Running Down a Dream: Your Road Map to Winning Creative Battles

From then on, any time the phrase “I’m too busy to . . .” popped into my head, I changed it to “I’ve chosen not to prioritize . . .” Now, instead of thinking “I’m too busy to write today,” I think “I’ve chosen not to prioritize writing today.” Instead of telling a client that I was too busy to get to their project, I told them that I had other thin

Whether it’s needing to pay your taxes, washing the dishes, or a marriage that is on the rocks. List it all out. The list must be exhaustive. If something pops in your head, put it down. There is no filter here. Second, write at the bottom of the sheet of paper, “All of these things are important and I promise to concern, worry, and fear over them

What if I started letting go a little bit and trusting what was inside of me without expecting a slap on the back or a check?

So why did I quickly shame myself and feel awful because I wasn’t already a master at business and writing? These were learned skills too. This revelation switched my entire attitude toward my work. My job was to stick with it and keep going . . . to use duct tape and chewing gum if necessary to keep my shoes together . . . to do whatever was neces

I STARTED TO UNDERSTAND THAT ALL OF THE SUCCESS I SAW AROUND ME WAS THE EDITED VERSION OF WHAT REALLY HAPPENED.

Jason Fried wrote a story for Inc. titled “How to Get Good at Making Money.”

The truth is, we don’t care about the ten thousand failures. We need a light bulb and need the one thing that worked. A book filled with twenty tips that don’t work would not sell very well. We want the twenty tips that do work. You can keep the thousand that don’t.

got a piece of paper and a pen and I wrote down everything I did in a day. Everything. All the tiny minutia like going to the bathroom, driving to work, and making lunch. I included eating dinner with the family, making client calls, and watching TV before bed. It all went down in one giant list. Then I went straight down the page and started cross

Always find the direct route. Look for the shortest path between A—where you are—and B—where you want to be. I tend to fill my problems with unneeded complexity and junk that just takes up space. Most problems don’t need an elaborate solution. Most problems are simple.