Everything is a metaphor

I’m sometimes asked “how do you manage to keep the flow of blog posts coming, day after day – especially given your schedule. Where does the inspiration and the content come from?”
So here are some top tips:

  1. write every day – it becomes an embedded habit and, thus, effortless to begin;
  2. ignore quality – this isn’t an English language exam or The Man Booker Prize. If 10 of your posts are good, 80 average and 10 stinkers, you will be proud of the first batch;
  3. accept that you will attract negative feedback – when a reader replies with a bad review, a disagreement or outrage, thank them for their feedback and move on;
  4. observe – there are events every day that provide a metaphor to illustrate a point – most often the event dictates the point and not the other way around.

On the day I composed this post my potential metaphor events were:

  • an unexpected meeting over breakfast with son #3 in a hotel miles from home
  • a client meeting that turned into a walk in the park (literally)
  • two ladies on horseback who asked me to be their cameraman and then replace a fly-guard on a huge equine friend
  • listening with pride to son #1 walking a client through their Infusionsoft dashboard on a conference call
  • travelling home on a packed train and wondering why everyone was staring at me when I switched on a Defected podcast, not realising that my wireless headphones were unconnected and I was deafening the whole carriage

Every single one of these events could be adapted to make a point about business or life.
I won’t write any of them because I’m writing this.

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Chris Barrow

Chris Barrow has been active as a consultant, trainer and coach to the UK dental profession for over 20 years. As a writer, his blog enjoys a strong following and he is a regular contributor to the dental press. Naturally direct, assertive and determined, he has the ability to reach conclusions quickly, as well as the sharp reflexes and lightness of touch to innovate, change tack and push boundaries. In 2014 he appeared as a “castaway” in the first season of the popular reality TV show “The Island with Bear Grylls”. His main professional focus is as Coach Barrow, providing coaching and mentorship to independent dentistry.