Why Your Best Work Starts in Private [WRAP 170]

Hey Reader, I had an all-time personal trip at the start of this week. I woke up my 9-year-old son at 4:00am, bags packed, and got on a last-minute flight to San Antonio to watch my beloved Gators win the basketball national championship.

To share that experience with my son was incredible. On top of it being an amazing game and the Gators winning in dramatic fashion. But it was also a good reminder of why I do what I do.

To have the personal flexibility and independence to take a day and a half off on short notice. To have enough frequent flyer miles to cash in last-minute flights. To have digital products available so that there's enough money sitting in PayPal to cover tickets.

And most importantly to have an amazing wife who took care of the rest of the kids and said “this would be awesome for you to do with our son”.

It's 24 hours that I'll never forget.

💡 One Big Idea: The Power of Private Pages

My journal has been getting a lot of use lately. Not just for tasks and planning, but for those quiet morning thoughts that never see the light of day. And you know what? Those private pages might be the most valuable ones I write.

I talk a lot about publishing content, growing audiences, and "putting yourself out there." But this week, I want to talk about the writing no one sees – the morning pages, journal entries, and scattered notes that informs your best work and is a path to personal growth.

Here's what I've learned: Behind every great public piece of content, there's usually a stack of private writing that helped shape it. Like Dumbledore's Pensieve in Harry Potter, these private pages give us a space to examine our thoughts and ideas.

Here's why private writing matters:

• It's your creative warm-up, like stretching before a workout
• You can write without the pressure of an audience
• Ideas flow more freely when you're not editing as you go
• Your voice develops naturally through regular practice
• These pages often spark your best public content

What I love about private writing is that it's not just for content creators. These notes can become parts of sales presentations, client pitches, or even personal breakthroughs. They're the raw material of your thinking, captured before self-consciousness can kick in.

One of my favorite tools for this is the Q.U.I.C.K. note system:

• Quality writing, well thought out
• Unique perspective to your ideas
• Individual idea per entry
• Context with other thoughts
• Knowledge building for your future self

👀 Video to Watch: Smart Note-Taking

I made a video about how to capture and develop ideas using this system. It's not just about having a place to write – it's about creating a reliable process for turning private thoughts into public value.

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📖 Quote to Consider

“ Keep a notebook. Travel with it, eat with it, sleep with it. Slap into it every stray thought that flutters up into your brain. Cheap paper is less perishable than gray matter. And lead pencil markings endure longer than memory. — Jack London

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