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Stravinsky was not only considered one of the most important and influential composers of the twentieth century, but also one of the most prolific. He ranged in subject and emotional temper, and restlessly diversified his style throughout his career. But the volume of his musical output wasn’t just an urge, a task, a project, an occupation, a compulsion or even an addiction. It was simply who he was. In…

Anyone whose livelihood revolves around making things struggles with motivation, focus, fear, overwhelm and the like. Creative resistance cannot be eliminated from our lives. What we can do, however is diminish its ability to derail progress by being in harmony with probability. Prolific was built for that exact reason. Comprised of more than three hundred battle tested tools for every step of the ideation, organization and execution process, now…

My first codependency management technique was taping a fortune cookie sized scrap of paper onto the outside of my flip phone. It simply read the word, boundaries. This small, simple and stoic visual cue reminded me that there are no emergencies. As if to place a calm hand on my shoulder and whisper: Hey man, you don’t have to drop everything you’re doing just to respond to this phone…

Most project management software comes with inherent problems. First, the majority of these programs are far too complex and cumbersome for the average person to use. Even if people do enroll in the system, they typically spend a few weeks getting all their tasks organized, but once they realize that it’s actually creating more work than they’re completing, they quickly abandon the platform for something simpler and more lightweight…

Not everyone has a burning desire to navigate the treacherous waters that ambition requires them to travel. Nor is everyone interested in being consumed by the frustration of trying to fulfill their ever escalating ambition. And that’s okay. It’s not weak to be oriented towards that. Lack of ambition should not be a shameable offense. Some people just don’t feel like making the journey. Tarantino wrote in one of…

Addictions and compulsions are all about avoiding unpleasant outcomes. They are born in anxiety and remain strangers to joy. Beagley’s illuminating book on extreme behavior shows that people engage in repetitive behaviors over and over again. To alleviate the angst brought on by the possibility of negative consequences. But this cycle can be defeated. We can practice the subtle art of response flexibility by training ourselves to notice, pause, evaluate and…

Activists, experts, leaders and educators have been telling us for years that if we stopped labeling each other, everything would change for the better. But as someone who hasn’t taken off his nametag in twenty years, my experience has been quite the opposite. Being labeled is the best thing that ever happened to me. It makes me feel seen in a deeply human and personal way. It means people…

Consider the teenage couple in the slasher film. In the middle of making out, they suddenly hear a sound downstairs and think, ah, it’s probably nothing. Now, where were we? But as the viewer knows, it’s not just the wind. It’s not all in their heads. That sound is definitely a homicidal maniac with a facemask and bloody machete. Cue the creepy soundtrack. Ki ki ki, ma ma ma….

Everything has two births. First as an idea, and then as the real and tangible output of that idea in the world. The gap between those two events is where creators get tripped up. With each step they take closer to the launch date, the stronger the resistance grows. Reminds me of a friend who has been working on a documentary for the past year. His new series sounds…

We now live in a world where we’re all trying to out special each other. This phenomenon called competitive individuality has become our favorite pastime. But there’s also something called the paradox of uniqueness. It’s the idea that we are all simultaneously special and not special. It’s all depends on the context. When we’re sitting across the desk from a hiring manager or prospective client, want that person to…