Proving you are alive.

We are alive when we explore, when we move, when we do something crazy. We are alive, when we stop hiding, when we show up, when we raise our hand. We are alive when we meet new people, build relationships, break new barriers. We need to prove to ourselves that

Resistance Log

There would undoubtedly be times when we give into Resistance, when we indulge in activities that we do not want to indulge in. It’s a good idea to keep a log of these activities so that we can be in control of temptation. As Peter Drucker said, what gets

Write it down.

Whatever you have in your mind, it’s very important to write it down, to convert it into specific action steps and to move forward in taking them.  The mind by itself is not equipped to convert ideas into action steps. Writing helps us freeze our thoughts and to process

Resistance is insidious.

Resistance, the voice of procrastination and self-doubt is insidious. It will do everything in its power to distract us from our work. We can not beat Resistance by indulging with it. We can only beat it by ignoring what it says. — If you liked reading this, consider subscribing. If

What we can't see.

As a marketer, we need to become aware of things we can’t see. What the person we seek to serve feels, what they believe, what they are not showing. It’s hard work but that’s the deal. That’s the way we can help them get what they

The good voice and the bad voice.

It’s our choice which one to listen to. It’s a choice that’s presented every day. The one we choose becomes more powerful. — If you liked reading this, consider subscribing. If you are already a subscriber, do share with your friends.

The next project.

What’s your next project? How ambitious is it? When do you plan to ship it? The next project can take us out of stagnation faster than anything else. — If you liked reading this, consider subscribing. If you are already a subscriber, do share with your friends.

Change is scary.

Change is never comfortable, that’s it’s basic nature. The status quo becomes comfortable, no matter how uncomfortable it is. But change is necessary to move forward, to make progress. Doing it with intent can help us become more comfortable with it. — If you liked reading this, consider subscribing.

The search for joy.

When we try to numb our sadness, we end up numbing everything. And in the process, we can numb joy too. The way forward is not through numbing pain, but by letting it go. And in the process, we may find joy again. — If you liked reading this, consider subscribing.

Resistance and drama.

The creative cannot allow drama in her life. She is too busy creating the drama in her novel. She takes all measures to avoid drama in real life. — If you liked reading this, consider subscribing. If you are already a subscriber, do share with your friends.

Finding your centre.

You need to find your centre and operate from there. Fear can cause you to lose your compass, to feel disoriented. The way out of fear is through action, is through growth. Fear is psychological, action is physical. — If you liked reading this, consider subscribing. If you are already a

Urgencies never end.

We tend to believe that we can get back to the important work once we have put out all the fires.  That never happens.  If we put all our energy in putting out fires, we will see that more fires keep popping up for us to put out. It makes

Focus on growth, not problems.

When we focus on problems, they drain all our energy and attention and leave little to give for growth tasks. The thing with problems is that the best case scenario is the restoration of the status quo. But that doesn’t help. Without growth, maintaining the status quo is redundant.

A little bit of positivity.

Can we add a little bit of positivity to start our day with?  Read or listen to a book or a lesson that teaches us something? Listen to positive motivational songs to counter the negativity? Listen to a podcast or conversation that takes us away from the stresses of the

Movement

Movement makes you feel alive. Dead people can’t move. The less you move, the less alive you become.  Through movement you can explore and breathe.  HT to Ragini Bhajanka for helping me experience movement through her Raga program.  — If you liked reading this, consider subscribing. If you are already

Money mindset.

The predominant view growing up in a middle class household is that money is scarce. And when we do not take initiative, when we do not put ourselves on the hook, that is true. But when we start looking around for opportunities, for problems that we can solve for other

What no one can take away.

Victor Frankl writes in his book “Man’s Search for Meaning” about what no one can take away from you. Every day we have a choice. To do the work or not. No one can take the choice away from you. Today, you can sit and do the work. Everything

Negativity kills creativity.

It can go from making you feel miserable about yourself to making you feel self-righteous.  There is no middle ground with negativity.  And there is no forward motion either.  You can either build something with your creativity or destroy something by listening to negativity.  You can choose.  — If you

What time does your office start?

It’s one of the most important questions for an independent creative.  If the answer is vague, it becomes difficult during the day to start the work.  And when we don’t know when we start the work, it also becomes difficult to stop work and end the day.  Putting

When hell is breaking loose.

As a creative, there would be days when hell is breaking loose. It is very difficult on those days to sit down and do your work, especially the work that no one cares for right now. It is important on those days to do the work, to show up, to

Dehumanise.

When we think in extremes, we tend to dehumanise the other person. We do not give them a space to speak, to present their point of view. It is tough to empathise with the other person in such situations, but not treating them like human beings doesn’t make much

The skill of deadlines.

For most of our life, we have been trained to follow other people’s deadlines. You have a test on Friday, so you sit down and study on Thursday night. But what happens when there is no test on Friday? As a creative, a lot of times we work solo

What are you running away from?

What is the one thing that you need to do that you aren’t doing? All our misery, our anxiety are signs that we are not working on that one thing. Remove all the clutter and find that one thing. Focus solely on getting it done, on shipping it. The

Shallow to deep mind.

The shallow mind is very good at sticking. It’s an uphill battle. It takes focus and effort to access the deep mind again. — If you liked reading this, consider subscribing. If you are already a subscriber, do share with your friends.

Breaking the pattern.

When you feel stuck, it’s good to break the pattern. To go for a walk, or to work out of a new setting, or to meet someone new. As a creative professional, we need to recharge our creative energy on a consistent basis. Tim Ferriss recommends scheduling your mindfulness