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When you feel bitter, it’s difficult to put your life in perspective.  No matter how many gratitude lists you create, no matter how many positive affirmations you receive from people you love, and no matter how many entries you write in your victory log, sometimes, it’s simply not possible to delight in what’s wonderful about your life.  And that’s okay. Everyone has permission to feel lousy. There’s no shame in sitting with the…

I was recently listening to the executive of a popular television network explain how the ratings system worked for his programming. And he said something that I’ll never forget.  Ninety nine out of a hundred people aren’t watching my show, and I’m a millionaire.  Funny how few people you actually need to make art, make a living and make a difference.  The challenge, then, is being okay with not…

Everyday, we read yet another story about plagiarism and interpolation and copyright infringement.  Companies and brands and labels are suing artists for supposedly stealing their intellectual property.  And while I respect the need to protect one’s creative work, the reality is, most people are not malicious thieving bastards. They’re just human. It’s part and parcel of the creative process.  We can’t help but be influenced by the art we…

We all have our own unique version of the wretched place depression drags us off to.  There are as many gradations of anxiety as there are people to suffer through them.  But what’s universal is the way out. The antidote to our feelings of emptiness and pain.  And that solution grows out of the two most healing words in any language.  Me too.  Because in that moment when you…

It’s easy to tie our opinion of ourselves to success or failure.  To believe that our value as people rises and falls in lockstep with our latest achievement.  But human worthiness should not be contingent upon winning or losing, approving or disapproving, thriving or suffering. Esteem is a decision we make, irrespective of the vulgar accumulations and fluctuations of the external world.  And so, just because my bank balance…

Most creative people have developed a hypersensitive relationship to the world.  And that’s what allows them to do the work they do. Artists think and feel things that other people can’t express for themselves. They can deliver something that their audience can’t find on its own.  Unfortunately, that hypersensitivity results in artists taking everything personally. They overanalyze, ruminate and even become depressed and anxious over brief interpersonal interactions, wondering…

You’ve seen the trope in popular culture a thousand times.  A character says or does something intended to elicit and enthusiastic response from the audience, but instead of getting the reaction he expects, the guy hears nothing but the sound of crickets chirping.  The audience is stunned into silence. They’ve missed the joke entirely.  Hence the expression, hearing crickets.  Of course, stage performers and television actors don’t have a monopoly…

When you work for yourself, it’s dangerously easy not to give yourself the gift of time off.  That’s the nature of the modern workforce. In a freelance economy, you only eat what you kill. The demands of the enterprise rest solely on your shoulders. Being your own boss demands unremitting effort, constant commitment and deep diligence.  And so, on any given day, you feel like you need a excuse…

Ideas are free, execution is priceless. That’s been my mantra since day one of starting my business. It’s also the title of a book I wrote a few years back. You can download it for free here. But here’s the problem. I’m an idea junkie. Everything I look at in the world breaks down into a collection of ideas. I have about fifty new ones every day, and sadly, I…

Every day, employees struggle to work for organizations because they feel robbed of their individuality.  That’s the corporate way of life. In most companies, the individual is the instrument, not the purpose.  Fat chance finding a company that says to its employees, what do you want to become and how can we adapt to help you be that?  And yet, freelance work isn’t without its share of existential anxieties….