"I’ve spoken with so many folks who share fascinating ideas with me in private, but they hesitate to share them in public." That's the problem: we're much more comfortable sharing with friends than we are sharing with the public - and really, for most people "public" might just be 10 or 20 people. Few writers write to the general public. (You know, Ryan Holiday, Tim Ferriss, that level). Start adding a few more people to the list of folks who might see our work and it terrifies us. But the worst stuff happens in our heads - our judgments of our work.
"But while you fret about how it might be received, countless others who seek to manipulate and divide are publishing with abandon." Great point. People with good intentions need as much abandon as those with bad intentions. The problem, I think, is that people with good intentions tend to be humble. They think "who am I to..." and so they don't speak out. because they think their ideas don't hold any merit. But they do hold merit, generally. Speak up!
Cool post. I just started my Substack last November and, although it doesn’t stop me from publishing, I always have this fear that my newsletter won’t be interesting to people and that I actually don’t know what I’m doing. But I’ll keep going and hopefully it will get better with time. Cheers!
"I’ve spoken with so many folks who share fascinating ideas with me in private, but they hesitate to share them in public." That's the problem: we're much more comfortable sharing with friends than we are sharing with the public - and really, for most people "public" might just be 10 or 20 people. Few writers write to the general public. (You know, Ryan Holiday, Tim Ferriss, that level). Start adding a few more people to the list of folks who might see our work and it terrifies us. But the worst stuff happens in our heads - our judgments of our work.
"But while you fret about how it might be received, countless others who seek to manipulate and divide are publishing with abandon." Great point. People with good intentions need as much abandon as those with bad intentions. The problem, I think, is that people with good intentions tend to be humble. They think "who am I to..." and so they don't speak out. because they think their ideas don't hold any merit. But they do hold merit, generally. Speak up!
Great post as always, Salman.
Cool post. I just started my Substack last November and, although it doesn’t stop me from publishing, I always have this fear that my newsletter won’t be interesting to people and that I actually don’t know what I’m doing. But I’ll keep going and hopefully it will get better with time. Cheers!
Oh I am a big fan of Finny, the furtle! Reminds of "Do not hurry, do not rest" by Goethe.