I tend to do better when other people suggest something cool and new, or echo one of my ideas, making its value greater than my other ideas that only I have liked.

So I’m still trying to figure out what this blog is about. It might seem aimless, but stick around; I might learn something.

So far, I’ve been writing what I wish someone else would write for me, and that’s in the area of productivity. I’ve been told I give great advice, but I realize I suck at taking it myself.

Recently I wrote about the necessary sucking you have to get through on your path to success. So I guess I have to start taking my own advice, suck at it, and eventually suck less at it.

My afflicted mind is often a cluttered jumble of dozens, if not hundreds of ideas/directions to go in. It becomes a kind of white noise. When someone outside my head suggests something, the novelty often fuels my motor. The human brain is attuned to novelty; the ADD/ADHD brain is especially drawn to novelty, whether it’s a shiny pretty thing, an adrenaline rush, or an impending deadline. Today, I found a shiny, pretty thing: an outside (novel) message that spoke above my normal noise:

Marie Forleo interviewing Stephen Pressfield (Legend of Bagger Vance) about his books on creative success. I hope you can take the HUGE time commitment of a half hour (even the first 10 minutes could be helpful!)

The interview, which says your creativity and opportunities really take off when you engage yourself in it daily. I should know this after my 365 paintings in a year project, but creative exhaustion and procrastination set in. This interview is a great punch in the crotch to get restarted with a daily practice, to create something every day. Sorry if the “punch” metaphor sounds painful. Sometimes a punch in the arm, or even punch in the gut isn’t enough to get my attention.

Novelty.

Do you need a punch in the crotch? Find a novel source of inspiration outside yourself in the next 60 seconds, and act on it today.