Instead of waiting for guarantees or figuring out who you are first, try out concepts and ideas with intent to discover what fits you. This approach allows you to learn by doing and find your path.
Make a single decision to consistently perform an action (e.g., daily blog post, regular podcast). This creates a practice that helps you push through challenges and ensures ongoing output.
Identify and obsess over your smallest viable audience—the specific people who would deeply miss your work if it were gone. Ignore feedback from those your work isn’t for, as the internet is a micro medium.
When creating something, clearly define your specific audience by understanding their unique stories, pains, hopes, and dreams. This specificity helps your work resonate deeply and avoids hiding behind the notion of creating for ’everyone'.
Actively work to change the stories you tell yourself about your capabilities and purpose. A different internal narrative can empower you to make a greater level of contribution in the world.
Understand that true learning comes from active engagement and experiencing failure, not just from reading or listening. Use preparation as a foundation, but commit to the act of doing to achieve mastery.
Cultivate the ability to perceive reality objectively, rather than how you wish it to be. This critical skill helps you understand true possibilities and avoid self-delusion.
Honestly evaluate your capacity and desire to expend emotional labor for your goals, accepting that it involves fear, fatigue, and the urge to give up. Choose commitments that align with your willingness to endure this effort.
Recognize past investments (sunk costs) as gifts from your former self that should not dictate future decisions. Be willing to abandon them if they no longer serve your present or future goals.
Intentionally create new commitments or streaks (e.g., writing daily) to generate positive ‘sunk costs’ that motivate you to continue your practice. This leverages emotional investment to maintain momentum.
Deliberately limit your choices in certain areas of life to reduce decision fatigue and prevent chasing novelty. This discipline narrows your focus and ensures you engage with chosen tasks.
Before developing content, establish the constraints and boundaries of your chosen medium. This approach helps you find ideas that fit the container and explore its unique possibilities effectively.
Protect your time and work from external demands and unprioritized contributions to others’ projects. This ensures your efforts are allocated appropriately towards your own significant goals.
Develop the discipline of giving quick, thoughtful, and generous ’no’ responses to requests. This protects your boundaries and is more appreciated than silence or a broken ‘yes’.
Evaluate your success based on whether your absence would be missed, if your contribution is unique, and if you leave things better than you found them. This provides a meaningful compass beyond monetary gain.
When giving a live talk, understand that you are performing, and your primary goal is to deliver emotion and cause a change in the audience, not merely to convey information. Focus on energy and impact.
Reserve writing a book for ideas that demand a complete, timeless, and shareable form that encourages deep discussion. Avoid writing for status or if the idea could be satisfied with a blog post.
Recognize that constantly seeking reassurance is futile and provides only temporary comfort. The unpredictable future will always demand more, so build resilience instead.
Understand that creativity is a choice, not a mystical bolt of lightning. Exert the emotional labor to extend empathy to your audience and bravely announce work that may or may not succeed.
Overcome the fear of short-term embarrassment or appearing foolish to achieve long-term success. This willingness to take risks is crucial for growth and breakthrough.
Employ practices (like morning pages) to calm your ‘monkey mind’ or inner critic. This allows your intuitive, creative self to speak up and contribute without constant self-judgment.
As a professional, commit to understanding your field’s state of the art, raising your standards, and clearly defining your purpose and audience. This involves making and keeping promises regardless of personal feelings.
Cultivate disciplined work habits such as working in a dedicated space, adhering to appointed hours, and consistently meeting deadlines and budgets. Professionals prioritize consistency and reliability.
Clearly define the specifications (‘spec’) for your work, understanding that quality means meeting this spec, not achieving ‘perfection.’ Once the spec is met, ship the work, and if unhappy, revise the spec for next time.
Work within defined constraints and timeframes for creative projects, as this can lead to impactful results like Miles Davis’s ‘Kind of Blue.’ Avoid endless perfectionism by knowing when to ship.
Actively work to remove shame, both from external sources and your internal dialogue, as it extinguishes creativity and diminishes your humanity. Catch and replace shaming thoughts at their trigger points.
View your work as a professional output that meets a defined spec, rather than an extension of your personal identity. This allows you to receive feedback constructively without internalizing shame.
Seek criticism from individuals with deep domain knowledge who genuinely aim to help you improve, rather than those seeking status or simply providing answers. This ensures feedback is useful and growth-oriented.
Recognize that employees, customers, and collaborators are driven by different desires and stories than your own. Tailor your approach by understanding their unique motivations, especially regarding money.
Do not assume others will act as you would in their situation. Instead, observe and respect their consistent patterns of behavior, understanding they operate from their own unique perspectives.
Strategically position yourself to maximize opportunities for luck, rather than relying on continuous good fortune. Make choices that increase the probability of favorable outcomes.