’t come true), the watches I owned, the birds I spotted, or how often I looked at the sky for no reason?

Because every single one of those experiences was absolutely crucial.

Every single one of them brought me closer to writing a book.

Get it?

Most of the time life is far from being straightforward.

We’d love it to be different, to be formulaic and predictable, but it isn’t.

Reading books about stuff that other people did or attained can be fun and absolutely inspiring, but it will never give you the secret of how stuff came about.

They just tried shit.

There IS no secret.

There is life, wonderful, glorious, mysterious life, and all kinds of things can and will happen.

Sometimes hard work leads to books.

Sometimes it leads to dying young.

Sometimes talent turns into an impressive oeuvre.

Sometimes it goes to waste.

Sometimes one plus one safely equals two, but most of the time the numbers are random and all over the place.

There is no Golden Key to A Successful Life.

And no matter how much you try to look like Richard Branson, or use the same toothbrush as Elon Musk, or meditate exactly like Oprah, you are not those people, and you will not create what they created.

It’s impossible.

Life is not a collection of safe repetitions and guaranteed results.

I realize that this is not a perfect conclusion for people who are hungry for self-help books, Kick Your Own Butt videos, and motivational courses.

But it’s the fucking truth.

So just live, try shit, and stuff will happen.

You’ll be surprised.

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(Photo by @readerpreneur, for Unsplash)