The slow productivity mindset, by contrast, finds advantages to a more languid pace. Frequent cold starts can inject more creativity into your efforts, an effect Miranda seems to have leveraged in the uneven but insistent improvement of In the Heights. It also allowed him to explore and develop as both a creative and a human being. College

Epstein makes the case that starting late or switching fields is nothing to be ashamed of. No matter where you are in life, you have as good a chance as anyone to become one of the greats—your unique history may even give you the upper hand.