Case Study: Andrew barry
“The Write of Passage community are all in the same boat, so you get this incredible melting pot of ideas, and mélange of feedback that had an exponential effect on improving my writing.”
Favorite Links
-
My personal blog is called Curious Lion Learning and I write about how to grow your brand and B2B business from my own experiences here.
-
One of my favorite blogs and online writers is Keith Walkiewicz – The Intellectual Outlet
-
Best book I’ve read recently is The Everything Store by Brad Stone
-
My current job title is Founder of Curious Lion Inc. and Leadstream Inc.
Why did you first sign up for Write of Passage?
I’d had trifling success starting a letter for my B2B corporate training business earlier in the year, but I watched the likes of Tiago and David over a year or two build incredible audiences by writing about diverse and interesting topics. I had had a taste of the serendipity that writing brings, but I knew I needed to up my game, and what better way to learn it from folks who are doing it at the highest level?
What did you like most about the course?
The community. Don’t get me wrong, David’s content is excellent, and the instructional design is world-class, but these are just enablers for the real secret sauce – the people. You see, you only get better by writing. By talking about interesting ideas, putting your own down on paper, and receiving feedback on what works and what doesn’t. The WoP community are all in the same boat, so you get this incredible melting pot of ideas, and mélange of feedback that had an exponential effect on improving my writing.
What’s your #1 takeaway or lesson learned from Write of Passage?
Develop your own voice on a topic. This is like the cheat code for unlocking your writing ability. If something looks vanilla, it will taste vanilla. There is a lot of vanilla out there and these days, if it doesn’t make people sit up and take notice, it gets lost. It may not be that bad, but it won’t be remembered. Rather take a stand on a topic. Say something unique. Be authentic. This is worth noticing.
What surprised you about the course?
How practical it was. From the very first session you start writing. And not just anything. Practical things you that will benefit you for years to come. Assets. Things like your Start Here page, your Unique Links page, your Top 30 Blog Ideas. This creates a groove of writing that is easy to stick with.
How has Write of Passage impacted your creative output?
I write every week now, without fail, and publish every week, without fail. And I don’t struggle for ideas like I used to. In fact, I have a harder time deciding which idea to write about now!
Have you seen new opportunities as a result of your writing?
Absolutely. The Serendipity Vehicle is a real thing man! I’ve done heaps of guest blog posts, and partner webinars since I started writing consistently, but by far the best opportunity from my writing was a small project with the NBA. They were great fun to work with, and it will definitely lead to bigger opportunities.
What advice would you give to a new Write of Passage student?
Embrace the pace. This is a demanding course, but it’s like that for a reason. It forces you into that groove that you either like being in or not. Stick with the assignments, give feedback, go to meet-ups, talk to fellow students, and don’t come up for breath until the end of the program. Then reflect on your experience once you have the full picture and ask yourself, do I want to be a writer?
“I write every week now, without fail, and publish every week, without fail. And I don’t struggle for ideas like I used to.”
