When I had written my first book, a cousin once told me it was difficult for him to understand it fully.
Since he was not well-read nor was he fluent in English, I moved on in life. So did he.
Over the years, I understood how the best conversations happened with simplicity. It is called the Feynman technique, where if you are able to explain your topic to a 5th grader, you understand it fully, and are truly able to explain it.
The best part was, that simplicity (which I was now constantly imbibing and winning in) was also something best CXOs wanted to write in. I was ghostwriting on their behalf, and bam, going viral like crazy!
I even got a 57-year-old client tell me he wanted his book written on the terms of “XX book” which was very simple to understand and grasp. I thank him so much for reiterating that word.
Years passed, and that cousin went on to become a reputed CEO of a listed company. He now wanted me to ghostwrite on his behalf. Though I was not taking up LinkedIn ghostwriting anymore, I still agreed to help. Turns out, he did not like it because it was simple and not what a CXO should speak!
Does it ever drive you crazy, just how fast the night changes!
I did not contest him because obviously I did not want to do that work in the first place, thanked him for the opportunity, wished him the best. But he suffered from what most of us do, when we know a lot. I call it “The Complexity of Knowledge”.
When we know too much, we think we need to express it in complex terms in order to sound smart. It is only when we go beyond “knowing too much” and become a little more aware and then a little more, and do that over and over again, do we realise that it is in simplicity that our wins lie.
Escape the complexity of knowledge. Embrace the simplicity of awareness. You will have no idea how your life changes.
