“What are you doing writing books?”

It’s oddly a compliment to this writer-turned-speaker turned Author & Speaker.

After a speech yesterday in a Utrecht ToastMasters event, an experienced speaker came up to me, she knew I was a writer (but doesn’t know much more about me) and asked me what I’m doing writing books.

In other words, as she explained further, “You have such a natural talent on stage, it just seems like such a waste of those talents if you’re sitting behind a computer,” then she made this dreadful sad, bored face, “typing.”

As if typing, as if writing, were a terrible thing to do.

The crazy part?

I oddly agreed with her.

I’m at home on stage. I get a high out of it I’m pretty sure there is no combination of drugs can do.

It’s a thrill, a challenge, and I feel myself up there in front of an audience.

What AM I doing writing books?

Someone later told me what I’m doing (when I mentioned what this other woman had said):

“You’re discovering your message. You’re refining it through your writing and once it’s clear, you’re spreading it through your talks to the audience.”

I have to agree.

So that’s what I’m doing on a Saturday afternoon. I had friends in town, but I chose to be on stage.

The friends could wait–beers in hand.

The stage waited for me to be on it.

Then I went and had beers with my friends.

And I thought about what I’m doing writing.