The Formula for Creative Success When So Many Fail

The scientific way to beat the odds

Most writers, entrepreneurs, and artists don’t make it.

I remember where I was when I decided I wanted to be a writer.

I was doing traveling sales in Kentucky, listening to Danny Kahneman’s book Thinking, Fast and Slow. It was snowing. I’m from Louisiana, so this was like the third time I had seen the snow. I was inspired.

That book showed me secret backdoors to human psychology. Just because most people fail at creative pursuits didn’t mean I had to.

I decided then and there — I didn’t care how long it took. I would beat the odds.

Risk Aversion

Danny Kahneman’s work changed my entire world. The most fun part?— I don’t agree with a lot of what he says. Like Jordan Peterson, he is one of those thinkers who constantly flummox me. I don’t always agree — but I’m always learning.

Kahneman points out “flaws” in human reasoning — the most famous is risk aversion. We hate losing something twice as much as we like gaining the same thing.

Kahneman wants us to notice how “irrational” this is. I disagree.

Yes, you can find situations where it makes no sense, but there is a good reason we hate losing more than we like winning. We can never “win” so hard we are safe forever — but if we lose too much — we die. That’s permanent.

From that perspective, it makes a hell of a lot of sense we avoid loss. We are a creature defined by our fear of death.

Death and your creative dreams

Let’s tie that back into why you aren’t currently following your dreams.

You are afraid.

That’s really all there is to it. You would rather “play it safe” than take a risk with your entire life. You don’t want to be on your deathbed, defined as a “failed ___.”

That’s understandable. Unlike Kahneman, I don’t think this fear is “irrational.” There is a chance everything can go wrong. You could fail.

However, if you toil away at a job you hate for 40 years — that also might be a failure. You have to understand that every moment that you’re not making a choice — you’re choosing to fail. Fail passively, but still, fail.

If you didn’t already notice it, life tends to stick you between a rock and a hard place.

Let’s look at the most rational choice you have.

Faith

That’s right. Faith is the rational choice. Not only faith — but faith in your dreams. Mmm, scientific.

Faith gets a bad rap these days. I like the word. To me, it means something akin to a “quantum leap.” Quantum faith. Jeez — let me explain even more.

Turns out the world isn’t Newtonian. Meaning, it’s not a mathematical world of marbles and slopes — all outcomes are easily predicted with the right formula. No, the world is quantum. Which, as far as I can understand it (not far), means “funny.”

Things might be here — they might be there, etc. What that means for you is that you are an agent of this. You can’t make a formula for your life. You have to stumble through it. Yes, guidelines help, but at the end of the day, the world is “funny.”

Kierkegaard has an amazing quote:

“Life can only be understood by looking backward; but it must be lived looking forward”

If you understand life, you’re not living life.

Quantum Flow

Life is more like improv, less like a play.

Have you ever been in flow? Do you notice that the world seems to “unfold” itself before you (if I may use grand language)? There is no plan — you’re just tuned in.

Flow is maximum human potential. At our best, we are dancers, not planners.

The Talent Paradox

Talent is a funny thing. Some people are just better at things than other people. Here’s how to never let it worry you again:

If you fully dive into you, you will be the most talented you you could possibly be. All the time you spend being jealous of other people is time you could be being you. Do that, people will suddenly be jealous of you.

I like how Donald Glover says (raps) it:

“Don’t be mad cause I’m doing me better than you doing you.”

Dive into The Unknown

This might all seem a little abstract. I agree. I’m doing my best to keep it grounded.

Here’s how to know the very next thing you should do:

What are you not doing that you know you should be doing? What keeps you up at night? What did you love doing when you were 9? What are you afraid to admit you want to be?

Start there. Take the smallest possible step toward your dreams. Dive in.

Get Support

A good rule of thumb for following your dreams: don’t go so fast that you close yourself off.

You want to feel curious, inspired, and joyful. If you start feeling overwhelmed, anxious or burnt-out — stop.

Nothing is more important than your habitual state of being. Not any big meeting, not any publication, not any amount of money. If you aren’t consistently in a wonderful state of mind, nothing good follows.

Find a good support network. Figure out how to feel beautiful. From that state, follow your dreams. Go into the water until you start to feel fear closing your heart. Stop. Rest. Try again tomorrow.

I Can Help

I get a lot of joy from coaching creators. I love seeing y’all win. And I’ll convince you that you can. Trust me — we can beat your doubts.

Let me know if you need support.

Build your thing and live free. The Creative Life Is Possible