Even if you are incredibly flawed, you can still succeed and even reach great heights. You just need to be one thing: Dogged. Look at Vincent Van Gogh. For much of his life he felt like a failure, and you might be feeling like you can’t do anything right, let alone anything good. But you…More
Tag Archives: growth
You can overcome your doubt
Doubt is a weed that grows in the gardens of our minds. It can choke our dreams and kill our hopes. And the words “I can’t” start to infiltrate our thoughts. But doubt is a weed, not the flower, nor fruit. That’s the truth, and we the gardener. So tend your mind, care for it,…More
One of the best things you can do to create
Sometimes to make creative work, the thing we need most is this. Rest. You’re at your desk, sweating (metaphorically) and pounding away (literally) trying to get a good idea, but the only thing you produce is nothing. “Maybe I just need to work harder,” you might say to yourself. And still, nothing happens. So you…More
Today is the most important day you have
Today is the most important moment in your life. It is. The past can’t be changed; the future is unknowable. But the present is different. You can do something here. You can act upon it, begin to change your life, draft the first paragraph of that book you always wanted to write, start a new…More
Sometimes surviving is the best you should do
Some days just suck and feel like hell. That’s when the best thing you can do is survive. It’s when you want to throw up your hands and just give in and quit that you need to know this. Sometimes surviving is good enough. When everything seems to go wrong, and you feel like a…More
One of the best words to use when you feel bad
“Again” is a common word, but for those who’ve failed, been rejected, feel ashamed, it’s incredibly powerful. It means you get to start afresh; you get to find new love or rekindle an old one after feeling unlovable; you get to do that thing you never thought you would be able to do after failing…More
A truth that will help you reach your dreams
You are greater than you know. You are more than you believe. No matter what credentials, diplomas, status, or net worth you have (or don’t have), you possess the power to change your surroundings, your habits, your career, your life. You are more powerful than you know. What you say, think, and do impacts those…More
This is what you need to create
Uninterrupted time is the fodder for creativity. As yeast is to bread, solitude is to the creative process—essential. Without the quiet moments and lingering stillness, words that move us wouldn’t be as moving, paintings that stir us wouldn’t be as stirring, inventions that help us wouldn’t be as helpful. Creation best happens in the quiet…More
An important thing I learned from being laughed at
Everyone laughed, and I was the butt of the joke. I hated it. But I realized something about life. A group of us sat around a large circular dining table, and a newly married couple started talking about how they met. It was a great story with surprising twists and turns. And then a guy…More
This book will blow your mind
If you haven’t read Range, by David Epstein (affiliate), you need to. It will change the way you think about thinking. Most of the world holds the notion that experts are what we need, people who are hyper specialized. Ten thousand hours are what it takes to succeed, is the belief (it’s what I believed).…More
John Pa 