You cannot allow life to just happen to you. You must live it. However, when work and obligations feel overwhelming, you can feel like you’re just being carried along by a momentum beyond your ability to influence. Here is a series of questions that can help you identify your current state and potential order-bringing next steps. Is my outer world

Entrepreneur and author Derek Sivers says that if something isn’t a clear yes, it’s a no. Life is too short to half commit to things that you really have no interest in spending your time on. We do this out of guilt or shame or obligation, but if we aren’t really putting ourselves fully into it, we’re not really doing it anyway. This applies to dis

If you are writing, be writing. If you are designing, be designing. If you are in a meeting with someone, focus solely on being with them at this moment. Train yourself to be fully and completely immersed in what you are doing at the moment, and it will become a habit. You will—over time—develop the muscle of complete and utter presence. In any giv

You may be stagnant simply because you lack a place to begin. Having something in place to push against—even if it limits possibilities—can be beneficial to any project in the long run.

Nerves are a sign that you respect your audience. If you respect the people you serve, you will feel a little nervous about whether your work will truly hit the mark for them. I greatly respect the people I have the honor of creating for and working with, and I want to ensure that I deliver something that’s worthy of them. Don’t mistake nervousness

Ideas rarely arrive just on time. It’s best to accommodate the unpredictability of the creative process by allowing yourself some margin. If you think something will take an hour, give yourself ninety minutes. If you think it will take a week, plan for a week and a half.

What am I doing right now that I should stop doing? What is something obvious that you think I don’t see? How can I be of help right now? If you ask these three questions consistently of people you trust, you are likely to get answers that surprise you.

When was the last time you were inspired by something you experienced? Which inputs do you need to adjust so that you aren’t running on empty?

Is there a quality that makes you unique that you often feel the pressure to diminish or get rid of to fit in?