3 Million Words in 3 Years with Jason Zook

When you have an idea, write it down. Let a week pass before you come back to it. If, after a week, you’re still interested in the idea then pursue it. If not, let it go and move on. – Jason Zook

About Jason Zook

Jason Zook is a writer and entrepreneur whose made over a million dollars wearing t-shirts, sold his last name (twice), wrote the first-ever fully sponsored book titled Creativity for Sale and is most recently selling his future. He’s a maker of all kinds of digital things. He makes courses, products and software.

In this interview Jason talks why you should avoid perfection it at all costs, wow to be more productive by time blocking your calendar and why it’s ok to throw away 90% of what you write. We also discuss minimalism, imposture syndrome and the importance of writing your own story.

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Topics We Explored

Writing and creating things to help other people overcome the struggles and challenges that you’ve faced and been able to figure out.
Looking at your work through the lens of “is this bringing me value.”
The value of deleting and taking down the older blog posts you’ve written that are no longer serving your purpose.
How perfection is a virus and why you should avoid it at all costs.
Imposture syndrome
How to write your story in 2 weeks.
Why it’s ok to throw away 90% of what you write.
Building your writing muscle.
Letting go sunk cost bias.
How to be more productive by time blocking your calendar
Outsourcing your weaknesses

Key Takeaways

When you have an idea, write it down. Let a week pass before you come back to it. If, after a week, you’re still interested in the idea then pursue it. If not, let it go and move on.
The more content you create and put out into the world, the faster you will get to where you want to be with your writing. Momentum begets more momentum.
If you don’t want the book writing process to drag on for months and months (or years), limit how much time you can spend on it, set a hard due date and don’t do it alone. Get a book writing coach!
Immerse yourself in your book. Write for 4-5 hours a day and turn off everything else.
When you’re writing a book, read other books that are like the one you want to write. Analyze the stories they tell in their book, how they tell them and what parts you really like and why.
Write your own story. Even if you never share it with anyone. It will be one of the most cathartic things you ever do.
It’s hard to read the label from inside the jar.
When writing a newsletter, or anything for that matter, ask yourself “who am I writing for?” With everything that you write, write it with one person in mind. When you get stuck and don’t know what to say, think about that one person. Ask yourself “how can I help them today.”
Be up for change in your writing and in your life. Recognize the pull of sunk cost bias and let it go.
Outsource your writing weaknesses. If you’re not great at punctuation or grammar or tense, hire an editor to help you clean it up and make it better.