The mindless junk of your past crowds out opportunities and sets pointless limitations. Move out the junk, and you create room for the rest of your life. Ultimately, it's not just a question of tidying your house; it's a question of liberating your heart.
Merlin MannStop. Iโm not going to take any more input until Iโve made something with what I got.
Merlin MannFeeling creative produces great work in approximately the same way that "feeling like a doctor" makes you a gifted thoracic surgeon.
Merlin MannA lot of the best work I've ever done started out as something completely different because I gave myself permission to have space around my time and expectations.
Merlin MannWhere you allow your attention to go ultimately says more about you as a human being than anything that you put in your mission statement.
Merlin MannBefore you sweat the logistics of focus: ๏ฌrst, care. Care intensely.... Obsessing over the slipperiness of focus, bemoaning the volume of those devil "distractions," and constantly reassessing which shiny new "system" might make your life suddenly seem more sensible - these are all terrifically useful warning ๏ฌares that you may be suffering from a deeper, more fundamental problem.... Know in your heart that what you're making or doing matters... First, care. Then, as you'll happily and unavoidably discover, all that "focus" business has a peculiar way of taking care of itself.
Merlin Mann