7 mental models I am using to improve my writing career.

Writing is thinking. It’s a mental practice. That is why many people dread writing. And even turn out to be terrible at it.

In one of the previous letters, I told you about two people who had been asking me to write for them. And the lesson there was that busy people find it hard to sit down and write. They would rather talk it out instead of writing it. Or have someone record those ideas and write for them.

That is what makes you special as a writer.

You see what my friend? I face the same difficulty when writing too. Sometimes I start writing and abandon it. I mean, it is normally so hard for me to write. But here I am, sending away another letter on a rather new topic.

What is today’s topic?

Mental models. See, I know this may be new to you. But mental models are simply techniques you can apply in your life to help you reason out through a problem and improve your life immediately from where you are moving forward. In short, I am going to tell you the thought process that I am using to push myself to my higher self even before I become that higher self.

Let s get to work.

What are mental models? See it this way. Mental models are actionable ideas and frameworks to improve your thinking. And your business (if you have any.) Because in a world full of crises and distractions, what you need is science-supported ideas that fit your life and that can help you improve your life enjoyment.

Okay. The first mental model is called inverse thinking. Let us say for example you have a goal like making money as a writer. Instead of asking yourself what you need to make that money, ask yourself what you should avoid in order to make that money. For example, if your goal is to make you first money online as a writer, what do you need to avoid in order to achieve that?

The second model that I feel is very important is the Lindy effect. Lindy effect is the law of olds and classics. Here you are taught to base your life on the oldest and classic ideas that have stood time. For example, when learning a skill such as copywriting like I am doing these days, go back to the earliest successful copywriting legends and study their ways. You will learn more from legends alone than from a new course. Because if they did it, you too can follow in their footsteps and do it.

Moving forward.

The third is input goals. Many people these days want the good life. they want enjoyment. Let us say for example you want to be a good writer so that you can even earn an income from it. What you need then is to focus on just writing every day because that is what can make you become good at it. Because really telling yourself you’re a good writer is great. But where is your daily or consistent writing to prove it? On a personal note, I flex writing every other day for over 3 years now.

Fourth. Via negativa. This is almost similar to inverse thinking because it involves some form of negativity. Here, You grow yourself by removing things from your life rather than adding things to your life. This principle can prove why 3-1=5. I know it’s not mathematically correct but it works. For example. To become a better writer, remove distractions that make you not practice every day. With time, you will surely improve.

Fifth. SWOT analysis. Here you analyze your present condition in order to determine the move you make next. SWOT stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. It is an economics concept you can apply to your life immediately. How do I normally do it? I sit down with a pen and paper and analyze my strengths, my weaknesses, my opportunities relating to my strengths, and the threats I have due to my weaknesses.

Sixth. The ABZ framework. A lot of time we hear people talking about setting long-term goals. Which is great by the way. However, it is the short-term goals that help you crush those long-term goals. Here is how to apply it.

A- where you are right now.

B- Your next step.

Z- Your end vision.

For example. I’m currently enrolled in America Writers and artists institute to study copywriting. My next step is to write about all the important lessons for getting paid as a writer. My end vision is to have a collection of articles (or letters) that I can show as proof of my writing ability. This is a short-term goal and I’m projecting up to 3 moths to smash it.

ABZ framework is perfect for crushing those small goals which eventually sets you up for long-term success.

Finally, seventh. This is a really interesting one. It is called hindsight bias. Even though you can tell and document your past, it doesnt mean that you can tell what is going to happen in the future. So instead of predicting the future, prepare for the future.

There you go. That is enough for today.

There are hundreds of mental models out there. But these 7 are what I have found really important to me at the moment. These are the ones I am using to build my writing career as I walk towards digital freedom using copywriting as my ticket. Take them. Apply them to your life and business and let me know how it goes.

Finally. this letter is inspired by Frontera, a blog. I am reading a document with 20 mental modes made by a guy called Ozna. He is the founder of Frontera blog. Credits to him.

Finally, please share this message to someone you know. In the next letter, I am going to return to how you can generate endless writing ideas. Cheers.

Yours honest.

Nick.