Wanna sell more? Think of your worst teacher

Hey there, curious subscriber

We’ve all had them: the teacher who not only didn’t teach you , but absolutely got in your head in the most negative way possible.

Mine was Ms. Neely (RIP). She accused me of plagiarism at the ripe age of 14. Now not only was this my own work, I had worked SO HARD on this essay, even rewriting it multiple times.

But there was no discussing it.

In her mind, there was no way someone like me could produce this work. And it was an open and shut case. I was young, I couldn’t do it. She’s made up her mind.

That is the day that I learned my best lesson to date about writing:

Be curious, it will always serve you well

Ms. Neely couldn’t fathom that I’d done an amazing amount of research, but others exhibit this lack of curiosity in different ways. They might think you can only think one way. Or you only learn one way.

This lack of curiosity hurt me less than her.

If she would have asked why, or how, I got to those conclusions, we are oils have had a discussion. That discussion might have led to a good realization about how to teach. And that teaching might have inspired people who thought differently.

Instead she was stuck.

So: don’t be like my teacher: be curious

You never know what asking the question: “how did you get there?” will get you. You might get a new perspective, you might get a little knowledge, you could potentially see things from an entirely new angle. And isn’t that worth a question?

So, when you’re writing and someone responds to it differently than you expect, ask why!

That’s all for this week, talk to you next week!

Christine