Being the Best—What it Takes to Be a Rainmaker

Image via Pamela Poole W.A.N.A. Creative Commons

Image via Pamela Poole W.A.N.A. Creative Commons

We are headed into the holiday season and it is time for friends and fun and food and revelry. But, it’s also a time for reflection. Maybe to think about what went right, what went wrong, what could go better. What do we want to accomplish in 2016? I’m a serious go-getter. I think I have three settings.

GO.

GO FASTER.

UNCONSCIOUS.

I like to believe I am the person who gets things done, but I wasn’t always this person. When I started out writing, I think I was more in love with the “idea” of being a successful author than the actual work involved. I wrote when I felt like it. I needed outside approval and validation. I wasted all kinds of brain power wondering if I was a “real writer.”

Yeah *hides head in shame*.

Anyway, I hit a major turning point years later and that is a story for another time. Truth was? The answers had been there all along. I’d just forgotten the truth or didn’t really want to hear it. The answer was actually from my sales days.

I needed to return to being a rainmaker.

Rainmaker? Yes, rainmaker.

Rainmaker is a term that we used when I was in sales.

WHAT is a Rainmaker?

The rainmaker is the person who gets $#!@ done no matter what. Call him a 1%er, call her a cleaner a cooler a closer. Call this person whatever you will, but I dig rainmaker.

This is the person many of us want to be because the rainmaker is the stuff of legends.

Rainmakers come in all forms. It is the teacher who refuses to believe that a kid cannot learn, who adjusts her teaching style relentlessly until she can break through. It is the waiter who remembers all his customers names and what they order. It’s the athlete, the C.E.O., the small business owner, the S.E.A.L. , the entrepreneur, parent, the author, the artist.

But regardless of profession, all rainmakers share some common traits.

Those of you who read this blog regularly will probably see yourself in the following list because this blog attracts a certain type of reader. Rainmakers and Those Who Are Unusually Attractive. So, if you are NOT a rainmaker, then you will have to coast on your looks.

Sorry.

Today I am going to list some of the character traits of the rainmaker. Some you may possess naturally. Others you might have to work on. I do. We are always a work in progress.

The holidays are coming…but so is 2016. Rainmakers make it rain and we need to make some preparations for 2016. Winter is coming.

Sorry. Been watching Game of Thrones. Couldn’t resist 😀 .

Anyway, what makes a rainmaker? What are some areas we have to watch? Work on? How can we improve?

Rainmakers Have a Dark Side

My opinion? To be a good writer, we must have a dark side. For fiction, we need this dark side to be able to see into the blacker natures of humanity and make them real. If we don’t possess our own dark side to peer into and reference, we’re left with a cheap imitation. All characters are, in essence, a slice of who we are…which is probably why it freaks normal people out to be around us.

Normal people (I am told) do not sit at a Thanksgiving dinner with family and wonder how many ways one could hide a body.

Even those authors who don’t deal in body counts, one must be able to draw from the corrupted aspects of the soul—avarice, jealousy, hate, lust, pride—or?

Meh.

The blacker our black, the brighter our white.

The dark side is not inherently “bad” and it doesn’t have to be “immoral.” We are not going to become the best at what we do by waiting for permission and playing by the rules. Think about it. We are taught from the time we are small to stand in line and be polite and wait our turn and ask for permission and sit down and accept when the answer is no.

But let’s explore that…

J.K. Rowling became a billionaire and revolutionized YA after being told that young boys wouldn’t read. Anne Rice almost single-handedly invented the vampire genre after being repeatedly told no one cared about stories from a monster’s POV. The Martian just opened at $50.1 MILLION in China and crossed $500 MILLION globally . That movie was based off Andy Wier’s self-published book The Martian.

Thing is, our dark side understands there is no “right” path so it doesn’t bother taking a survey and could care less about approval or consensus.

Rainmakers understand they have a dark side and listen to its council. They do not, however, let it in the driver’s seat.

Obsession

If you are a rainmaker others probably refer to you as being “obsessed” as if that is a bad thing. Likely that is a character trait you possess all the time. Rainmakers have a hard time resting. In fact, give us a spa day to relax and it better come with a Xanax or five. We have no OFF button. And before you argue, tell me you go to that beach vacation…with NO book. No pen for jotting ideas.

No *GASP* laptop.

Rainmakers of the writing world are always on. Literally. I wake up at 4:15. I check social media while I get caffeine (for my writing platform). I then put in an audio book on the way to the gym. While I work out I listen to music while I think of all things writing. If I am watching T.V. I am busting apart the dialogue, the plot, the setting. If I am listening to music, I am conjuring a scene. I cannot go stand in line at a freaking STARBUCKS without eavesdropping and hoping to mine some killer dialogue and don’t you judge me because you do it too.

I guarantee most of you reading this need a 12 Step Program for your book habit. Creatives often go from writing to drawing to painting to sewing to knitting to playing an instrument. We can only relax from ONE obsession by switching to a different obsession.

Uh huh. You…are…busted.

Obsession is what makes us the best at what we do. In 2016 make plans to channel this obsession productively.

Rainmakers are sled dogs. And I know I am mixing metaphors but y’all are smart and can roll with it. If you have ever owned a working dog like a sled dog, what happens if you do not let that dog pull a sled? It will dig a hole to CHINA in your back yard.

Rainmakers are working dogs of the human world. Our sled is the writing. This is why I encourage creative hobbies that all serve the writing. Audiobooks, reading, watching series and busting them apart feeds the obsession…but it also serves the goal. This allows us to be rainmakers because we are not diffusing this superhuman energy.

Relentless

Rainmakers do not give up. We get up and we go again and again and again. This one is hard, and if we are going to fail this is the one where we can be weakest.

But, true rainmakers appreciate that life can be a beating and that fair is a weather condition (and we get up eventually). When everyone else is whining we are working. We have pit bull tenacity to figure things out. To be a rainmaker at anything, we must be relentless. Being relentless is awesome. But also remember to be wise. If my goal is to drive from Texas to California and I get on I-20 East? GOOD FREAKING LUCK. Turn AROUND, dumb@$$.

As I like to say, persistence is noble, but persistence looks a lot like stupid. Don’t be afraid to admit when you’re wrong. Saves time.

What are some ways we can develop those raw killer instincts that make us good at what we do?

Become Comfortable Being Uncomfortable

Years ago I was on the swim team and when we trained for speed, the coach made us swim laps wearing a full set of sweats. It felt like I weighed a thousand pounds trying to slog lap after lap in that freezing pool in waterlogged sweats. But when those sweats came off? I was like greased lightning.

One of the reasons I recommend blogging and teach authors how to do it in my book Rise of the Machines—Human Authors in a Digital World, is blogging trains us to get out of our comfort zone. Not only are we pushing ourselves mentally, psychically, and professionally, but the sheer word count is grueling.

It is incredible training, especially for the new author.

If we look at some of the most awarded and prolific writers of the last two centuries, many of them were journalists (and blogging is actually a modern form of journalism). A journalist can’t wait until the kids are in bed to write about the four-alarm fire. A journalist can’t wait for a visit from the muse to detail the bombing in the train station. A journalist can’t wait until her family offers emotional validation to take time to write the article due on the editor’s desk.

A journalist is there. Present and in the ZONE when sirens are wailing and bombs are dropping. A journalist learns to drown out the world and ramp up instantly.

A journalist eats deadlines for breakfast.

By blogging, we are training those writing muscles. We are learning to ship. We are learning to meet self-imposed deadlines. We are learning how to cultivate an audience and how to handle public criticism. Trust me. Trolls are great training for bad reviews. I once got a bad review because someone bought my book by mistake.

I wish I were kidding.

 

Again, embrace pain. Push yourself.

If you are comfortable writing 500 words a day. Double it. 1000? Double it again. Never be comfortable.

Comfort=DEATH

If social media freaks you out? Good. We can only be as strong as our greatest weakness. Own it. Face it. Look to your team to help you. Yes we have to build a brand and a platform but only foolish people do it alone. Tempus fugit. Social media is social. If we are going it alone we completely missed the point.

Get training. Get a copy of my book and make a plan to rock and roll for 2016.

Do what scares you. Rainmakers know nothing great happens in the comfort zone.

Reframe

The key to being successful is reframing how we see our world. Some see failure? Rainmakers see lessons.

Pressure bursts pipes, but it also makes diamonds.

The heat can burn us away, but it can also fire out all the impurities, leaving only what it purest and fine.

I challenge all of you as you enjoy the last of your year to reflect and think over this. If you are reading this blog, you are likely of rainmaker stock since slackers gravitate to blogs with titles like How to Be a Millionaire Blogging Once a Year or Who Needs a Finished Novel to be RICH? 

Enjoy the holiday season and use it to refuel. I am always honored to serve you and looking forward to 2016 because baby, we are gonna make it RAIN! 😉

What are your thoughts? Are you obsessive? Do you have to be careful about your dark side? Do you see that the very darkness that trips you up is also what makes you really good at what you do? Do you freak out friends and family with the way your mind works? Are you obsessive? Do you find that if you are not focused on your writing that you can get depressed, angry or self-destructive? Are you shy about being a rainmaker? In a world where everyone gets awards for trying or “showing up”, maybe you feel guilty for wanting to be the best at what you do? You are relentlessly competing against yourself?

What are your thoughts? I LOVE hearing from you!

I love hearing from you!

To prove it and show my love, for the month of DECEMBER, everyone who leaves a comment I will put your name in a hat. If you comment and link back to my blog on your blog, you get your name in the hat twice. What do you win? The unvarnished truth from yours truly. I will pick a winner once a month and it will be a critique of the first 20 pages of your novel.

I will announce NOVEMBER’S WINNER NEXT TIME since I took a holiday and need time to tally.

For those who need help building a platform and keeping it SIMPLE, pick up a copy of my latest social media/branding book Rise of the Machines—Human Authors in a Digital World on AMAZON, iBooks, or Nook

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  1. Not sure I ENTIRELY agree that comfort = death, but maybe that’s because I am officially Middle-Aged and have given myself permission to sometimes walk during my runs and sometimes take a break for tea during my writing time. But I’m with you on the overall message. And I understand a good coaching speech when I hear one. (Were you ever a coach of athletes, Kristen? You’d be a good one.)

    1. Kind of. I have taught martial arts. I train kids in Jiu Jitsu 😀 and I am a ferret herder (Code for “writing teacher”).

  2. My thoughts!? This is the best, freaking awesome blog post I’ve read in a long time! Hell yeah, I’m a Rain Maker!

  3. Excellent post with ideas I plan to discuss in my upcoming panel discussion on publishing and marketing on Dec. 12. In today’s world of instant gratification too many writers expect instant success or instant publication and instant sales of their books. Rainmakers run in my family and I like that term.

  4. Guilty of all charges I wallow in and cherish my dark side. Always.

    • cjlehi on November 30, 2015 at 2:24 pm
    • Reply

    I answer to obsessive, but until you called me that, I didn’t realize it. I just think of all the writing, the researching, the editing, the body count, all of it, as normal, how I live. It didn’t occur to me until you posted this how much I’ve changed over the last two years. So thanks again, because your stuff is my must-read, every time you post. You helped make me like this.

    And I LOVE IT.

    • prudencemacleod on November 30, 2015 at 2:35 pm
    • Reply

    Okay, okay, I’ll revive the dang blog. Sheesh. I’m two books ahead on my writing schedule, should count for something…shuffles feet…sulks… Tee hee hee

    Kristen, I had the odd sense you were describing me when you said we can’t hold still and have a half dozen hobbies on the go, but only do them so we can plot out more mischief. Great post, inspiring as usual.

  5. Yay I need to be a rainmaker! Thx for the fab post 🙂

  6. On the description of rainmakers definitely. I often feel like the rest of the world moves in slow motion. Except the internet and the work I have to do. Compared to that I’m the one moving in slow motion, always a few beats behind, always grasping for the next ten things.

    I suppose you’re right about the training of journalism in some ways. I was told at times that many fiction writers don’t like journalists turned fiction writers and it actually made me think twice about making the switch. I thought maybe there is a reason why journalism numbs your creative skills. Who wants to read fiction that reads like bad newspaper copy? (I just picked up a book that really does read like that. Great premise too. So sad that it reads like poorly edited newspaper copy.) But I never had a problem with the switch as it turned out. Instead it was like the fiction part of my writing had been bottled up for twenty years. Once I let it out it was like a tsunami–starting with three books in three months and they’re still getting five-star reviews. And as for the training of journalism, I remember being a young, overly enthusiastic writer chained to a laptop the morning after a mob shot up our entire street in a warzone and I had one hour of sleep in 36 and that deadline was on me. (Granted, that time my editor said, “:Arie, what exactly is this?” And I had to answer, “It’s bad.” But you do get better at writing in extreme situations,) Now, blogging and newlettering three to four posts a week, plus the “real” writing I am glad for the training.

  7. Subtext: stop reading about writing and start writing. And give myself permission to cherish the dark side.

  8. Reblogged this on In My Mind, This Is All Connected and commented:
    I think I’ve been handed one of my resolutions for next year.

    2016 here I come!

  9. Great post, very inspiring!

  10. Rainmaker or Unusually Attractive, eh? Well, I’m not unusually attractive 🙂 And I think I need to go and put my head between my knees to recover from your suggestion of going on holiday Without A Book. [shudders]

  11. I love ya, Kristen, but I worry about you a little. Maybe you should slow down some. They make decaf now. Have a cup. — your fren’, Den

  12. Like your spin on this term. I would humbly say that I am a Rainmaker too. I think that I learned that during my “years of hell” in my teaching job.
    I am a non-linear, outside-the-box artsy-fartsy Music, Drama and French teacher. About 6 – 7 years ago, an older Principal was posted at our school…a poison-neat woman with a hate-on for artsy-types as it turns out. Long story short…she made it her business to make my working life as miserable as possible, applying all levels of professional bullying that you can name: excessive scrutiny, isolation, direct insults and perpetual dismissive condescension to name a few. She pushed my to the point of my having to take 1.5 years off on Medical Leave to deal with the Type 2 Diabetes, Clinical Depression, High Blood Pressure and (only once) Suicidal Thoughts.
    Ahem. My point here is that for me, there was no alternative. I had to keep going at this. My family depends on my income, and thus I had to find a way to make it work….took stepping back and re-organizing, but I did return, and passed the Teacher Evaluation that she was using as her primary weapon…despite her.
    Throughout this time, I wrote. It was what I called “Literature Therapy”. I took the feelings that pain that she was causing (to this day, too) and morphed them into elements of my books. In the end, I’m the one that stayed at the school, and she’s the one that got moved out by the Superintendant (I was not the only person that she was tormenting, thus our Teachers’ Union was able to take my experiences and craft a sufficiently strong formal Grievance that the School Board cut their losses and moved her.) My victory is aphrodisiac for me, and it ripples into my present now.
    I never gave up. I couldn’t. The only way out was though.
    Winston Churchill – “If you find yourself [going through] Hell, DON’T STOP!”

    In the end, she has provided me with an outstanding Antagonist for later in my Story Arc. The entire experience I survived will be the basis for that future book. (and a final catharsis for me as I write it, I’m sure)

    • bethtreadwayauthor on November 30, 2015 at 4:23 pm
    • Reply

    Does selling my earrings to pay for cover art for books coming out in 2016 count?

    My coach tied us to rubber bands and defied us to stretch them enough to reach the other end of the pool.

  13. LOL on the obsessive thing. While reading this post, I did a little writing, went to research something for the writing, came back to this post, went to writing, and on the cycle went. 😛 Sitting still is impossible. But I did finish the post. 🙂

    Love this! It’s so inspiring! Thanks for writing it. Going to print this one out to reread in the future.

  14. Go on vacation without my laptop!?! Sacrilege! If you want the truth, I don’t even go to the doctor without her – never know when I’ll need to wait…
    Hope you have a wonderful holiday season.

  15. I started out reading and thinking, No, I’m not sure I’m Rainmaker Material. But you got me: dark side–check (my best friend often teases me about it, because she says everyone thinks I’m “nice” but she knows the truth!), obsessive–check again (yes to the vacation work, because aside from spending time with family, what’s better than writing and imagining on a beach?), relentless (haven’t given up yet and don’t plan on it), comfort with the discomfort (for me, just knowing people will read my writing equals major discomfort, but I do it anyway), and finally, in terms of reframing, my mantra has become that everything is about learning–all my successes and struggles are helping he hone my writing ability. I can’t honestly say I possess the drive you have, Kristen, but you do straddle the line between mere mortal and superhuman, don’t you? Even so, I’m excited to race along after you and I always appreciate the wealth of lessons and inspiration you share. Looking forward to making it rain!

  16. I read the sales book about how to become a Rainmaker years ago, and it changed my whole attitude and eventually my pocket book. I am all of the above. I need to get back on track with being more structured with my writing and give myself more accountability. In other news, my book Dear Stephanie is on Amazon’s top rated kindle books with the Martian, so it’s beginning to drizzle here. I’m ready to make it rain though. Your posts always make me feel like I’ve just been in the locker room at half time getting a sweaty pep talk from my coach, and now I’m ready to win the game. Thank you.

  17. I thought I was a pit-bull, but rainmaker works. I haven’t written much on my books lately due to the two classes I’ve been taking, Writing Fiction, I wanted to see if I could pick up something new, Digital Marketing because I haven’t done enough in that area and family. This last week I feel like I’ve been going crazy due to work, teenage angst, and homework. My normal “relaxing” outlets are hikes, planning a backpacking trip next year, and still I have a hard time letting go of writing. Of course when I go anywhere, even camping I Have to Have my notebook, several pencils and erasers. Whenever I leave town my laptop goes with me. It’s a given. Apparently I am obsessed.

    My dark side has been surfacing more the last couple of weeks with the stress. We’ll keep that a secret though because my family thinks I’m nuts sometimes. And yet just the thought of giving up only scurries through my brain once in a while, and I mean scurries:)

    I’m grateful that I found this blog and the universe and you have perfect timing with delivering this post right now. I thought I might be the only one digging her teeth in and not letting go.

    Thanks

    Ps. I also got a friend of mine hooked on your posts.

    Will be reblogged on http://www.lynnthompsonbooks.com by tomorrow.

  18. This is stuff I needed to hear right now. Thank you.

  19. First I have to say I love your new pic. You rock those Viking horns. Second, thank you for the pep talk, Coach. I needed it.

  20. I laughed, I nodded my head, I laughed until I cried…me? Obsessed? Never! (Yeah, right.) Relentless? Oh yeah. I never would have considered myself a rainmaker (a term I’m familiar with, too), but reading this pumped me up a bit. Now, I just need to take the scenes, plotlines, and dialogue from head to paper (or screen). Love this!

    • michaelbillington9 on December 1, 2015 at 7:28 am
    • Reply

    Brilliant…

  21. I AM a RAINMAKER!

    I have the “production schedule” for my novella series written out, and am writing the character and plot arcs as well as a ton of episode outlines now. The first five are written, and the first three have been decimated by my editor so now I can revise them. 😉 I am going to start publishing June 18th. Go me!

    This is your best post in a long time. 🙂

    I laughed at the part at jumping from craft to craft. I’ve done that for years, always had to have a dedicated craft room to hold all the crap. Since I started writing again, I’ve finally slowed down the ferret-like bouncing between hobbies, though. I just write, and do a little sketching. And WOW is my pocketbook happy. Even with editing costs, writing is SO much cheaper than anything requiring weekly trips to Michaels or a bead shop (or scrapbook store, or yarn shop…), and it takes up so little space, too. 🙂

    Then again, I do go overboard on most things, lol…

  22. I had to evaluate myself as I read this post. I haven’t been all that sure about what I am lately. Do I want to put all this effort into something that hasn’t got even a mediocre guarantee of success? Regardless, I can’t stop myself from opening up my yWriter every day and pounding away at the keys on the board in front of me. In addition, despite not liking the traditional horror story, I like those where there’s unraveling twists and turns, and death (as its own subject) is indeed interesting to me. A Rainmaker?

    • Melissa Keaster on December 1, 2015 at 10:53 am
    • Reply

    I am SO busted. Lol! My mom now knows that when I get quiet while everyone else is chattering, I’m storing dialogue fodder. Little old lady tea parties are a gold mine for writers, by the way.

    Hypothetically, is it considered relentless to have a severe allergic reaction and when symptoms are no longer life threatening to prop yourself up on a pillow to write lying in bed while you recover?

    A lot has been going on the past few days and while I haven’t been working on my manuscript I’ve been blogging and journaling like a fiend, but I’ll be back at it today!

    • Tamara LeBlanc on December 1, 2015 at 11:00 am
    • Reply

    I’m DEFINITELY obsessive, and I’m also known to be dark. And worst of all, I tend to be crazy relentless. But that’s not always a good thing because I can be good and bad relentless. I will go overboard one year on exercise, obsessively working out and losing weight and eating right and then if something like (losing my husband) comes along, I sway the complete opposite way and eat like I’ve got one more day on Earth.
    I need to reign in my obsession a tad, control it and then focus it on writing. Then I’ll be unstoppable 🙂
    Thank you for your wisdom!
    Tamara

    1. Well that is the double-edged sword. Everything that can make us great can also be our undoing which is why we need focus and community.

  23. I set myself a list of stuff (writing, reading, platform building, edit, etc.) that I have to get done, and when it goes unfinished I get angry, irritable and insomnia starts to creep in.

    • Dave L on December 1, 2015 at 5:47 pm
    • Reply

    What’s interesting is how many main characters, protagonists, heroes, what-have-you, would qualify as rainmakers.

    1. That’s because rainmakers are who we write stories about 😉 .

  24. I’m definitely a rainmaker, but I’m also battling serious mental illness. I can push myself into a collapse very easily. I need to constantly pace myself, and everything takes ten times longer than it “should.” A lot of times I look like I am “resting” when I really just pushed myself into collapse.

    It drives me absolutely crazy because I can’t do half of what I’m driven to. There are way to many days when I can’t write at all. But like you say, when I can’t write I’m reading or planning stories, or world building, or I pull out the latest crochet project (currently a doll of my main character)…It may take me longer to get there, but I will by god get there is in the end.

    BTW, I love “relentless.” I’ve always described myself as stubborn (and have a blog post about being stubborn scheduled for later this month), but relentless has this awesome juggernaut image that just made my day!

  25. I like to watch the raindrops, does that count? 😀

    I really, REALLY want to finish my novel in 2016, so it’s time to change some of my habits … like not writing when I’m afraid someone’s going to notice what I’m doing. *girds self with Andural, the Flame of the West* Let’s get this book WRITTEN!

    1. Suzanne, I just saw your comment come through and it made me smile. I sometimes write in public, although I have to admit it does make me feel a little uncomfortable. Where I draw the line, though, is if anyone tries to read my work in progress as I’m typing. No peeking! 😉 Thanks for sharing and hope you have a successfully completed novel this coming year!

      1. Thanks, Heather. (Raises glass of water–Yes, water) Here’s to a successful 2016 for all!

  26. Your blog is full of wonderful information! I see myself in your descriptions, especially the “before” you embraced the rainmaker. I’ve made excuses to keep from transitioning into writing as a professional. Thanks for the great advice.

  27. I needed to read this tonight. The chips are down for me this evening. I’m going to allow myself to wallow tonight, and then get back up and keep going tomorrow. So, thank you for the extra push. Time to keep on moving.

  28. Reblogged this on MDellert-dot-Com.

  29. Oh yeah – I really relate to a lot of this… I am rather obsessive about writing – can’t seem to help running through all sorts of scenarios while I’m listening to friends chat, or hearing people on a bus, watching tv, or anything really (especially trying to sleep). I’m work on my rainmaking – definitely expecting a storm or two soon…

  30. Reblogged this on Emily Arden, author and commented:
    Let’s make rain – I love this post from Kristen Lamb

  31. Reblogged this on writersback and commented:
    Being the best – what it takes to be a rainmaker by Kristen Lamb. And/or writer, Be + do = Have. ( An old sales equation). Obsessing about writing and all things writing is way helpful to your WIP. Feeling guilty if you are not getting your word count in is healthy and good too. I find I turn every situation into a writing scene now and jot down feelings, emotions and body language on a 5 by 7 for future use. A bit obsessive, heck yeah. It takes time to build a writing arsenal and now its like a second sense. The possibilities are endless. Awesome advice on starting a blog.

  32. Have I become totally obsessive about writing, heck yeah. I can’t watch many things and not look at dialogue, character development, sensory detail, descriptive language. The possibilities for a writer are endless and exciting. Great advice about starting a blog too, Kristen. Even things that at one time were boring, like Budget Meetings, are now fodor for a Wall Street Thriller (the fight in the hall between the male chauvenistic CEO and the newly appointed Treasurer was priceless) or possibly a non-fiction book on how to save a million dollars if you start young and pay yourself first (I know – its probably been done) but could pop up in a chapter in your YA book. Writers immersed in their craft become the eyes and ears of the world. All good stuff…

  33. Reblogged this on Chronicles of a Nerd and commented:
    Love it!

  34. Love your writing and so get this! I have always been rainmaker, but not everyone wants that! Respect to you!!

    • "Lonesome" Lee West on December 14, 2015 at 2:42 am
    • Reply

    yeah, let’s make it rain. every bleepin’ day, every bleepin’ night. like portland, oregon. the harder the rain, the better. i don’t care what they say in LA. i hate the sunshine… sorry, hafta go, it’s clouding up again…

  35. You said, “Creatives often go from writing to drawing to painting to sewing to knitting to playing an instrument. We can only relax from ONE obsession by switching to a different obsession.” This is me to a T. Right now, I am obsessed with writing. At some point, I will put it aside and start drawing again or doing crafts. So I’m not sure what you’re saying. Is this a good thing? Or should I always try to write, even when I want to change focus for a while?

    1. Recognize it. It CAN be a good thing but it does need a leash. Being obsessively creative is wonderful. And it is often good to switch gears to a different medium to boost creativity. For instance if you have writer’s block, try drawing for a bit. But be careful not to get spread too thinly. Focus is mandatory for success.

  1. […] Source: Being the Best—What it Takes to Be a Rainmaker […]

  2. […] universe and Kristen Lamb have perfect timing. I needed this post though I have been referring to myself more as […]

  3. […] « Being the Best—What it Takes to Be a Rainmaker […]

  4. […] Kristen Lamb’s Blog – Being the Best – What it Takes to Be a Rainmaker […]

  5. […] is a blatant reference to Kristen Lamb’s Rainmaker post, but it’s also something I find to be true. My writing is junk if I’m not inspired—it’s […]

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