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Tell me if these scenarios sound familiar to you:

Dani took a job that made her feel like a sellout, just for the money. She felt ashamed.
 
Srini’s greatest success turned into a failure that had him contemplating suicide.
 
Sarah took a huge risk in her career, and got laid off months later. With three kids to provide for, she had just weeks to find a solution.
 
Andrew felt stuck and completely burned out by his work. He had to find his purpose again.

Each of these people risked. And they failed. In the process, some or all of them experienced confusion, regret, and a deep-seated feeling that they put those they love at risk. Why? Simply because they wanted to follow their passion to do creative work they loved.

I’ll bet there isn’t a week that goes by where you don’t reflect on a dream you have with your creative work, a dream that feels inaccessible because of your other responsibilities.

You may think to yourself:

“How can I possibly be so selfish to write, when I have to feed my kids and pay the mortgage?”
 
“One day, when everything settles down, I’ll have the time to do my art.”
 
“I should have started crafting when I was younger, when I still had a chance to succeed.”

These are thoughts that we all have with an incredible consistency. These aren’t thoughts that can be solved with a simple motivational poster featuring a cat who is “Just hanging in there!”

This is the day-to-day reality for nearly every creative professional — and aspiring creative professional — I have ever spoken with.

Those scenarios up top? With Dani, Sarah, Andrew, and Srini? There is another side to the story. The side we often focus on first and only:

Dani is a multiple bestselling author who Oprah has featured on her show. She writes full time, and has an enormous fan base.
 
Srini signed a two-book deal with Penguin’s Portfolio imprint, and runs a wildly successful podcast with thousands of subscribers.
 
Sarah turned being laid off from her job as an impetus to write and publish her book and relaunch her (successful) consulting business.
 
Andrew made millions as an entrepreneur and has freedom to live where he wants and how he wants. He is now 100% focused on his singular vision for his life’s work.

These four people don’t face any fewer challenges than you do, yet they found ways to clarify and prioritize their creative work.

To do so, they had to battle the four biggest challenges that stand in their way; things common to so many of us:

1. You can’t prioritize what matters most because you are drowning in distraction. Not just social media and email, but real responsibilities such as kids, money, job, health and relationships.
2. There is never enough time, regardless of how many time management books you read and productivity hacks you follow. The hours, the days, the weeks, and the months slip away with your creative work amounting to nothing more than a date you can never seem to show up for.
3. You have tried again and again to make creative habits stick, and failed every time. The processes you read about seemed to suited to others who have wildly different responsibilities than you do.
4. You struggle to feel you have permission to do creative work. Most weeks, it feels impossible to balance all of the emotional, psychological, and physical demands on you. Making time for your art or craft seems selfish.

These are universal problems standing between you and doing the work you love.

In the past few days, I shared deep conversations with successful creative professionals, digging into the reality of what it takes to succeed while managing the four challenges above.

In the next couple of weeks I want to explore how we can find solutions for these challenges. Watch for that.

In the meantime, I would love for you to comment below and let me know one thing:

If you knew you couldn’t fail, what is the one thing you would like to accomplish with your creative work?

Thank you.
-Dan

This week is The Creative Clarity Summit, an online event focused battling distraction so that you can find the clarity to craft amazing work.

Below is the schedule and a detailed list of what you will learn at the event, but you have to register (it’s free!) to access.

Each day, three videos are released, and you have 5 days to watch them.

While doing so, I would encourage you to share what you learn, and your own challenges, via the hashtag #ClaritySummit on Twitter. I’ll be there all week, answering your questions.

Day 1 – Tuesday, January 12th

Dani Shapiro

• The power of boundaries in creating time to write
• One simple trick for granting yourself permission to write
• Solid habits that lead to the habit of writing
• Being an introvert and still managing a thriving writing career
• Why waiting for inspiration is a fallacy

Dawna Ballard

• Why most people give up control of time without realizing it, and how to take it back
• How the concept of “chronemic literacy” can reshape your daily life
• Why the concept “balance” in terms of time management is doomed to failure
• The false ways technology drives our perception of time

Marc Johns

• How being smartphone-less eliminates distraction
• Creating a bank of ideas to keep inspiration flowing
• How Marc’s wife is his creative “secret weapon”
• The transition from well-paid manager to work-at-home artist
• Working from home while raising kids and supporting an artist spouse

Day 2 – Wednesday, January 13th

Jacquette M. Timmons

• The pitfalls of allowing self-worth and identity to be tied to money
• How fear leads to poor choices about how we spend our time
• Emotional triggers and how they affect decision-making
• What a healthy relationship with money looks like
• Taking control so that money doesn’t drive bad decisions

Jocelyn K. Glei

• Impact of technology on long-term creative achievement
• The key trait common to every successful person she has met
• Why (and how) to plan for distraction and get control over it
• “Holistic productivity” vs. shortcuts and hacks
• Brain chemistry and distraction

Andrew Warner

• Greatness isn’t achieved through hacks and tricks
• Why most people can’t achieve “runners high” at work
• Breaking large tasks into smaller steps to work more efficiently
• How moving to a remote location benefitted family and work
• A simple cure for burnout, and developing a renewed purpose

Day 3 – Thursday, January 14th

Samantha Hahn

• Getting comfortable with discomfort while building a creative career
• Values as a cornerstone for building a family AND a creative career
• The art of serving clients and still carving out time for creative projects
• The attitude working artists need in order to stay focused and relevant
• The healthy habit of getting outdoors

Sarah Bray

• Using a job layoff as the impetus for completing a book project
• Resisting the urge to chase after money during a career transition
• Making room on the calendar for inspiration, opportunity, and growth
• How managing for freedom feeds her enthusiasm for work
• How collaboration can raise the quality of craft

Srini Rao

• Why all truly prolific creators are all driven by habit
• Three simple evening habits for waking up ready to write
• “Activation energy” and how it encourages creative work
• Mental health issues and why we need to talk about them
• Staying motivated by appreciating “small wins”

Thank you so much!
-Dan

I’ll bet your creative work gets sidelined because you don’t have enough time, and are constantly distracted throughout the week.

That is exactly what I hear from hundreds of people just like you, those trying to write, create art, and develop their big vision.

Well, my team and I invited a group of successful creative professionals to help you out — to show you how they find the time and the clarity to craft amazing work. Please join us next week for The Creative Clarity Summit.

This is what you need to know:

• This is a completely free online event, but you have to register to be a part of it.
• Next Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday you will be given access to three sessions with these amazing speakers.
• Even if you can’t make time to watch on those days, don’t worry, I will send you limited-time access to the recordings.
• I know you are busy (that’s the point of the event!), so we are making recordings of all videos available to registrants for 5 days. If you sign up now, you will have access to the videos from the event date, right through the following weekend.

This should give you plenty of time to dig into some of the life-changing insights you will learn:

• How to dismiss shortcuts and hacks and embrace “holistic productivity”.
• Why (and how) to conquer distraction so that you can get control of it.
• How to increase your creative productivity by leveraging “activation energy”.
• A simple cure for burnout, and developing a renewed purpose.
  Specific ways to turn your limits into creative triggers.
• A tool that allows you to create a bank of ideas that keeps inspiration flowing.
• How to find more time for “white space” that encourages creative work.
• … and so much more.

If anything here resonates, schedule at least one hour to review the interview you are most excited about.

I can’t wait for you to meet each of these speakers:

• Dani Shapiro – bestselling author, who Oprah (and many others) love.
• Marc Johns – a successful artist who built his entire career via social media (and wonderfully whimsical drawings.)
• Dawna Ballard – a scholar who researches the intersection of time, work, and communication.
• Andrew Warner – an entrepreneur who realized his dream of becoming “filthy rich,” then turned around and helped thousands of others realize their dreams.
• Samantha Hahn – an illustrator and author whose A-MAZ-ING work has been gobbled up by clients such as Marc Jacobs, Assouline, Glamour, Marie Claire, the Paris Review and many others.
• Sarah Bray – who not only crafts a human-centered approach to making and marketing, but does so while homeschooling three kids. She’s basically Wonder Woman.
• Srini Rao – is an online media creator, who just turned the stories he curates into a two book deal with Penguin’s Portfolio imprint.
• Jocelyn K. Glei – an author who blew my mind with in how she explained how our brain chemistry is wired for distraction, and then shared amazingly practical insights to counteract them.
• Jacquette M. Timmons – a financial behaviorist who connects how our emotions around money causes extraordinary distraction in our lives.

You do not want to miss this.

Lastly, please consider sharing this on Twitter, Facebook, and via email.

Thank you.
-Dan

I recently I offered a rare opportunity to join me in a Mastermind group. For those who joined, I showed them behind the scenes of how I manage creative work, and each person within it crafted their own plan for 2016. What’s more, we worked as a group to ensure everyone was accountable to moving ahead with their own work — to reaching a point of momentum.

It turns out, this is one of the most powerful things I have ever offered — the feedback has been off the charts amazing:

“Participating with like-minded people who feel it is never too late to grow and learn, has lit a fire under me. This Mastermind is filled with energy, encouragement, and humor. There is no pussyfooting around – we are putting the pedal to the metal!”

“I feel fresh and like I am entering a new world with all of this! I’m realizing that it’s not about getting to everything, but instead, to get to what’s most important.”

“I just have to say, I completed two tasks this week that I should have done a year ago. I’m loving this Mastermind, and its energy and momentum. This is so exhilarating!”

“Working together in the mastermind on each of our plans is proving to be greater than the sum of our individual parts. Things really are falling into place.”

“Thanks to everyone in the Mastermind, you allowed me to hold myself accountable and overcome a major blockage. You’ve inspired me to keep going. My Mastermind planning has given me a sense of direction that I’ve never had before.”

“This Mastermind has proven to be transformative for me, I’m feeling the momentum and joy. Thank you!”

“I have found that once you open up the channel to new ideas, they just keep coming! Another one just gobsmacked me this morning — a BIG one, but I think I’m up to tackling it. I’m working fast and furious, and the process has been so enlightening. This is such a generous, creative and supportive group.”

Bottom line: those who joined have found a renewed clarity in their creative work, and a solid roadmap for moving forward.

So I am opening up 5 additional spots to join this Mastermind in the first quarter of 2016. If you are a writer, artist, designer, crafter, entrepreneur, or someone whose work is not just about earning money, but about creating something special that will enrich the lives of others — this may be for you.

It’s called the Creative Action Mastermind, and full details can be found here. This program isn’t for everyone, but I wanted to let you know.

Thanks!
-Dan