I can certainly get into some real hot water when it comes to having expectations upon walking into a situation. This is something I have to manage on a daily basis. If not, it can throw you into a tail spin as what’s in front of you does not match what’s in your head.

That’s not the worst part of it for me. The kicker is my reaction to what I see and how I feel. If I don’t step back and take a few deep breaths, it can go south pretty quickly and then I’m no use to anyone.

This all seems trivial, I suppose, but in the end these are the daily tasks needed to stay on track without getting off center. I’m looking to be the best I can be on a daily basis and this is part of it.

Moment by moment.

The 70-20-10 rule states that as a creative, 70% of what you create is mediocre, 20% is garbage and 10% is brilliant. The bottom line is we need to create, create and create.

Makes sense, as in any craft the more you practice the better you get. It’s no secret. I tend to focus too much on making each piece perfect and as a result there ends up not being a whole lot of creating.

Let’s not worry so much about the size, the end product, the audience or making mistakes. Let’s just keep producing. The rest will . . . as we know, take care of itself.

I’m fascinated by human behavior. Specifically, how a person can excel or be extremely “successful” in one aspect of their lives and struggle in another. I do the same in my life. Some things come easier to me than other things. That’s natural. I get it.

What I don’t understand is lack of awareness. Whether that’s socially: interrupting other people while talking or taking over a group conversation, physically: stepping into someone’s space while in a line at a grocery store, or any other way it plays out as a human being. It boggles my mind that some people can be so evolved in some ways and in other ways they choose to remain where they are – that seems to be the same place they were 10 years prior or even longer.

All we can do is work on ourselves. Continue to learn, grow and evolve and hold ourselves responsible. This is how I intend to live my life and it makes sense to me. It may be different for everyone. But, to go through life remaining ignorant and/or unaware is no longer an excuse . It can’t be.

We all have too much information at our disposal. Let’s utilize it and become the best version of ourselves we can be everyday.

Why not.

I’ve played a lot of sports over the years and have been a part of many teams. It really doesn’t matter the level of the competition as much as the act of competing. Especially team sports. What I always found to be the case is that the anticipation of an upcoming game is always worse than the game itself. Ten times worse. I think it’s because you physically can’t do anything about it. The game hasn’t started yet. All you can do is think about it and work yourself into a lather. I found this to be true with any sort of performance as well.

Once the game begins, most of the nerves go away. They dissipate into the physical activities of playing or the performance. This is something I have learned to live with as an athlete over the years and don’t really judge it as good or bad. It just is. I know this. And I accept it as part of the process.

However, when it comes to the creative process, I’m not so accepting or understanding. And I’m not sure why. But, if I was to take my own advice I would say, play the game, Jim. Just keep playing. It will all work out in the end.

But what you shouldn’t do is get paralysis by analysis. Do it. Play. Create. Perform. Enjoy.

I like to think that life is linear. You put something in and then you get something out. As much as I believe in this approach and will continue to teach it to my children and subscribe to it myself, there is another non-linear element to life that I have no idea how it works. But, the same results continue to show up over and over again. You can be baffled by them or you can accept them as part of the laws of the universe. You may not understand them or prove them in a scientific study but remain a constant.

Here’s one: the universe rewards you for taking risks on it’s behalf. That may be a personal art project or business venture you decided to do on your own. And although the art project may have not turned out the way you anticipated and the business venture may appear to be a dud and wasted 6 years of your life, once you begin to pull away from those experiences in time you start to see the silver linings. Maybe on that business venture you met someone who you now discuss new opportunities and has become a good friend. Maybe that art project opened the door to other creative ideas you would like to try and you now have the courage to do it.

We must be reminded: (Just like in the movie “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade”) In order for Indiana Jones to get across a huge chasm in which there is no way he can jump and would die a certain death if he fell, must take a step of faith into thin air – into nothingness. And the path will ONLY appear AFTER we take that step.

There is no other way around it. Sorry. It’s called faith.