Mail hardly interests me. I don't go to the mailbox often, unless I leaving a typed letter for someone to receive. Yesterday, right before going for a walk I dipped my hand in and sifted through it. Junk mail mostly, hence my disinterest. Then, a letter addressed for me. It was a reply from a local author, who lives walking distance from me. His name, Matthew Dicks.
Matt has written some 10 books, many best-sellers and an international best seller. Two years ago I found his work and loved it. The book that fell into my lap was Matt's STORYWORTHY, a book I kept hearing about in podcasts and other interviews. My research of the book and Matt began, afterall I heard his name about a half a dozen times.
I came across some contact information of Matt and simply sent over an email I did not expect him to see. Certainly I did not expect him to respond. But he did, and on April 7th of 2023 we met for Cokes at AC Petersen's, a local family eat-in also serving great ice cream. Think of them as a Friendly's, just much better.
Just like I did not expect him to reply to my email two years ago, I did not expect him to reply to my typed letter to him from January of this year. But were all busy. Family, work, Matt has yet another book meeting a deadline and he also runs a story telling business and consults with CEO's and political figures around the world. As we sat for cokes two years ago, Matt was very generous with his time and was engaged with me the duration of it. I walked away with many valuable insights. The one I'll share today is Matt’s advice to writing.
"Daniel, always be writing. A Matt advised me to write in the cracks of a day - waiting for a meeting to start, waiting for the doctor to come in, or waiting for the person you're meeting for lunch to show up. Take two minutes, or fifteen. Write. "That is how I get most my writing done," Matt said. And he continued with, "how do you think war correspondents wrote? On the front lines with pencil and paper or a typewriter. They didn't need a $5 latte, jazz playing and a special space. Writers simply just write."
I've seen Matt after our coke sit down a few times, all at events he is throwing or shows he is performing. Silently, he is a mentor of mine. A man who is a teacher, father, husband, likes to bike and golf, travels, consults CEO's and runs his own businesses. And he is prolific at writing. Matt has a daily blog he has had for maybe two decades. He has written daily for 25 years. Even while being wrongfully convicted of a crime and almost dying, twice. He is a man of many stories. And I'm glad to have him in my life and his letter to read for the rest of mine.
I'm sure there will be many more. Letters, encounters and coke sit downs. But if there aren't, I'm super grateful for his influence in me and my work.
Please go check out Matthew Dicks and his blog, here: Matt Dicks Blog