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Non-Fiction or Fiction? One of the Biggest Choices Facing Any Writer
How to achieve your dreams and genuinely touch people.
Spring 1998. I can’t remember the exact date. I was about to complete my law degree, and one of my professors asked me whether I had ever considered pursuing an academic career.
“I’m open to any opportunity,” I replied.
The truth was I hadn’t given it any thought at all. I was confident about my future career path. I would become a full-time lawyer. I already had several job offers from respectable law firms. They were paying significantly more than the starting salary of an academic. And being a professor? It just didn’t seem very alluring.
That evening, I discussed the professor’s suggestion with my family. My father’s response caught me off guard. “Why not?” he said, “it might give you more freedom and the power to influence things.”
Over the next few days, I reflected on those words and realized he was right. More freedom and the power to change the world. That sounded good. Pursuing an academic career seemed exciting and presented a great opportunity to make a name for myself.
And this was the late 90s, remember. Writing books and articles was the obvious way to build a legacy. YouTube and other social media…
