Yes, this is one of those deceptively simple questions. — I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free. — Michelangelo This quote beautifully captures the duality of what it means to be creative. …

It depends. According to new research creativity peaks at different ages: One in our mid-20s and another 30 years later. — Each one of us is born with a unique set of talents. Some of our talents show up early in life. Others percolate more slowly. Whether you hit your creative stride early or late can depend if you have a conceptual or experimental approach. Conceptual innovators do their best work…

Your inner child will thank you. — “The people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do.” — Steve Jobs Creative people inspire, excite and thrill us with possibilities. Whether they impact millions or simply those nearby, one thing they all have in common is courage. The courage to…

Spoiler alert: You don’t need permission to get started. — Too many of us are waiting to start our lives. We wait for the ideal job to present itself. We wait for our boss to realize we deserve a promotion. We wait for the perfect partner to fulfil our romantic dreams. …

But you can have the things that really matter to you. — Life is full of possibilities, yet one thing I’ve learned is that you can’t have it all. You can’t enjoy married life and keep the freedom of being single. You can’t have children and unlimited time for yourself and your career. …

It’s time to reframe how ‘successful’ you think you are. — It’s no secret many of us are addicted to chasing success. We spend our lives working toward goals we believe will make us happy. We aim for a promotion at work. We search for our perfect soulmate. We save up to buy a house, a car or nice clothes. …

Because that moment may never come. — Conventional wisdom says you needn’t do something if it makes you uncomfortable. Most people choose safety over uncertainty. But do safe choices always bring you happiness in life? I’m here to tell you that fear is not your friend. Fear never overcame challenges. Fear never asked anyone out on a…

Your brain will thank you later. — Writing can be hard. You wait for inspiration that won’t come. Often it arrives in the middle of the night. When the urge strikes you obey, for who can say when creativity will strike again? We all know brilliant ideas are elusive at times. …

Some of you know me as a writer of gung-ho productivity and self-improvement articles. In truth I struggle as much as the next writer. Especially when it comes to a regular schedule of writing and publishing articles. When I joined Medium in March 2018, I set about creating a body…