3 Powerful Lessons Writing a Book Taught Me That School Never Did

When I submitted my final manuscript for Permission to Be Human: The Conscious Leader’s Guide to Creating a Values-Driven Culture, it felt like I had just turned in the most important document of my existence. Having lived inside of me for at least 5 years, it was as if I had birthed this book baby who was finally ready to see the world.

As I reflected on the journey, which picked up pace in 2020, I told my partner, “Writing a book is so intense and deep that it could be another form of an alternative MBA.” He was confused at first because he takes things very literally, but then I went on to explain that this experience was so much more intense and meaningful than anything I went through when I earned my BA in Social work and MS in Nonprofit Management.

In undergraduate school, students typically spend four years in a combination of mandatory prerequisites that they may never use again and a smattering of courses in the area of their degree. Grad school is much more focused and ends with a capstone project that in theory gives you a great experience. For me, I wanted to check the requirement boxes, get good grades, and hopefully absorb as much wisdom as possible to serve me the career to follow my education lanes. Those boxes are more like moving targets that you didn’t even know you were supposed to aim at when it comes to writing a book. And that’s pretty much what life is like as an entrepreneur.

With graduation season upon us, this connection became more apparent.

My book was the biggest investment I’ve ever made in myself and my career. Which is odd to consider next to 6 years of higher education. And that’s because I put my proverbial stake in the ground and am willing to stand by it for the rest of my days.

Here are 3 ways that writing a book taught me more than getting my degrees:

1. Subject-matter expertise. I am a values expert – period end of sentence. Prior to writing this book, I may have shied away from the “e” word because I didn’t have enough credentials according to societal norms to feel I could claim it. Now that I’ve written over 70,000 words for my book and dedicated over 10,000 hours to this work in practice, I say it with pride. I never had that feeling when I graduated with my degrees. I knew more than before but certainly did not consider myself an expert.

2. Vulnerability of creativity. As a writer, I shared with my friend Jordan that this was easily the most vulnerable thing I’ve ever done. He said, “I get it. Being an artist is vulnerable.” He was right! It was vulnerability in a whole new category. The category of creativity, self-expression and love. I’d never identified as an artist until that moment and I realized that one of the best new muscles I’ve ever strengthened. To be vulnerable with your creativity is to say, ‘Hey World! Here’s a piece of my heart! What do you think?” In my time in higher ed, it was more about meeting the criteria to get the best possible grade vs. leaning into how I wanted to process and present my passion.

3. Understanding flow. A flow state, also known as being in the zone, is the mental state in which a person performing some activity is fully immersed in a feeling of energized focus, full involvement, and enjoyment in the process of the act. I was given a whole new classroom for how to understand the way my energy and body worked in order to get into flow with writing. I learned how to surrender, instead of muscle through and how it impacted the quality of my work with I went against my flow. This journey had moments of bliss and tearful pain. I learned more about what I’m willing to surrender to and what I will fight for. The ultimate reward will be learning if that flow translates to the readers and create new possibilities for flow in their own lives.

All of these things are so key to being a successful entrepreneur. And all of them are worth it, in the same way, that you’d invest in higher education, should you find yourself with an inner itch to become an author. So the next time you want to get a masterclass in evolving into the next higher version of yourself, consider writing the book that’s been living inside you!