Meet George Weinstein

 

Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to George Weinstein. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi George, we’re so appreciative of you taking the time to share your nuggets of wisdom with our community. One of the topics we think is most important for folks looking to level up their lives is building up their self-confidence and self-esteem. Can you share how you developed your confidence?

I developed my confidence and self-esteem through trial by fire: forcing myself to assume leadership roles even when I didn’t know what I didn’t know. To improve my public speaking skills, I took every opportunity to lead discussions or meetings. In time, I became a leader who could grow an organization by improving its offerings and reputation and an expert who could help other people avoid the publishing mistakes I made.

Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?

I’m the author of eight novels that include my best-selling Southern historical novel Hardscrabble Road and its sequel Return to Hardscrabble Road, the amateur-sleuth murder mystery Aftermath, and the kidnapping thriller Watch What You Say, among others. I speak at or emcee numerous literary festivals and writers conferences and have talked to more than a hundred book clubs.

I’m also the Executive Director of the 110-year-old Atlanta Writers Club (AWC), having grown it from a 48-member social gathering to the largest, most active literary nonprofit of its kind in the South, with more than 1,350 members, two annual Atlanta Writers Conferences, an annual Atlanta Self-Publishing Conference, sponsorship of the biennial Townsend Prize for Fiction, dozens of critique groups, an annual writing retreat, and an ever-growing list of educational meetings, workshops, and webinars. The AWC is dedicated to teaching the craft and business of writing, and I’m dedicated to helping as many writers as possible advance along their writing journey.

I’m married to longtime friend, fellow author, and AWC officer Kim Conrey, who I met 16 years ago when she joined my critique group. One never knows what will happen when we take risks and join organizations: sometimes we learn a lot; other times we also fall in love and change our lives in wonderful ways forever.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

The three qualities that have served me the best on my journey are (1) a willingness to try new things despite having limited information, few subject matter experts to call upon, and no clear roadmap for success, (2) project management instincts that enabled me to stay on top of numerous details and schedules while heading off potential problems before they got out of control, and (3) my desire to put others’ success ahead of my own, which has meant helping people with their writing/publishing questions or problems rather than focusing on my own writing goals; this has given me the opportunity to literally change people’s lives for the better. Helping writers has become my calling–while I enjoy writing books, assisting others in the writing and publishing of their work has been far more satisfying.

For those who are early in their journey but want to focus on these same qualities, you have to take leaps of faith and be willing to fail again and again until you learn enough to succeed. As a result, you’ll have the proverbial battle scars, the cautionary tales, and life lessons that will enable you to help those following behind you avoid some of the same pitfalls or at least you’ll be able to assist them with climbing out rather than watching them become trapped without any ideas about ways to help them. You can hone your project management skills by paying attention to details–what needs to happen and in what order–and be aware of schedules so a deadline doesn’t catch you by surprise. If someone helps you along the way, pay it back or pay it forward by helping someone else, or volunteer for a leadership position that enables you to help numerous people. This is not a means to an end. Rather, I think it’s the reason we’re here: to be helpful and kind and caring. And the more you do it, the more you want to.

Before we go, maybe you can tell us a bit about your parents and what you feel was the most impactful thing they did for you?

The most impactful thing parents do for their children can be good for some and bad for others. My parents were very hands-off in their approach to raising me and my siblings. Mom and Dad were raised in very strict households so they chose to be permissive and laissez faire with their kids. Little was asked of us, and expectations about what constituted success in school and in life were rarely stated. I don’t advocate this approach–my brother and sister would’ve benefitted greatly from more involvement and attention along with clearly stated expectations and real consequences if those expectations weren’t met–but it did enable me to experiment and figure things out for myself. Lessons learned through personal experience with lots of trial and error (so many errors!) helped me to internalize rules for life and conduct along with a sense of how the world works. These weren’t some platitudes about which Mom and Dad would sermonize. Instead, they were conclusions I reached on my own. Hard-won knowledge about cause and effect set me apart from many of my peers who could only parrot their parents’ philosophies with nothing to back up those beliefs.

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