Let your conscious and unconscious work together for creative breakthroughs

Creative breakthroughs are not like taking out the trash, nor buying almond milk on the way home from work. Creative breakthroughs build slowly and come suddenly.

If you break free of your own lies, you can finally make your masterpiece

When you procrastinate on making your art, you lie to yourself. You’re wired to want to put forth minimal effort. Your body doesn’t want to do the work.

Shoot through the achievement window to make your masterpiece

We want to make our masterpiece, but we are our own worst enemy. We overestimate what we’re capable of, yet we are quick to make excuses when faced with a challenge.

Dopamine management

I noticed something dangerous when I started writing a 100-word article every morning. Whenever I finished an article, I’d feel a dopamine hit.

It felt like I had really accomplished something. This sense of accomplishment was almost as intense as when I had been…

Give yourself a dopamine hit to get motivated

The neurotransmitter dopamine is released when you are rewarded, or when you avoid punishment.

Keep this in mind when you want to get motived. You can stimulate a release of dopamine simply by envisioning a reward—or by…

You don’t have to be an expert

A common excuse I hear for not blogging is “I’m not an expert.” You don’t have to be an expert.

You can write about what you know, what you don’t know, and what you learn along the way. As long as you’re honest about it, your writing will resonate…

Signing off

Hemingway would talk about his “juice.” Or he’d refer to his ability to write as a well that he mustn’t allow to run dry. He once wrote to a friend (“Tubby”):

…please forgive such a rotten letter. All my juice goes in the damned book…

Hold your phone upright

People tend to slouch over their phones. We’ll soon be a world full of hunchbacks.

Hold your phone upright. Or, rather, hold your phone so you can stand (or sit) upright, with your head resting above your shoulders. Just put it in front of your face, so the…