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All creativity begins with the moment of conception. That little piece of kindling that gets the fire going. That initial source of inspiration that takes on a life of its own. That single note from which the entire symphony grows. That single spark of life that signals an idea’s movement value, almost screaming to us, something wants to be built here. And so, in this blog series, I’m going to…

Not everybody can pursue the thing that brings them great joy. Not everybody has found an outlet for their talents to flourish fully. And not everybody will be lucky enough to have occupational activities that are a natural extension of their personality and abilities.  Truth is, most people in the world are burning off the soles of their shoes just trying to carve out a life they can tolerate….

With every dream comes a compendium of discouragements and delays and distractions and depressions and derailments and disappointments.  And in the moment, it feels like you’re constantly taking it in the teeth. But the good news is, if you stay in the game long enough, your rewards will far outweigh your frustrations.  For now, learn to take those things in stride. Calmly accept setbacks as the normal course of…

Just as you want to honor the flow when it comes, you also want to respect the drought when it arrives. Because despite your best efforts to take action, sometimes you experience a surge of sudden disinterest.  Maybe it’s because of time or geography or inner state or outer turmoil, but whatever the root cause, one thing’s for sure. You feel drained and exhausted and maybe even depressed.  God…

Abundance comes from the economy of effort.  Always asking yourself, what corners are worth cutting? What steps in the process are redundant, expensive, labor intensive and time consuming that you could remove without anybody noticing or caring?  I owe my life to those questions.  Take book publishing, for example. If I know that it’s going to cost me two extra weeks, a thousand extra dollars and significant additional stress…

All creativity begins with the moment of conception. That little piece of kindling that gets the fire going. That initial source of inspiration that takes on a life of its own. That single note from which the entire symphony grows. That single spark of life that signals an idea’s movement value, almost screaming to us, something wants to be built here. And so, in this blog series, I’m going to…

Waits once explained that in his songwriting process, his only goal was to get what comes and keep it alive. It’s like carrying water in your hands, he said, I want to keep it all but sometimes by the time you get to the studio you have nothing.  That’s nature of inspiration. Ideas are like an ocean under a fickle moon. And so, when you get into the zone, don’t second…

You don’t have to do everything perfect. You don’t have to do everything right. In fact, you don’t even have to do everything.  That’s one of life’s great surprises. Finding the level of enough you’re comfortable with. It’s actually quite liberating. That calm feeling of sufficiency and contentment, that euphoric state of acceptance and okayness, nobody can take that away from you.  And, it doesn’t mean you’re absolved of…

Effectiveness is relative.  When you’re doing the right things, it doesn’t matter if you’re doing things right. Because when you create from a place of meaning, productivity follows. When you nail the what and the why behind the work, the how comes along for the ride. Effectiveness and productivity become incidental, not intentional.  On the other hand, if you have an antagonistic relationship with your job, no system is going to save you. That’s like…

Linklater made a fascinating point in a recent interview about the way he chooses his film projects. Richard said that his filter was, if anyone can do it, he shouldn’t. That’s the true definition of originality. Not just doing what you’re good at, but doing what only you’re good at. Becoming so identified with your work that nobody could steal it, and if they did, people would know it.  The challenge, then, is…