He writes as if composing a letter to a friend. Head bowed over his laptop, words drop like spring rain, silence but for the soft click of keys and the tick of the wall clock.

He appears to be a middle-aged man who’s forgotten his task. Pencil in hand hovers over the paper, his head is lifted, he stares off into middle space, listening, the story not yet in words, but coming, from that mysterious fold where ideas, inventions, and, imaginations are born.

The typed, printed manuscript lies before him. He attempts the impossible––to read the story as if he’s encountering it for the first time, to see it as a reader. He pencils edits––move this sentence to the top of the paragraph, delete that phrase, build the tension of this scene––working the draft, he hopes, to the benefit of a reader he’ll never meet.

We live in an illusion of cause and effect. We believe that if we do this, that will happen. Our expectations match this myth. We have low or high expectations based on the perceived actions of ourselves or others. The myth states that if we plan and execute we will see results.

This week I’m in Black Mountain, NorthCarolina, for a writers conference. I arrived with no elaborate plan. Sure I’d picked a few workshops to attend and planned to meet up with my publisher, but what would I take away from the week?

As I prepare to head for home tomorrow I find I’m taking a lot away. Much more than I anticipated. After a brief conversation, I’ve begun drafting a proposal for a talk at two other conferences; I’ve connected with another debut writer with whom I hope to collaborate; and I’ve been exposed to a master teacher of the craft of fiction whom I will continue to read.

What these developments all have in common is they had nothing to do with actions I took—I did not make a plan and take action to accomplish these outcomes. There was no cause and effect. These take-aways could not have been planned. 

I simply made myself available.

This is how we must live. We must simply make ourselves available. Put ourselves in places, in environments where what we want to accomplish takes place. Make yourself available and see how The Maker will impact those you meet and move your work forward through your willingness to be present.

Few writers, at any stage in their career, can make a living solely off their writing. Most of us have a full-time career, what we often call a “day job.” While most of us dream of focusing all of our time on writing, our energy would be better spent learning the skills necessary and reaping the benefits of managing two careers. Here are a couple of skills where I’ve found my writing and my corporate life complement and strengthen each other.

Public speaking isn’t easy for anyone. It requires a pair of skills: writing and speaking. I have found that my ability to do this well at the office has grown as I’ve learned to read my creative work before an audience. In both cases I must compose remarks that introduce, deliver, and engage. I have found the creativity with which I do this in my writing life carries well to the corporate setting.

Project management skills entail the ability to methodically and in an organized manner get work done by forming a team and facilitating the effort of others toward a vision. Having these skills serves my writing career in too many ways to count. Because of my background in project management I know how to break down work, prioritize and sequence tasks, and apply timelines to accomplish them. I also know how to engage others and join forces to accomplish much more than I ever could alone. These serve my writing, workshops, readings, and promotional events––anytime I need to collaborate with others creatively.

As you consider it, you will soon find many overlaps, large and small, between your two careers. You will also find that having two (or more) careers isn’t that uncommon because many others have seen the benefits.