• You make it much easier to be brave in your writing and get past any fear or anxiety, because you are focused on their pain. • You focus on specific and actionable information, which will make your book better and more meaningful to your readers. • It helps you keep momentum and motivation, because you are focused on alleviating their pain. Uber Cool Trick: Combine the two. If you envision yourself talking to a friend AND helping them through something difficult you’ve already done, that might be the best of both worlds. Both of these methods allow you to get out of your own way and let your voice come through naturally. Why? Because you aren’t actually thinking about voice. You are focused on the reader. Focusing on the reader, rather than on yourself, is a superpower technique you can use at every stage to create an effective, successful book. Don’t worry about being a writer, just help people, and your voice will take care of itself. HOW DO YOU MAINTAIN ENERGY? Most authors who ask about “energy” are really asking about some- thing else. This is generally fear or anxiety taking another form. Go look at the fear chapter for reminders on how to deal with that. That being said, the most important aspect of energy is maintaining a baseline of self-care, and then having a schedule and sticking to it. If you do those two things, you’ll generate and protect most of your energy levels. 144 · ThE SCriBE METhOD