Simon Hall writes:
I've had a tricky decision to make.
I’m getting towards the end of the Compelling Communication course I’m developing for the University of Cambridge, which leaves space in life for another major project.
I always like to have one on the go. They excite, enthuse, and energise me.
But the question was… what to devote my time to next?
It's a big issue, one that can come to face us all, and which gives rise to this blog:
- The most important factor in helping you make big decisions.
(A guide like the moon shining above Cambridge, as it so magnificently can, as per the picture introducing this blog.)
I could have written a new lecture course, or training module…
But I noticed that wasn’t particularly engaging me when I mused on it.
So instead, I asked myself:
What really makes me spring out of bed in the morning with a verve to get working?
The answer was, as it so often is with me, writing.
I am, and suspect always will be, a writer at heart.
Words on a page is where I find wonderment.
So that was part one of the question happily answered. I would be writing something.
But then came part two, which was rather harder:
- What would I be writing?
I had an idea for another non-fiction book, on the art of cracking a career change.
It’s something I’ve been asked about many times since leaving the BBC to come to Cambridge, become a university lecturer, and director of a small business.
I knew that meant there would be a market, and that I had the credibility to write about how to change career with authority and interest.
So I set about sketching out an outline…
And realised it was going well, proving useful and appealing, but…
It wasn’t calling to me in the way a true love should.
Which meant, time being a truly priceless possession, there was no choice but to rule that out.
Next, I started working on an idea for a thriller novel.
I had a premise, a starting point, the characters, a pretty twist of an ending…
In short, just about everything I needed for a successful book.
So, once again, I put together an outline…
And once more realised it didn’t hold my heart. Boo!
Now came a problem. I was starting to get frustrated, and also concerned.
I just cannot bear wasting my precious time on our planet, and I needed something new to focus on.
Something to learn about, something to believe in, something to achieve.
But what? What?!!
To try to find my way through the woods of uncertainty, I ruled off a day in my diary and went for a long walk along the River Cam, as you can see above.
I didn’t have any music playing in my ears, I just wanted the space and time to think and feel.
And as so often, after a couple of hours of getting the body and brain going, listening to the birdsong, breathing deeply at the drifting autumn air, staring entranced at the sunlight rippling through the gentle river…
The idea came.
I would indeed be writing a book, but something new.
A subject, a genre, an exploration I have never tried before.
It would be edgy, raw and uncomfortable, but that made it all the more appealing.
Not least because I realised that what I had to say could help so many people, as well as myself.
It was a beautiful moment, one that caught my breath.
So much so that I'll share a confession here.
I loved the idea so much that I yelled out, startling a passing cyclist. (Apologies.)
Forgive me that I can’t reveal too much, as I’m currently writing the proposal for the book, as advised by an agent and friendly publisher.
But what I can tell you is that it will be part travelogue, part adventure, part memoir, and all following the story of one of the greatest challenges I have faced in life.
And best of all, best by far...
The story begins next week.
And I just cannot wait to start the work.
I think it could be the most fulfilling project I have ever attempted.
Finally, why and how have I got here?
To this happy place of discovery, new life, spirit, anticipation, energy, and eagerness...
Simple.
By taking the time and finding the space to listen to my heart.
