The Myth of Creative Inspiration

The Myth of Creative Inspiration
The Myth of Creative Inspiration

The work of top creatives isn’t dependent upon motivation or creative inspiration, but rather it follows a consistent pattern and routine. It’s the mastery of daily habits that leads to success, not some mythical spark of creative inspiration.

Daily Routines: The Power of the Schedule

  • William James, the famous psychologist, said that habits and schedules are important because they “free our minds to advance to really interesting fields of action.”
  • If you’re serious about creating something compelling, you need to stop waiting for motivation and creative inspiration to strike you and simply set a schedule for doing work on a consistent basis

Permission to Create Junk

  • Creative work is no different than training in the gym
  • You can’t selectively choose your best moments and only work on the days when you have great ideas
  • The only way to unveil the great ideas inside of you is to go through a volume of work, put in your repetitions, and show up

The Schedule is the System

The schedule is the system that makes your goals a reality. If you don’t set a schedule for yourself, then your only option is to rely on motivation.

Stop waiting for motivation or creative inspiration to strike you and set a routine. This is the difference between professionals and amateurs. Professionals set up a schedule and stick to it. Amateurs wait until they feel inspired.

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