There’s a natural human drive to seek comfort and avoid discomfort. This makes a lot of sense — no point wasting energy, putting yourself in unnecessary dangerous situations, or anything like that. But this originally valuable instinct has actually become a serious drawback in the modern age… Because it turns out that a reasonable amount … Read more

There seems to be no middle ground when it comes to mistakes. Most people I come across either think that mistakes are frequent and inevitable… Or they believe that they can be eliminated and should never be tolerated. As with just about everything, it’s not that black and white. If we want to nurture a … Read more

You’d think that the more you learn, the more everything becomes clear. Yet, it often feels that things go in the opposite direction. You find that every question you answer brings several new ones. Each extra bit of information leaves you feeling less confident in how comprehensive your overall understanding is. And so on. This … Read more

Lately, I’ve been feeling much more content. Not quite as though I’ve found my place in the universe — but maybe a small step in that direction. For a long time, I thought this would come when I found my “mission” in life and became fully engaged with acting on it. When I stopped refusing … Read more

There are times when it’s important to go for it and not hold back. When you’re way better off playing to win rather than playing ‘not to lose’. But a lot of people struggle to actually do this. They push things too far and end up going for broke instead.  Part of the problem is … Read more

Confidence is driven by many different things. Most of them require gradual, continuous work over weeks, months or more. And once you get to the point where you need the confidence, it’s too late to change anything. Whatever level you’ve reached by then is what you’ve got to work from. But there is one thing … Read more

Only one decision in life actually matters. Or, more precisely, it’s a single decision that you make over and over again. That decision is: “How do I choose to use my time?”. Because, at the end of the day, there’s nothing else that you truly own. And once a sliver of time has slipped by … Read more

In my entire life I’ve only done one drawing that I’m anywhere near proud of. But that was enough to change the way I thought about “talent”… Forever. Everything else I’ve ever drawn or painted has been rubbish. I just assumed that I didn’t have the talent for it. When I was growing up I’d … Read more

When you’re creative, you want the iron rule of discipline at your back. We picture the great creatives as people who wandered around at their own whim. Working when they felt like it and frittering away the time doing god knows whatever else if they didn’t. Long periods of aimless drifting followed by manic periods … Read more

It’s amazing how a small shift in perspective can have huge consequences. Sometimes it can transform your thoughts, your feelings and your actions all at once. And those, in turn, have the power to transform your future – maybe even have an impact on a much wider scale. Here’s one of the most useful perspective … Read more