how to be more creative in life

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CREATIVITY

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assump-E-Book ISBN: 978-1-943361-09-0

Chapter 1: The Foundry of Creativity

C H A P T E R 1

THE FOUNDRY

OF CREATIVITY

Creativity inspires us

When I was growing up, movies and TV shows stimulated

my creativity—and modeled a higher standard I watched

episodes of The Lone Ranger as re-runs, and it was one of my

favorite shows As you may remember, the Lone Ranger lived

by a code, and as a kid, I knew the code by heart

Clayton Moore played the part of the Lone Ranger, andwhen the series originally aired on ABC from 1949-1957, it wasthe highest-rated television program on the network in theearly 1950s and its first true “hit.”

In honor of what would have been Clayton Moore’s hundredth birthday, Dawn More, his daughter, said somethingremarkable:

one-Years after my father’s passing, I continue to

receive fan letters—not just from the United

States, but from all over the world The letters

come from policemen, firemen and teachers who

say they chose a life of protecting others,

wanting to emulate the example my father set—

not just as an actor, but as a man What’s his

legacy? That he inspired and continues to inspire

the notion of offering assistance without seeking

acknowledgement or fame To come to the aid of

someone in need Pretty powerful stuff.

I find that incredibly compelling: more than half a centuryafter it aired, this TV program continues to inspire people

But this is far from the first time I have seen the tion of media and the lives it can change Just recently I spoke

connec-at the Long Beach Leadership Prayer Breakfastin Long Beach,California The audience of about 400 was filled with civicleaders, professionals, pastors, business and ministry leaders,and law enforcement officials

After my talk, a senior police officer and I spent a fewminutes together He said that he grew up in East L.A.—a placewhere cops weren’t welcome Growing up, he never heardanything good said about the police, and as a result distrustedthem completely But he watched TV, and a favorite program

was Adam 12 He wondered, “Why aren’t the cops around here

like that?” He couldn’t get that thought out of his mind Thenone day he attended a job fair and met an L.A police officerwho talked with him and encouraged him to become a teenagevolunteer on the force

That was almost thirty years ago Today he’s a respectedleader in the Long Beach Police Department, and he said his

career all started watching Adam 12 on TV.

His story and many others make me wonder—with acurrent television schedule filled with vampires, corrupt cops,hypocritical politicians, fathers who act like buffoons, soft-core

porn, growing levels of violence, and more—who’s producingprograms that will do for this generation the same thing that

The Lone Ranger and Adam 12 did for the last?

Sure, those old shows may be corny by our standardstoday, but that doesn’t mean the same vision, ideals, and prin-ciples couldn’t be celebrated with contemporary storytelling

Television and movies are more powerful that we canimagine Creators, writers, and producers—in our efforts to becutting edge, show reality, make a political statement, or pushthe boundaries—let’s not forget the impact we could havesimply by creating an example

There are a lot of kids out there watching and waiting, and

as the creatives shaping modern media, I think we all have a

calling to not only create but to inspire.

If They Can Do It…

At the National Religious Broadcasters Convention Irecently attended, I had the opportunity to meet Libby Stewartand Erika Filer Both young ladies are fourteen and in theeighth grade Unhappy with the focus they were seeing inmagazines and social media, they decided to create their ownaccount on Instagram for young teenage girls They’re called

“TheChristianGirls,” and when I met them, they had a few

thousand followers and were growing

But that wasn’t enough

They soon developed the account into a Christian teenagegirl magazine on the Instagram platform they call “Girl Talk.”They design their own magazine covers for each issue, D.I.Y.without any cover design app, and every other week they alter-nate writing the articles A signup sheet is posted on the

account, and the articles are sent via direct message to allwho subscribe

The bottom line is that while the rest of us “creative” typesare complaining that we don’t have big enough budgets, betterequipment, or more qualified people, here are two fourteen-year-old girls who have launched a teen girl magazine bymeans of a social media platform

I like to tell the creatives I work with to check them out andsee what these motivated teenagers are doing while we’resitting around waiting for our next big break I don’t knowabout you, but I’m keeping an eye out for Libby and Erika.They’re going to do something remarkable in the future, andthat both challenges and inspires me

It should serve as encouragement to all of us who create for

a living If these two girls, with very limited resources and rience, can be bold enough to stand up for what they believeand create something they and others want to read, we who’vemade careers in this industry can certainly do the same!

expe-The Foundry

So why don’t we? Why don’t we boldly launch out andcreate the types of compelling, engaging materials that we, andothers, want to read, watch, view, and enjoy? I believe that alltoo often, we’re waiting for everything to be perfect or for ourcircumstances to change

One of my favorite lines in film is when Orson Wellesvised a scene while playing Harry Lime in The Third Manin 1949:

impro-In Italy, for 30 years under the Borgias, they

had warfare, terror, murder, and bloodshed, but

they produced Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci,

and the Renaissance In Switzerland, they had

brotherly love, they had 500 years of democracy

and peace—and what did that produce? The

Cuckoo clock

As creatives, we work hard trying to create a perfect world

in which to work We want all the best tools and resources, theright team around us, and leaders who understand us Wewant people to be nice and supportive

But the truth is, when you look at the pantheon of artisticwork throughout the centuries, the greatest creativity was oftenexpressed in the midst of war, economic uncertainty, fear—orthrough the haze of addiction, mental illness, or abuse

Sure, great work has sometimes been done by rich people

in cushy circumstances or by normal people having a pleasantlife But when you compare that to the massive amount ofcreative work born from poverty, pain, frustration, and repres-sion, it doesn’t really balance

The lesson we should learn?

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For a creative person, the difficult

circumstances you’re going through

right now may be the greatest gift

you’ve ever received.

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So, work to make things better Rise up Do what you can

to relieve the pain But the truth is, pain is often the foundrywhere great creative work is formed

I know in my own life, times of fear, uncertainty, or painwere electric with possibilities I was forced to express myselfbecause there was no alternative Creating with no safety netcan be terrifying and exhilarating all at the same time.

English author Samuel Johnson said nothing focuses themind like a hanging

“When a man knows he is to be hanged in a fortnight, itconcentrates his mind wonderfully.”

When all the other options are gone, your creative horizonbecomes very apparent

It’s time for us to stop complaining and start creating

Don’t celebrate the obstacles; embrace them Realize that you

stand in a long line of creative men and women who brokethrough the barriers—no matter how challenging—and createdsomething for the ages

C H A P T E R 2

HOW TO OVERCOME THE BARRIERS TO

CREATION

Why do creative people make excuses? Why do we not live

up to our own expectations? I believe there are many reasons.But let’s delve into a few and talk about specific ways to over-come these creation barriers

Far too often, I see creatives give up projects (and even

careers) because they’re convinced they just don’t have the talent.

They say things like, “I wasn’t born with the gift of writing,”

or, “I’m not a good public speaker and never will be,” or, “I’mnot a born leader.”

It makes me want to ask, “If innate ability wasn’t a factor,what could you accomplish? What amazing things would youadd to the world if you simply possessed the talent?” Thinkabout it for a minute

The funny thing is, recent research has dramaticallydisproven the idea that talent is innate

A study in the journal Science by Sarah-Jane Leslie, aphilosopher at Princeton University, and Andrei Cimpian, apsychologist at the University of Illinois, was focused on whyfewer women and African-Americans were successful in certainfields The results of the study indicate that it isn’t a lack of

innate talent that prevents success; it’s actually a belief in the

talent myth that holds you back.

The study showed that in areas where people believedsuccess was due to intrinsic or innate ability, fewer women andAfrican-Americans made it into that field Their belief theylacked the talent for that field prevented their success

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Our beliefs, more than a lack of talent,

are what’s holding us back.

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So if science has pretty much abandoned the idea of innatetalent, why is it still such a strong and seductive cultural idea?Certainly you may need training, hard work, and years of trialand error to be a great writer, musician, or anything else But

if you mistakenly believe you don’t have talent at all, you’ll failfrom the start

I am not one of those people who say positive thinking canaccomplish anything, but this study does indicate that signifi-cant numbers of people fail simply because they don’t believe

in themselves or their abilities

So what would happen if you started believing in yourself?

Fear of Failure

Unfortunately, all too often our creative expressions die onthe table because we are too afraid of failure to fully embracethem Yet the honest fact is, failure happens

Back in 1985, one of the biggest brands in the world made

a colossal mistake when Coca-Cola rolled out New Coke It wasintroduced with big hopes because New Coke had actuallybeaten both Pepsi and Classic Coke in head-to-head tastetests But once it hit the market, it crashed Sales spiked atfirst because it was something novel and people were willing togive it a shot, but the nosedive soon followed

Kudos to the company, however Once they realized amistake had been made, they quickly turned the ship In onlyseventy-seven days, they re-stocked stores across the countrywith Coke Classic, and even followed up with an appearance

on TV by company president Donald Keough admitting theywere wrong

People were so happy with Coke’s quick response, salesand market share increased dramatically

Mistakes happen, even when all the research and planninglooks positive Amazing, creative ventures fall flat And whenthey do, we own up to our mistakes, make corrections, andtake responsibility

And then we try again

The Failure Fad

To lessen the threat of failure, I sometimes believe we gotoo far by making failure out to be a “good” thing

Social media seems flooded with quotes about how greatfailing is and how much it can teach us We read quotes such

as, “Failure is success if we learn from it,” by Malcolm Forbes

H Stanley Judd wrote, “Don’t be afraid to fail Don’t wasteenergy trying to cover up failure It’s ok to fail If you’re notfailing, you’re not growing.”

I don’t disagree with their sentiments Learning from failure

is important, and how you react to failure is critical However,the flood of so many “failure narratives” on the web makes mewonder if we’re getting the wrong message I hear young

leaders urging their teams to fail and talking about the fits of failure without inspiring their people toward success.

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It’s true that failure can teach us,

but it should never be our goal.

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Failure is only beneficial when we’re stretching, growing,over -reaching I prefer Ken Robinson’s perspective: “If you’renot prepared to be wrong, you’ll never come up with any-thing original.”

In other words, we must be prepared for things to gowrong Be ready for failure so it doesn’t derail your goals But

we don’t expect it We shouldn’t wallow in its benefits Most

importantly, we must not focus so much on failure that weforget what success looks like

Failure is always a risk for creative people, and I believeliving life to its fullest means being willing to take risks Butwhen it comes to the possibility of failure, I like what John

Green has to say: “What is the point of being alive if you don’t

at least try to do something remarkable?”

That simply means to focus more on the remarkable andless on the potential of failure Learn from failure when ithappens No, it isn’t fun, but we can learn from it—while westrive for success

We can’t let the fear of failure keep us frozen, unable tocreate We can embrace opportunities—seeking success butready, should we fail, to get back up and try again

The Difference Between a Failure

and a Screw-Up

Failures happen because we’re being creative, trying newthings, exploring new territory, or being bold In those cases,you’re often in uncharted waters, so failure happens When itdoes, we should learn from it—so it never happens again

Other the other hand, there are screw-ups Screw-upsoccur when we don’t prepare, aren’t flexible, don’t pay atten-tion, or don’t do our homework Screw-ups happen when weget lazy, forget our focus, don’t listen to advice, or cutcorners When screw-ups happen, there’s not a lot we canlearn from the experience because the mistake was obvious,and it was avoidable

I recently came across a great example of a screw-up:

Rolling Stone’s erroneous magazine story about campus gangrape at the University of Virginia While there’s plenty of skep-

ticism about the level of journalistic competence at Rolling

Stone, this story was inexcusable As described by

Reason.com:

It’s great that those who value truth and reason

finally won out over Rolling Stone, publisher of

2014’s most egregious example of dime store

fantasy journalism Through doing the things

Rol l i ng St one flatly failed to—elevating

fact-gathering over moral narratives; hunting down

info; asking awkward questions—bloggers,

jour-nalists, and, now, the Dean of the Columbia

School of Journalism successfully exploded the

myth of a gang rape at the University of Virginia

(UVA) in 2012.

A school was tarnished, lives were damaged, and tions were destroyed simply because a reporter had such anagenda that she failed to follow even the simplest requirements

reputa-of good journalism Needless to say, that was a grand, epicscrew-up

I don’t mind my team failing when they’re reaching for anew level, pioneering new ideas, or charting new territory If wefail at that, we can discuss it, track it, and learn from it Butit’s difficult and costly to repair the damage caused by makingavoidable mistakes

When we deal with the fear of failure, we can lay to rest alot of our worries by simply doing a good job and eliminatingavoidable mistakes How many creatives do you know whohave screwed-up, not because they tried greatly and the effortjust didn’t work, but because they made a mistake that couldeasily have been avoided? Some even experience a modicum ofsuccess but then can’t capitalize on it or make errors furtherdown the line It’s sad that many of these mistakes could’vebeen prevented

Build On Success

Living in Los Angeles, I’m constantly meeting people whohad a breakthrough moment sometime in their career Perhapsthey acted in a successful TV series, wrote a screenplay for anacclaimed movie, or published a bestselling book But afterthat success, they dropped off the radar, unable to keep themomentum going

Perhaps that’s happened to you Your past success mighthave been in business, the arts, media, or elsewhere, but when

it was over, you’ve never been able to get back into the game

Life is complex, and while there may be many reasons foryour detour, here are a few things to consider that might helpyou keep your career momentum moving forward:

‘ People skills are far more important than your skills

at your job There are plenty of gifted directors in

Hollywood and in TV commercials that no one wants todeal with because they can’t get along with anyone Be agreat writer, producer, actor, whatever—but never forgetthat relating to other people is critical Learn to inspirepeople, and you’ll become a magnet in the workplace

‘ Don’t get caught behind the curve Many people fall

behind because they can’t keep up with evolving nology, changes in the business, or new relationships.The teams we work with and the people we report tomay change, plus technology changes the way we doour jobs—uncertainty can’t be avoided You must makethe effort to keep up If you’re not sure how, read mybook, Jolt!

tech-‘ Stay aware of trends in the culture Movie producer

Ralph Winter once said that creating a successfulmovie isn’t about knowing what’s popular now It’s

about knowing what will be popular five years fromnow Writing a book, producing a movie, or launching abusiness takes time Will your subject still be timelywhen it actually hits the street?

‘ Be nice to people on the way up, because you’ll meet

most of them again on the way down Far too manypeople crash because of their arrogance when thingswere going well They are rude and inconsiderate, andguess what? People remembered And sure enough, onthe way down, people that could have helped walk awaybecause of how they were treated on your way up

‘ Don’t blameshift In other words, stop shifting blame

to everybody else If your career hits the rocks, takeresponsibility Even if it wasn’t your fault, blamingothers won’t help Nothing positive will happen untilyou take charge of your own life

‘ Take the long view I meet many people who are so

caught up in pitching their dream project that they stopworking on anything else Even if that project happens,once it’s over, they have no follow up Always have three

or four projects ready to create, pitch, or produce This

is harder than you think, but it’s absolutely critical.Nothing is worse than acquiring great success and thenhaving nothing in place to keep the momentum going.Even Oscar winners make this mistake, and it’s one ofthe quickest ways to becoming a has-been

I remember comedian Jerry Seinfeld remarking

about his career after coming off his massively

successful TV series He said he had a choice:

To continue being an artist, or be a star He

made the decision to be an artist and started

over again—getting out on the road and playing

comedy clubs Now he has a new online show

that’s incredibly popular and he’s more excited

creatively than ever

All because he was willing to see the long view

and keep working

Success is so hard to find Once you have it, stay

humble and do your best not to squander it

One Big Thing

When we are risking failure and seeking success, we canoften try to do too much; spreading our efforts too broad or notknowing what to focus on

My book, One Big Thing, asks a simple question: What were

you born to accomplish with your life? In it, I urge my readers

to stop being average at so many things and become nary at ONE BIG THING I think it’s vital that we discover what

extraordi-we extraordi-were put on the earth to do and allow it to revolutionize ourbusiness, ministry, and life

After years of working with major organizations, I’ve learnedsomething that’s true not only for them but for individuals as well:You’ll never get noticed for being “pretty good” at a lot of things.Today, you’ll only get noticed by being extraordinary at one big

thing The question is, What’s that one big thing for you?

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The question is,

What’s that one big thing for you?

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In our current distracted, digital culture, it’s harder thanever to identify your calling, get your voice heard, and achieveyour dreams What do you want to get on the radar? A movie?

A book? A business? A ministry? An app? A great cause?Whatever it is, to stand out and communicate that idea andmessage, you need to cut through the clutter and get noticed

Making that happen means focusing on the one thingthat drives you, inspires your passion, and separates youfrom the pack

If you’ve ever felt pulled in different directions

or wondered what to do with your varied talents

and interests, it’s time to discover the secrets

of living a life on purpose: rising above the

noise and leaving a lasting mark on the world.

When we do this, we overcome a massive barrier That’swhy my advice to creative professionals (or amateurs for thatmatter) is that it’s time to start doing the hard work instead ofrelying on the myth of innate talent When we choose to live life

to it’s fullest by being willing to take risks, avoid preventablemistakes, and build on our successes, we can positionourselves to make the most of our creative calling

However, we can do all of this and yet fail to identify thatwhich we are born to accomplish in life I can’t encourage youenough to take the time to find your one big thing When you

do, you will stand out as one who has conquered the barriers

to creation that tend defeating so many others

C H A P T E R 3

THE BEAUTY AND

CURSE OF DISTRACTION

In this high-pressure world that demands results andworships at the altar of productivity, distraction is an ever-present threat I don’t think I’m fully A.D.D., but I may be one

of the most easily distracted people on the planet My mindliterally races all the time From the moment I wake up to themoment I fall asleep, it’s going at light speed That means Irush through things, multi-task unnecessarily, and juggle waytoo much I’m a terrible driver because when behind the wheel,I’m thinking of something else What’s worse, no matter whatI’m doing at the moment, I usually feel guilty that I’m not doingsomething more important

If wrestling with my daily priorities is one of my biggestchallenges, then dealing with distractions is a close second

It’s a terrible way to live.

We face more distractions than ever these days Hardly amoment of the day goes by when we don’t have a mobile device

offering us the ever-present suggestion—if not demand—to bedistracted When we’re supposed to be working, we’rebombarded with emails, phone calls, Internet sites, ads, and ahundred other things that fray our attention, leaving us verybusy but getting nothing done.

More and more solid research indicates that when wemultitask our work suffers We’ve become the most highlydistracted culture in the history of the world, and it’s damag-ing personal relationships, hurting our work, and limiting what

we can accomplish

And, as it turns out, the most creative may be even moresusceptible to distraction than others

Distraction and the Creative Brain

Over the last years, more and more books have beenpublished that deal with how creative people handle thedistractions of modern living in a hi-tech age Maria Popovaover at Brain Pickings recently reviewed the book, The Creative Brain: The Science of Genius by neuroscientist NancyAndreasen Toward the end of her review, she mentioned therelationship between creative people and distraction:

Creative people, Andreasen notes, can be more

easily overwhelmed by stimuli and become

distracted Some of the writers in her study,

upon realizing they had a tendency to be too

sociable, employed various strategies for

keeping themselves isolated from human contact

for sizable stretches of time in order to create.

(Victor Hugo famously locked away all his

clothes to avoid the temptation of going out while

completing The Hunchback of Notre Dame in

1830, which he wrote at his desk wearing

nothing but a large gray shawl.)

I can, on good authority, recommend against Hugo’s nique, especially if you work in an office However, thistendency to be easily distracted is not just a curse in this age

tech-of technology Maria Popova goes on to say that thoughcreatives may be more prone to distraction, we are the bearers

of a great gift:

And yet for all its capacity to overwhelm, the

creative mind remains above all a spectacular

blessing: Our ability to use our brains to get

“outside” our relatively limited personal

perspec-tives and circumstances, and to see something

other than the ‘objective’ world, is a powerful gift.

Many people fail to realize that they even have

this gift, and most who do rarely use it.

The question for us becomes, “What will we do with this giftwe’ve been given?”

Hope for Distracted Creatives

“So is there hope for me short of trading my iPhone for aflip phone and hiding my clothes?” you may be wondering Theshort answer: yes

The long answer is that just because a neuroscientistconfirms you really are more easily distracted than otherpeople, you do not get a free pass to chase shiny objects If youwant to be a successful creative in a world full of distractions,it’s time to create some routines and strategies that will help

you channel your distraction into a positive purpose (If you’rechecking your Twitter feed while reading this, you may beexactly the type of person who needs this the most.)

I want to let you in on an important secret:

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It’s not the most talented or gifted creatives who achieve success;

it’s the ones who’ve created a disciplined

routine for getting things done.

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Remember, I may be one of the most distracted peoplearound (and I think my daughter Bailey may have inheritedthis terrible trait from me), so as you read these suggestions,understand if I can do this, you can too

‘ I’ve turned off the “notifications” on all programs, including email, task lists, and calendar Now I’m not

interrupted by those little numbers popping up to tell

me I have a new whatever

‘ I’m trying to only check email a few times a day I

formerly checked it about 50+ times a day, completelydestroying any efficiency or momentum in my work

‘ I write in a room with the shades pulled (Extreme, I

know, but I’m distracted by anything that moves Atleast I’m wearing clothes.)

‘ I’m having my assistant block my mornings—no phone calls or appointments whenever possible—so

I can focus on writing and creative work.

‘ I’m trying to cut down on interruptions at the office I return phone calls or schedule meetings in

blocks so they don’t interrupt other parts of my day.Research varies, but different studies indicate thatwhen we’re interrupted at work, it takes 25-40 minutes

to get back to the same level of concentration we hadbefore the interruption

‘ I’m trying really hard to be “in the moment” with everything I do When I’m in meetings, on the phone, or

having coffee with a friend, I’m focusing on that moment.

Believe me, this is hard But it’s also important

Are Distractions Always A Bad Thing?

To be fair I need to mention that certain distractions canactually help creativity The fact is, you can’t sit at a desk or in

a meeting for hours on end without some type of break I used

to shoot baskets in the driveway outside my home office tobreak the routine, and now that I have a granddaughter, you’lloften find me pushing her stroller around the block in themiddle of the day

You’ll notice what I didn’t include: email, social media, andother distractions They rarely help because they’re too similar

to what you’re already doing But taking a walk around theblock, shooting a few baskets, or simply playing with a Slinkycan often switch your thinking enough to kick-start new ideas

That’s why, if you come by my office, you will see that I stilllove toys and gadgets Sometimes gadgets spark creativity.That’s why you’ll find a Slinky, Yo-Yo, or squishy rubber ball

on the desk of many creative professionals

The Wall Street Journalrecently reported that “researchers

at NYU are studying how forty workers use various gadgets,from infant chew toys to Slinkys, gobs of adhesive putty, andballpoint pens to help focus, ease anxiety, and jump-startcreative thinking, says Michael Karlesky, a doctoral student atNYU’s engineering school.”

The report goes on to say:

Certain kinds of hand movements have an

impact on cognitive functioning, improving focus

or sparking fresh thinking or faster learning,

according to several recent studies Researchers

at New York University’s Polytechnic School of

Engineering are exploring how fiddling with desk

gadgets might yield some of those benefits on the

job The research holds clues to how people who

feel restless or confined by computer work might

find the physical stimulation and stress release

they need in behavior that they would have been

scolded for in elementary school—fidgeting.

I loved reading that, because it finally gives me license tofeel better as a life-long fidgeter It also begs the question ofyou: What gadgets are on your desk, or what physical distrac-tions do you use to give your creative day a shot in the arm?

The Blessing of the Unexpected

In our obsession to manage distractions, we should never forget that some interruptions are not distractions

at all The New Testament book of Mark, Chapter 10, tells the

story of Bartimaeus, a blind beggar As Jesus and his followerswalked by, he cried out for Jesus to have pity on him For

Jesus’ disciples, he was an insignificant blind man who theyconsidered a distraction They most likely tried to shut him upand keep the group moving because they had more importantthings to accomplish.

But for Jesus, Bartimaeus was an interruption worth ping for Jesus took the time to call him over…and changed theman’s life forever

stop-The question is, “What are the ‘good’ distractions you’remissing in your relentless pursuit of productivity?” If you work

a flexible schedule, do you make the most of it and get out tosee the world beyond your computer? When working at homeand your child barges into the office with a treasure, do youtake the time to make a priceless memory? What about thenew employee in the office who has questions you can answer;

do you stop to help?

Chances are, we all see “distractions” like these everyday, and because of our drive to stay productive, we fail tonotice them

You could probably define my life as being filled with

“unexpected events”—a.k.a distractions So much so that Ibelieve many of the best things I’ve experienced in life, I discov-

ered on the road to something I thought was “better.” In this

age of hyper-productivity, we set goals and then lock our eyes

on the end result until it’s achieved But in the process, we

often miss serendipitous things that occur along the journey.

Some of these “distractions” have shaped my life

I was a gymnast and track guy in high school andcompeted in both sports at the state level As a result, I hadmultiple athletic scholarships offered to me from East Coastuniversities But my dad suggested I attend a “collegeweekend” just to see the campus of Oral Roberts University in

Tulsa, Oklahoma I went just to make him happy, but theexperience that weekend completely changed my thinking

about college At the time, ORU didn’t even have the sports I

excelled in But that seemingly random experience changed thedirection of my life when I ditched the athletic plans andenrolled at ORU

I started college as a music major, until I met a friend in thedorm that introduced me to the film department Although Ihad made amateur movies with friends in high school, media

as a career never crossed my mind—until the professor playedone of my high school era films to his class When they started

discussing it, the thought occurred to me that if I can do things

with a camera that make people talk, then this is what I’m supposed to do with my life.

I never looked back

One night I attended an evening church service on campus,and by chance I sat next to the most beautiful girl I’d ever seen.She was wearing a hot pink corduroy pantsuit with white

patent leather platform shoes (this was 1973) I was smitten,

and that student—Kathleen Paille—eventually became my wife

The first time I ever spoke publicly was at a conferencewhere a speaker’s flight was canceled I had been volunteeringbehind the scenes, and since I was standing there they asked

if I could step in and take his place on a panel discussion Itwas completely unexpected, but today I regularly speak tothousands of people at conferences, seminars, and otherevents around the world

Career choices, friends, spiritual moments—I could go onand on with events that happened out of the blue and yet had

a profound impact on my life And unfortunately I meet peopleall the time who are so focused and “productive” they miss out

on remarkable things that seem to come from out of nowhere

Remember in John 4 Jesus was on the way to Galilee, but

as he passed through Samaria he met a woman at a well andtransformed her life The disciples missed this “distraction”entirely, but Jesus saw the blessing in the unexpected

Keep in mind the difference between an “unexpectedmoment” and the pull to escape the difficult work of creating

by checking an email or posting on social media There’s a bigdifference in being open to unforeseen events and beingaddicted to the cult of “productivity.”

Focus and work hard toward your goals But never lose sight

of the unexpected moments that can change everything Afterall, one of these days we may find out that it was those seem-ingly random moments that should have been our goal all along

I was drafted into the productivity cult a long time ago Ihave three different to-do list apps on my computer, iPhone,and iPad I have about six different calendar apps I’ve experi-mented with roughly twenty different online productivity suitesfor our Cooke Picturesteam And I’ve read David Allen’s books

(the holy scriptures of the productivity movement) and plenty

of others

The truth is, there’s something to be said for being ized While I’m not a fanatic, I do believe that if you’re spend-ing all your time searching for documents, clippings, books,files, or other materials it directly takes away from your valu-able creative time

organ-But I’ve met more and more people who seem obsessed

with simply being busy I noticed it long before the computer

age Early in my career, I worked with a guy who spent the firsthour or two of his morning just getting his to-do list down Itwas a work of art—organized with nice lines and boxes to bechecked He constantly told everyone how “busy” he was

The only problem? He rarely ever accomplished anything

significant He was simply too busy keeping his to-do list up

to date.

There’s something even more sinister about the ity movement It’s the attitude that if you’re not busy, you’renot accomplishing anything As a result, I have friends who

productiv-don’t talk about accomplishment; they constantly talk about

“being busy.”

Me: “Hi, what are you doing?”

Friend: “Oh, you know—just staying busy!”

Me: “Did you have a good day today?”

Friend: “No—I have so much to do, I barely

scratched the surface.”

So what is it about busyness that is so appealing?

Writer Tom Kreider puts it this way:

Busyness serves as a kind of existential

reassur-ance, a hedge against emptiness; obviously your

life cannot possibly be silly or trivial or

meaning-less if you are so busy… I can’t help but wonder

whether all this histrionic exhaustion isn’t a way

of covering up the fact that most of what we do

doesn’t matter.

Maybe it’s time we worried less about being

busy and more about being significant.

W

But then again, significance takes deep thought, focus, and

reflection And in today’s distracted world, it’s probably easier

A more accurate account of what happens when

we tell ourselves we’re multitasking is that we’re

rapidly switching between activities, degrading

our clarity and depleting our mental energy And

the consequences can be surprisingly serious An

experiment conducted at the University of

London found that we lose as many as ten IQ

points when we allow our work to be interrupted

by seemingly benign distractions like emails and

text messages.

Friedman also says, “Shifting our attention from one task

to another, as we do when we’re monitoring email while trying

to read a report or craft a presentation, disrupts our tration and saps our focus.” And all these distractions taketheir toll on your productivity He cites a University ofCalifornia-Irvine study that indicates trying to get back to youroriginal momentum after these interruptions can take morethan twenty minutes So how many of these interruptions does

concen-it take to completely ruin your day?

Multitasking—as in checking email, listening to music,watching TV, or talking to a friend when you work—is a disaster

Sure, you tell me you can handle it It makes you more

creative Nope When I was writing my book, One Big Thing: Discovering What You Were Born to Do,I researched everything

I could find about multitasking To date, I haven’t found asingle study that indicates multitasking helps you do anythingpositive It only helps you do many things badly

Focus—that’s the word for the week.

Just Checking

A few years ago, I had a friend who was always “working.”

He constantly talked about how busy he was and how muchwork he had to do He never had time to see movies, go out todinner, or do much else because he told everyone he wasalways “working.” So, one day I started watching him Imanaged to get myself into a position to actually see what hewas doing on the computer I didn’t invade his privacy—Icouldn’t see his actual messages or what he wrote—but I couldget an idea of his daily routine