It was in the early 1990’s, and I was reading an article about James Michener, the most popular historic fiction writer of that time. The article showed a picture of Mr. Michener seated at his desk in front of an ancient Underwood typewriter doing his work. Word processors were widely available by that time, and most of his books were over a 1000 pages. In spite of that, he chose to use his old manual typewriter to write. Hmmm…
A few months later I stopped by a typewriter repair shop to pick up a couple new ribbons. As I was making the purchase, I asked the store owner why James Michener used a manual typewriter. His answer came quick and was very simple. “Feeling”. Novelists like to put a lot of feeling into their writing, and working on a word processor can blunt that effort. This answer intrigued me, and heightened my respect for the power of the written word.
So what does the “power of the pen” mean to us? One benefit is stronger business relationships, which means we improve our ability to create and keep customers. For 20 years I was a leadership training facilitator. I would often write a note on a 3×5 card in the spur of the moment to class members. It was quite common that years later I would encounter an alum from my class who carried one of those 3×5 cards I had written to them.
The Declaration of Independence shows us that when you put a pen to a blank sheet of paper, great things can occur. Go ahead. Try it. Go to a quiet place, put on your “thinking cap”, grab a pen and sheet of paper, and let your mind flow. It could be an idea or simple note of encouragement or appreciation. Make a bigger impact!
