By Andrea Goeglein
Mark Levy’s book, Accidental Genius, has been in my life since it was first published in the early 2000’s. I bought at least 25 copies of the book with the intention of hosting a class — and writing a book. Never hosted that class, yet I did create the inspirational book brand, Don’t Die™, but not because I read Mark’s book.
What I did do with Mark’s book, and will continue to do with the revised second edition, is use the book in my work. I have gifted the book to many clients, especially male clients. Why? Mainly because of Secret #4 Write the Way You Think. There is one sentence in that chapter that is gold for me:
“Freewriting isn’t writing, per se, it’s a means of watching yourself think.”
Watching yourself think.
Try it.
Within minutes you will grasp how many thoughts your mind produces without you being aware.
Freewriting is the process of sitting quietly, putting pen to paper, and just observing what your mind is saying and writing that down. Don’t be surprised if you start to noticed comments such as, “this is stupid, why am I doing this, I have things to do, this is not going to get me where I want to go, I need to be at a meeting in a hour, I have a call to make, wonder if the bank deposit cleared, I need to check the mailbox…” all the time you have not said a word out loud and only a few seconds have passed.
That ‘silent mind’ as I like to call it, commands your day. That is why it is important for you to watch yourself think. Your ability to be an Accidental Genius lies in your ability to observe the silent mind of random thoughts and transform it into a mind that captures your greatest thoughts through writing.
Dr. Success Challenge: Do just one Freewriting session as Mark suggests, but set a timer for just 2 minutes. How many thoughts did you capture in the first 2 minutes?
Photograph of Mark Levy courtesy of Sara Kay Photography taken at #BKMktg15
Second edition of Mark’s book courtesy of the great Berrett-Koehler Publishers
