# 207
I wish I could go viral and have fortunate things happen to me like they do for others
Lucking Up
A specific set of strategic moves that have to happen after a fortunate incident in order to carry the momentum forward
# 208
I know I’m a good writer, but I need to communicate it a way that compels people and organizations to hire me
Reappraisal
Pinpointing the vehicle of your creative uniqueness through reflective inquiry
# 209
I’m new and young, and want to improve my skills and become a master at my writing craft
Apprenticing
Finding opportunities to build your emotional and physical calluses
# 210
I want to do this writing project, but I keep getting overwhelmed
Depressurizing
Consciously respond to panic a way that serves your creative efforts
# 211
I don’t know if this is a good idea or a great one
Offspringing
Filtering the quality of new ideas by their ability to breed other ideas
# 212
I need to do things I dislike to support my creative practice
Stacking
Layering value on top of existing creative habits to make them more enjoyable, rewarding and sustainable
# 213
I have to pay bills otherwise I will have to move back in with my parents
Hacquisitioning
Making a list of everyone you ever served in the past and asking them to buy this new thing you just made
# 214
I am not confident in my writing yet, and I need people who can encourage me
Borrowed Hope
Trusted voices to compensate for your low confidence in the beginning of a creative journey
# 215
I have this big meeting coming up about my work, and I’m freaking out
Priming
Reminding yourself of your accumulated track record to build faith in your creative capabilities
# 216
I want to publish this new piece of writing, but I’m afraid of how it’s going to be received
Reality Waterfall
A chain of logic that reduces the probability of something negative happening to such a degree that it seems ridiculous
# 217
I am bored, there is nothing to do, and I’m going crazy
Crop Rotation
Regularly changing and invigorating your creative ground in order to stay fertile over the long arc of your career
# 218
I am a new, young team member and want to get noticed for writing welll
Value Continuum
An employee contribution framework for tracking ideas, tools, connections and opportunities
# 219
I work in volatile, disorganized environment where people are overlooking valuable opportunities
Campgrounding
Leaving things at your company more organized than when you found them
# 220
I am feeling apathetic and foolish, since ideas get ignored, shelved or barely supported
Long Gaming
The willing to initiate risky projects and be misunderstood for extended periods of time
# 181
I want to make a difference on my team and ensure job security
Sniffing
The practice of converting your curiosity into everyone else's utility
# 182
I am frustrated and dissatisfied with where I’ve ended up in my career, I think I can do more
Continuum Of Potential
A visual breakdown of the relationship between raw talent versus learned skills
# 183
I never have enough time in the day to write, I waste too much time
Operating Temperature
Making devices of your body and mind suitable for creative application
# 184
I work so hard for so long that my body just gives out from exhaustion or stress
Macro Pacing
Giving yourself permission to work at your own healthy tempo, velocity and trajectory
# 185
I can’t follow my passion and make money, but I can’t do things that don’t excite me
Passion Inversion
The intention of not following your passion, but finding ways to bring it with you everywhere you go
# 186
I think too much and my brain is overloaded, so there’s no room for creative ideas
Sanity Tax
Paying a minor cost for something that is disproportionate to the massive value you get in return for having it
# 187
I am working a lot more now, and I forget to take care of myself sometimes
Off Buttoning
Deepening your personal recovery to match your professional intensity
# 188
I want a land a new writing gig that has the highest probability of fulfillment for me and success for the company
Fresh Powder
Professional opportunities where you can write your own ticket and set the standard, not just comply with it
# 189
I keep messing up when I’m trying to produce a final version of something
Red Lighting
Making a different choice about how we experience our creative failures
# 190
I want to produce more writing, but need some kind of external force to move things along for our team
Sunlighting
Using the forcing function of public accountability to bring a creative work into existence
# 191
I have this task, project or experience that I know will be stressful, chaotic and emotionally volatile
Frontloading
Maximize the potential for success by putting a greater proportion of the activity at the beginning of the process
# 192
I want to spread the word about my writing, but it’s expensive and people are busy
Sugardaddying
Constantly thinking about potential collaborations that can reduce your financial burden and reduce labor intensity
# 193
I work in a high stress environment, and everyone around me is having a breakdown
Downstreaming
Treating energy as the measurement of how much change might occur in a system
# 194
I work with a new team and people are trying to shoot down my confidence
Baselining
Figuring out where you're already been trusted for a history of delivering quality, and use that to your advantage.
# 195
I am in a new creative role at my job, and I want do make a good first impression
Bittersweet Spotting
Focusing on doing the things that nobody can do but you, and focusing on doing the things that anybody can do, but won’t
# 196
I am so inundated with all these noisy messages coming in, and I can’t clear my head to write
Cornering
Creating positive predicaments for yourself in which only having a few or no outcomes was a forcing function for the better
# 197
I am only reaching a small fraction of my potential audience with my current strategy
Replication
Doubling down on what’s working to create new revenue opportunities in the future
# 198
I just got screwed by reality, and it’s forcing me to change creatively
Repackaging
Forcing yourself to appraise negative circumstances in a forward thinking way
# 199
I want to have job security by becoming a writer everyone needs, and increase demand for my work
Relative Time Value
Using a burst of generosity to save your team hours of work and tons of stress
# 200
I don’t have time to write all these things on my list, and I’m overwhelmed
Intention Framing
Put boring but necessary tasks into the wider context of your cherished, personal priorities
# 167
I am thinking of taking a day job to support myself, but I’m afraid I won’t have time or energy to write
Dual Citizenship
Securing a professional work opportunity that finances the rest of your artistic projects
# 163
I am not going to get up earlier, so I need another time to sneak in writing in my day
Wait Loss
Find, focus and leverage the pockets of freedom you already have
# 170
I can’t write with all these distractions my workplace
Downheading
Using the placebo power of a focus filter in the face of distractions to get your work done
# 168
I write all this stuff but it’s not connecting with people
Content Branding
Building, protecting and nurturing the symbolic, social and emotion capital around your work
# 164
I don’t have anything left to say, and I’m spending all my time working not living
Subordination
Make living a normal life job number one, so your art gets done as a matter of course
# 162
I just want to write the same thing over and over again
Motifing
Engaging in guilt free creative projects that are uniquely appealing to you
# 166
I want to write more but my brain is overwhelmed or disorganized
Cognitive Unloading
Outsource as many mental tasks as possible to other people, things and processes
# 169
I am disappointed about the status of my writing life
Creative Pragmatism
Focusing on the concrete, positive difference art making has in your actual experience of life
# 165
I don’t know when a new writing project is the right one to take on
Actionstorming
Finding creative opportunities by getting out of your goddamn head and actually trying things
# 161
I’m a high achiever and it’s hard to relax and enjoy myself
Joy Triggers
Embrace a diverse set of activities that form a complete identity.
# 173
I am always proving myself, and it’s exhausting
Upgrading
Loving our creative work without relying on interpersonal or organizational approval
# 174
I have lots of good expertise, but it exists in my head
Gold Mining
Immortalizing key learnings that would otherwise just live inside one team member’s brain
# 175
I want to do this writing project, but I don’t really know how to do it
Minimum Viable Knowledge
The lowest amount of information you need to know about a subject to operate effectively
# 176
I can’t afford new equipment, supplies or inspiration, but I want to write new things
Adaptive Opportunism
Creatively combining what you already have to make new things
# 178
I want to move the ball down the field this project, but everyone has an opinion
Input Embargo
Setting limits on the level and frequency of team feedback during the creative process
# 179
I know what my problem is, but I don’t know how to solve it, or there are too many options to solve it
The Toolkit
A robust arsenal of solutions custom fit for your unique personality, value system and life situation