Building a business takes time. Not because it takes a lot of time to create all the things that a business needs to run, (like a product or a service or a website or a marketing campaign) but because every business is built on trust, and you can’t rush trust. 

Saying “I don’t feel like creating today” is one thing. Allowing those feelings to dictate whether or not you do create today is what separates dreamers from their dreams. 

Working on a plane is funny. The easiest thing to do it to keep working. It’s almost more work to reach below your seat to grab your bag and put your laptop away.

We’re good at considering the costs of being truthful when we make creative excuses. But having a cloudy conscience has costs, too, and we’re not so quick to consider those costs. 

“If I force myself to create every single day, won’t I get tired, uninspired, and won’t it suck the passion out of my art?” This is a fair question.

This self-focused view made my upcoming talk nerve-racking. As I prepared for the talk, I had a third-person imagination of myself, thinking about how people would view me, how I would sound, and if I would come across as cool and smart.

Sure, on paper, you could make an argument that your assets are a better value, or higher quality than your competition. But if the experience of service is not up to the client’s expectations, it doesn’t matter. 

You can read about it, talk about it, listen to podcasts about it, plan for it, vision-board it, and dream about it. But none of those things teach you even close to the amount you will learn once you finally…do it. 

“Don’t try to write a book; try to become somebody who enjoys writing everyday.”

We never feel like we have enough time. We watch the months and years go by, seeing our dreams get smaller and smaller in the rearview, never finding a moment to make them happen. 

“People might be skeptical about their ability to change if they’re by themselves, but a group will convince them to suspend disbelief.”

If you’ve ever wondered how these advertising agencies and production companies get away with charging more than $100,000 for a 30-second Instagram video shot on an iPhone, I’m about to tell you. 

“I’m not interested in squeezing something so tight that I get every last drop.”

“The majority of tasks we procrastinate on are usually high in immediate costs but low in immediate benefits, thus making them unattractive in the short run.”

I’ve taken a number of paid online courses with video content. None of those videos come remotely close to the quality of editing and information available for free on YouTube. In fact, the most engaging and interesting content is available for free on social media. 

As someone in high school in the late 2000s and early 2010s, I spent a microscopic amount of time actually reading classic novels, or watching award-winning movies, or seeing great paintings. 

In 1964, when the U.S. Surgeon General issued a warning about cigarette smoking, Bill Bernbach decided he wouldn’t be in that corner of the business anymore.

Recently, an artist told me about the freedom she feels when she commits to creating every day, even on days when she doesn’t feel like it. 

Every aspect of Martha Stewart’s life came together to make her empire possible: gardening, hosting, modeling, Wall Street, publishing.

You might have a few minutes to cram, or double check information, but the best thing you can do for yourself, with so little time left, is breathe.