Most people like to keep their options open. We wait until the last minute to commit to social engagements in case something better pops up. In the workplace, we wait until we absolutely must make a decision before doing so just in case a better idea comes along. However, that indeci- siveness typically trickles down …

In Cervantes’s Don Quixote, the namesake character sees several wind- mills off in the distance and—confusing them for giants—believes that fortune has given him an opportunity to rid the world of several hulking beasts. He tries to fight them but falls off his horse. This is the source of the phrase tilting at windmills, which means inventing …

Gustav Mahler wrote much of his brilliant music in between his respon- sibilities as a conductor. In fact, he wasn’t even known as much of a com- poser during his lifetime, only having his work broadly celebrated after his death. Albert Einstein developed much of his theory of special relativity while operating as a patent …

We’ve all been there. You have a sudden burst of creative insight, and you think “That’s it! This is clearly the most brilliant idea I’ve ever had!” You share it with someone else, and they stare at you blankly. They don’t understand why you’re so enthusiastic. Frustrated, you get even more animated, thinking you haven’t …

No matter how much you love your job, it’s common to grow stale over time. You’ve seen the same patterns and problems and people over and over, and each day can feel like going around the same traffic circle over and over. “Look, kids, Big Ben! Parliament!” (Bonus points if you get that movie reference.) …

Maybe you’re in the midst of challenging times right now. Or maybe this is one of the best seasons of your life and career. Either way, know this: it’s going to end. There will come a point when you have to move on, and this all will be a memory. In the moment, it can …

So often, creative pros talk about “finding their voice” as if it’s some far- off entity that must be hunted down and captured so that it might be put to work. That’s not even close to reality. The way in which voice is developed is far less exotic—they try and fail, then they try again, …

I once spoke at an event for senior U.S. Air Force officers where one of the other speakers was a former U.S. Army general. In the green room before the event, he caught me by surprise as I was stuffing a blueberry muffin into my mouth and asked, “What’s the most important thing to know …

No matter how hard you try, your work is never going to be perfect. You can spend dozens of hours trying to squeeze the final few percent of value out of something, but you’re unlikely to ever get there. This sometimes happens when you get too close to a project and begin to see problems …

Two of my children are competitive runners. They typically run in rela- tively flat environments, and even when running cross-country races, the courses are typically relatively nontreacherous. Regardless, their coach requires them to do what are called “hill repeats” during training. Hill repeats are exactly how they sound—running up and down a hill over and …