Introduction

Motivation.

Want more of it?

Of course you do.

Motivation is the not-so-secret sauce to getting closer to what you want.

Sure, you can dream and plan and plot, but without the motivation to see a
goal through, all of your wild ambitions can feel stalled—or worse, like
they’re nowhere to be found.

You need motivation to blow past the roadblocks that arrive in every shape,
size, and form. These barriers can halt a new project before it even gets off
the ground. Maybe your roadblock is internal, like a negative voice that
pops up in your head every time you attempt something new. Maybe your
block is tied to envy, and you’re intimidated by other people achieving
goals that look just like yours. Or maybe your block shows up because you
feel powerless—like there’s never enough time, energy, or money to stay on
track.

All of these blocks are valid (and valuable) signals. And rather than
pretending they don’t exist, you can harness tools that will help you
understand and untangle every one. I trust that these tools work because
I’ve used them myself, and they helped me develop from an insecure and
indecisive writer who loved to procrastinate into one who’s no longer afraid
of sharing her work and reaching for the biggest possible dreams.

The process starts by finding out what motivates you—not your coworker,
your neighbor, or the valedictorian of your high school class. Once you get
going, you will learn how to build momentum, push past hurdles, finish
what you started, and look to the future.
You’re seeking change. Perhaps you’re switching careers. Or embarking on
a challenging work or creative project. Or you simply want to explore new
ideas that make you feel less bored and more alive every single day.

Whatever your goal, isn’t it time to get inspired?

Welcome to your guide for starting, finishing, and—most of all—doing it

for yourself.

Let’s begin.
What do you want?

This is one of those questions that fall under the “simple to ask, tricky to
answer” category. Clearly, you want to find the motivation for something.
So what is that big, shiny thing? Is it something related to your career? Your
personal life? A hobby you’re about to begin?

Think about it. Hold it in your mind. Say it out loud: I want
_________________________________________.
(Nobody’s watching you, I promise.)

Now, here is the all-important follow-up: Why? Why do you want it? Do
you want to make more money? Do you want a sense of fulfillment? Do
you want to quit your day job? Your reason should be as personal and
specific as possible. Maybe you want to stretch your abilities, become self-
sufficient, shake up your routine, or prove something to yourself.

Your why is crucial—it’s the thread tying you to your future. Take a
moment now to pick your target. This is a relaxed time, full of freedom, of
preparing and percolating. Then, use the following exercises to help create
the spark to light you up and go after it.
Is fear holding you back from beginning?
Fear is often tied to the perceived impossibility of an end goal, one that’s
too overwhelming to believe you can accomplish. So let’s not think about
the end just yet. Let’s consider the present.

What is the tiniest step you can take to start? Think about it—and give
yourself a deadline for when it will be done.

See? You’re starting.

Tiny step 1:

Deadline:
Creating an anchor, mantra, or mission statement to
come back to can keep you calm and focused.
Instead of thinking about what you want, act as if you have already
achieved it. Instead of saying I want (as in I want to be a writer or I want to
run my own business) change the thought to I am (I am a writer and I am an
entrepreneur).

Write down your new anchor ten times and say it to yourself at set
points throughout the day. (Right when you wake up is a good time.)
Creating a vision board can help you gain clarity on
the people, places, and things you want in your
world.
So let’s make a vision board, but with words. Cover a piece of paper
with phrases that represent the life you want to lead.
We all have hidden talents. What is one thing you
suspect you might be good at, but have never tried?
Share that thing with someone and explain why you haven’t tried it yet.
What (or who) supports the pursuit of your project?
Maybe your day job gives you flexibility and income, or a significant other
is providing emotional encouragement.

Acknowledge everything you are grateful for now, as you start this
process.
You don’t have to wait to see what lies ahead, you
can plan it now.
Write your own Wikipedia entry from the future: Detail what’s already
happened, and go far into what’s to come, spanning your entire life and
career.

Dream big, and think about how your current project connects to that
dream. How will it help get you there?
Challenges spring up at the start of any project, but
many of them come from overactive imaginations.
Our brains predict what might be difficult. So beat your brain to it.

Make a list of everything that could be a problem. Then add a star next
to every item that doesn’t have a solution. You might be surprised by
what you find.
Name three notable people you admire.
They should be your heroes in some way.

Now consider your own skills and interests. In what ways do you overlap
with these people? Perhaps you have the same sense of style, the same level
of ambition, or a similar background.

Find one trait that connects you with each hero.

See, you have more in common with greatness than you realize.
Jealousy is a major enemy of creativity.
Don’t let this energy-sucking monster hurt your progress.

It’s time to get it all out. Write down everything and everyone who
inspires envy in you and leave them all on the piece of paper.
What’s itching your brain right now?
Do you keep thinking about returning to your photography practice,
following up with a friend who offered to read your work, or learning a new
language?

These itches are gut feelings that only grow more persistent with time.

Let’s chronicle yours: When did you first get the itch? Try to recall the
specific time, date, or event. How often have you thought about it
since?
When was the last time you bounded out of bed,
excited for your day?
Get very specific about what gave you that energy: an important meeting, a
fresh idea, an imminent deadline?

How can you re-create that feeling today?

There are millions of people out in the world racking
up accomplishments. But you can choose whether
they inspire you—or make you envious.
Instead of wasting time thinking about a nemesis who has everything
you want, write a fan letter to someone you admire.

And when you’re finished, consider reaching out.

There are an incredible 1,440 minutes in a day.
Many of your minutes are already accounted for, but if you can find even a
few extra ones, they can help chip away at your goal. I believe you can.

Where can you find some time to spare? Can you commit ten minutes
to your project today? Or even five?

How will you use those minutes?

Decision fatigue is real. There’s a giant benefit to
finding a few choices you can simplify.
Maybe you can embrace a uniform at work so you don’t have to debate
your outfit as often. Or you can eat the same breakfast to minimize
decision-making.

Name three tasks you feel slow you down every morning, then try to
come up with one solution for each of them.
No book originates as a New York Times bestseller,
and no revolutionary business is founded overnight.
You never see anyone’s first attempt (and no one has to see yours). So
what’s there to lose?

Begin a first draft of anything you wish.

Where are you now?

Maybe you’re having a really productive day—or a productive week—and

you’re dominating your work, getting everything done, somehow even
juggling last-minute errands. But it can feel impossible to run at the same
pace forever. How can you keep this up and not get caught in a slump?

Or perhaps you’re at the beginning stages of what feels like a good routine,
and you don’t want to mess anything up. How can you continue your
progress and not flame out?

These feelings are understandable. You want to grab on tightly to what’s

working and leave the rest behind. How do you do it? Here’s a clue: The
ability to maintain your enthusiasm for a new project or practice usually
comes from a carefully executed plan.

You can structure your momentum by giving yourself boundaries, progress

reports, and check-ins. The following tools will help clarify your ideas,
develop positive routines, and cultivate even more anticipation and
excitement for your future.

It’s time to seize what lies ahead.

Why do some good days feel effortless?
They don’t happen by magic—which means you can make them happen
more often.

Make a list of all the activities that would occur during your ideal day
of working and creating, whether that’s brainstorming, collaborating,
reading, or something else.

Then, circle the actions you have control over.

You now have a recipe for re-creating your ideal day.

Are you ignoring your intuition?
Think of an occasion where you paid close attention to that little voice that
told you “go left” when the rest of the world was saying “go right.” What
happened? Now think of another occasion where you didn’t listen to that
voice: What happened then?

Get very quiet—and honest. What is your intuition telling you about
your project right now?
Every day, we try to minimize risk—it’s easier to not
do something hard. Yet that mind-set can keep us
living small lives.
To expand, you must leap. And to leap, you must start by asking for help.

What do you need right now? Advice? An extra pair of eyes? A

mentor?

Think of someone who might be able to help, and ask that person for a
small favor today.
Are you a compliment acceptor or a compliment
deflector?
An acceptor gratefully takes positive feedback with a simple “Thank you,”
while a deflector might respond with little jabs of self-criticism: “I had a lot
of help” or “Oh, you don’t really mean that.”

What is the last compliment you received? Recall the details and share
whether you believe the praise to be true.
You deserve success. You deserve happiness. You
deserve love. You deserve a life lived in Technicolor,
filled with everything you can imagine.
That’s what I think you deserve. What do you think you deserve?
Every email or tweet you send, every hi to a stranger
or “Hey, love your work!” is the seed of a future
opportunity.
You don’t know which ones will grow, so you simply have to plant them
all. And then wait.

Which seeds will you deploy today?

You absorb the emotions and energies of people
around you, whether you want to or not.
If you’re surrounded by people who suck up energy (the drains), you might
become a drainer, too. But when you’re near energy-giving people (the
fountains), you begin to give more.

Name the three most positive people you know. Think of ways to spend
more time with them, whether by setting up a coffee date, kickstarting a
new project together, or just talking more often to bask in their good energy.
Can you feel it?
That all-encompassing it contains the success you’re seeking, the finish line
you can barely see, and the drive to get you there. It’s the complete and
unwavering belief that you are going to make it, no matter what.

Can you feel it?

Reveal what it feels like.

What if your main goal wasn’t to finish or to just get
by—what if your main goal was excellence?
Describe what a day of striving for excellence would look like for you.

What’s the first thing you would do in the morning?

How can you push yourself during one midday task?

Finally, what nighttime ritual would set up tomorrow for excellence, too?
Do you need more time?
Think you can spare a moment for what I call One Creative Minute?

Grab your phone or look at the clock, and set a timer for a single,
solitary minute. When the timer starts ticking, draw something—
anything—on a piece of paper.

Don’t stop until the minute is up. Then look at what you’ve done.
A state of flow arrives when you’re working at the
edge of your capabilities—you’re paddling, but
haven’t waded into the deep end. Time seems to stop
altogether.
When is the last time you experienced flow? What were you doing? List
everything. (Essential ingredients for me are a looming deadline, a
challenging task, and the absence of distractions.)

Can you give yourself the space—and ingredients—to find your flow
again?
Who always sees you in a positive light?
Is it a grandparent, teacher, sibling, or close friend? Their beliefs about you
are probably more accurate than your own—it’s difficult to see our own
strengths, so use this person as a mirror.

What qualities do you think they see in you? Write down all the words
you believe they would use to describe you to a stranger.
I love an easy win. Don’t you?
An easy win is a small but manageable goal that you completely crush. (I’m
thinking of things like arriving ten minutes early to a meeting or packing a
healthy lunch or not pushing off important emails until the end of the day.)

Knocking out a bunch of easy wins can make you feel confident and in
control.

Which ones can you rack up?

Think back to the busiest time in your life—a period
when you truly felt stretched to your limits. What
were you balancing?
Write down a few words for each obligation (for example: Q3 work
project, four midterms in one week, or caring for an ill family member).

Now, how did you manage it all? Remember the solutions that helped you.
Are you able to repurpose them for this phase in your life?
Your name has just been called. Everyone around you
is jumping up and down in full celebration mode.
You’re being whisked onstage.
Now you’re standing in front of your peers and your idols, accepting the
highest award in the land.

You blink against the lights. Your mouth opens. What will you say?
Why did you stop?

Everything was going great. You were moving forward. You were feeling
optimistic. And then . . . the inevitable and unavoidable happened. A
rejection. A roadblock. An awful day, week, or month. It’s so easy to get
knocked off your path, no matter how clearly defined it seemed earlier.
During these pain points it’s tempting to hit pause or even think about
quitting altogether.

Who would know?

Who would care?

What’s the point?

But you would know. You would care. And the point is finishing what you
started. I promise that these frustrating setbacks can actually be stepping
stones and opportunities to break new ground. Seriously. You can transform
these moments of crisis into a rich foundation for new ideas—and reach the
next level in your process. Because you’re not a person who is content with
standing still, and you’re not about to move backward, right? So let’s figure
out how to move forward once again.
Routines are good. Ruts are not. How can you switch
up your morning routine today?
You don’t have to upend everything—simply taking a different route, eating
an out-of-the-ordinary breakfast, or listening to a new podcast can give you
a fresh perspective.

Think of some ways you can shake up your schedule and try one out
every day this week. Check back in and share how each one made you
feel.
What is the most outlandish, uncharacteristic thing
you could ever do?
Something that would make your closest friend say, “Who are you?!”

And what is one reward you would receive if you actually did it?
Have you been procrastinating doing something for
months?
Articulate your biggest fear connected to that thing.
Is it fear of failure, fear of success, fear of feeling dumb, fear of not
finishing? Some other kind of fear?

Do you think that fear is valid? Why or why not?

Finally, do that thing.

Right now. Go.
Changing your mind-set starts by changing your
environment.
Small tweaks make a big difference: lighting a candle, buying a plant,
moving around furniture, or hanging a motivational message where you can
see it often.

Do any of your physical spaces feel stagnant? How can you improve
them ever so slightly?
Reflect on the last rejection you received, whether it
was personal or work related.
How did it make you feel? Angry? Defeated? Emboldened? Did it contain
any elements of truth?

Sometimes making progress is a numbers game—you have to try, try, try

again. What is one way you can try again?
Pssst. Nobody is watching you. I know that seems
hard to believe, but it’s true.
If you’re late releasing your project into the world, or feel like you’ve
screwed up, I’m here to tell you . . . people aren’t paying that much
attention. Nobody’s clocking your failures.

Now that we’re on the same page, what’s one activity you can do to
move forward—and move on—right now?
When failure happens, it’s natural to want to take it
out with yesterday’s trash and move on as quickly as
possible.
But let’s sit with it for a minute. What is one failure you experienced
lately? Ask yourself: What lesson is this trying to teach me? Do you
need to prepare more, or seek out help?

Now when you think of your failure, you can reflect on everything you’ve
learned instead of everything you’ve lost.
What did you want to be when you grew up?
Pinpoint two key moments in your early life that defined the career you
have today.
If you’re feeling overwhelmed, you need time and
space to think. The only way to find it? Say no.
Say no to invitations that feel like obligations. Say no to voluntary tasks
that feel like chores. Say no to being busy and say yes to freedom.

Because once you say no, you don’t ever have to think about that decision
again. What will you say no to today?
What story are you telling yourself right now?
Are you saying, “I’m not good enough or smart enough” or, “Everyone’s
already so far ahead of me”?

What if I told you those things weren’t true? What if I said you are good
enough, and smart enough, and you’re not running the same race as
anybody else?

How would you change your story if you knew that someone out there
believed in you?
The opposite of force is allow.
Instead of forcing your project into existence, how can you give permission
to your work instead?

Finish this sentence:

Today, I will allow my work to

Have you tried Googling it?
It might sound silly, but sometimes our process stalls when we literally
don’t know how to complete the next step. Take advantage of all the
knowledge surrounding you.

Create a list of five “how do I?” questions you can look up today—and
then find the answers.
Need more energy? Try a caffeine nap.
It’s simple—when you’re tired, drink a cup of coffee, then immediately lie
down and set a timer for twenty minutes. When the timer goes off, you’ll
wake up refreshed (that’s the caffeine kicking in).

But here’s a twist: Before you sleep, think of one problem you’re going to
tackle when you wake up and the solution to it.
Nothing is perfect.
But when life gives you a downpour, rather than pretending it’s seventy-two
degrees and sunny, sometimes it’s better to hunker down and wait out the
storm.

What’s the reality of your current storm? When do you believe it will
pass?
Imagine that every goal you have isn’t impossible,
but inevitable.
Finishing is inevitable. Success is inevitable. Rising above is inevitable.

What does inevitability feel like to you?

Are you ready?

You’re creating. You’re doing the work.

You’re jumping over hurdles. The end is in sight. If you’re hitting the
brakes, ask yourself: Why?

It’s time to push past resistance and go where you’ve never been.

Now is the time to take the next step—to share your work, find a champion,
and propel your project up, up, and away. The most brilliant ideas in the
world aren’t worth anything if they remain ideas in your head. You must
expose them to the outside world, invite collaborators or an audience, and
allow your dreams to evolve into what they always wanted to be. You must
make them unmistakably real.

This is the rare and vital (and yes, somewhat stressful) moment of crossing
the finish line. You’re going to harness the emotional and physical energy
necessary to hit your deadlines and see your project through. You’re going
to let it soar, all on its own.
Whatever hurdle you’re facing, you’ve probably
faced a variation of it before.
How did you push past it? By asking for help? Reframing your goal?
Working for five solid hours?

Whatever you did then, that is your superpower—and you can use it again
and again.

Name your superpower.

I want you to imagine your future self.
The one who has everything figured out (or most of it, anyway). The one
who’s achieved the goals you set at the beginning of this journey. Your
future self is happy, confident, satisfied.

Now imagine what advice your future self would give you in this
moment. Slow down? Speed up? Work more, or less? What is your
future self telling you?
Surrounding yourself with the right people can take
your ideas to the next level.
What was the most exciting room you were recently in? Which
conversation do you remember the most? That person could be one of the
right people for you.

Reach out today and ask what they’re working on—and if there’s a way
you can support what they’re doing.
Rituals can help you focus not only because they’re
calming, but because they condition you to know
instantly what you’re supposed to be doing next.
Some people brew a cup of tea or do stretches to get in the zone. Others
need a bit of sunshine or to scroll through social media. (I’m partial to
chewing sunflower seeds.)

Explain the rituals that are most important to you.

Go for a walk (even if it’s only to the other room).
Go to the coziest space you can find. Write down everything you hear, from
snippets of conversation to birds chirping.

Do these sounds hold any clues for your current project?

Your goal today is to ship something you’ve been
thinking about for a while. This means finishing
anything and sending it off to someone else.
You’ve already committed a lot of time to not doing it. (Probably more time
than it would take to actually finish it.)

So, what will you ship once and for all and get off your mind forever?
Forward momentum will push you into new
territories.
Today, start a one-task streak. Commit to one small action a day for the next
seven days. Make one call, write one paragraph, apply to one job, whatever
you need.

What streak will you start?

What is one song that makes you feel completely
you?
Think of the title and as many of the lyrics as you can remember.

Then go put it on and get ready to receive everything you deserve.

What do you love today?

What do you fear today?

What are you going to attract today?

I love

I fear

I will attract
Are you in a situation where you feel like you’re
settling for the bare minimum?
Sometimes to get to the next level we need to raise the stakes. You know
how: You have to do something that makes you a little nervous.

How can you raise the stakes?

What is the biggest limiting factor in your life right
now? Do you need more time, energy, inspiration,
money? (Or all of ’em?)
What if I told you that each of those limiting factors was in your ability to
control? That you have complete power over your thoughts and your
actions.

What is one way you can push past a limit today?

When you board a plane, the pilot shares the ETA
(estimated time of arrival) for your destination. Let’s
steal this.
What’s your ETA for the next phase of your project?

Remember: This is an estimate. Sometimes you’ll fly faster or slower—and

that’s OK.
You’ve been transported to a remote island and are
cut off from all your obligations back home.
You have complete freedom, all the tools you need, unlimited caffeine—
and no Internet to distract you.

What will you work on?

Now pick a time to turn your phone to airplane mode and pretend you’re on
the island.
Can you imagine giving up on your project and
handing it over to someone else?
Or does the thought of that make you wince and want to grab hold of it
even tighter?

Explain why you are the only person who can put the finishing touches
on this idea.
Take me back in time.
Can you recall the first moment you said yes to your project?

Why did you say yes? Describe those reasons.

How does finishing feel?

The anxiety of starting is over. The thrill of being immersed in the moment
has passed. The angst of solving problems is long gone. You’ve done all
that you can do. Your project finally feels done.

But your journey isn’t over.

Carving out time to celebrate, reflect, and maybe even plot the future is
equally as important as every step you took to reach the end. While it feels
rewarding to achieve a goal, this macro accomplishment can create a
whirlwind that drowns out all the micro steps you took toward the finish
line. You might even find yourself asking: How did this happen?

You can discover lessons along the way by analyzing your process and
looking backward. With this after-the-fact perspective, you can ask yourself
what went wrong, what went right, and what you’ll do differently the next
time. Because there will be a next time, and it’s just around the corner.
Consider your recent project . . .
What is the main emotion you felt at the beginning?

And how do you feel now, nearing the end?

Think of three skills you sharpened over that time. Maybe you became
more disciplined, a better collaborator, or more receptive to feedback.
You’ve done an amazing job. You deserve every gold
star. You can bask in the glory. But—but—I also
want to challenge you to go a little further.
There’s a good chance there is one more step you can take. One more
person to contact. One more avenue to explore. One more push to make.

Figure out what that extra step is. Even if it seems out of reach or
unlikely, try to put it into words.
Sometimes it’s hard to see how far you’ve come.
Think about a year ago. Where exactly were you? How did you spend your
days? Who were you with?

Write down everything you can recall from that time.

You’ve just been given a thousand dollars. (Yay!)
The only rule is that you have to spend all of it on celebrating yourself and
your project.

What would you do with the money?

Let’s talk gratitude.
Showing appreciation for your process isn’t always easy, but it’s necessary.

What is one part of your process that often trips you up, but that
you’re always grateful for?
Leaving a city. Typing “The end.” Closing a business
deal. These final moments can give you a sense of
completion and satisfaction.
Take a moment to consider your next project, even if it’s only a dream right
now.

What do you want that ending to feel like?

Consider your evening routine. Think of everything
you do between dinner and your head hitting the
pillow.
Make a note of the activities that relax you (perhaps reading or talking to a
loved one) and the activities that stress you out (taking one last peek at
email).

Finally, embrace the activities you’re going to do tonight.

Think about your all-time favorite book.
Remember how each chapter unfolded and inched toward the end. Every
page was essential to move on to the next.

If your life was a book, which chapter are you in right now? Give your
book a title and write the opening paragraph.
Getting even just one percent better every day at a
task or behavior can lead to extraordinary changes.
What is one habit you could put an extra one percent of effort into
today?
Are you completely done?
To make sure your mind is free, I’d like to introduce the essential practice I
call “Clear the Decks,” which scrubs away any nagging, leftover tasks
related to your project, so you can truly turn to the next chapter.

Your mission is to clear your own decks. What are your last to-dos?
The best way to absorb a lesson is to teach it to
someone else.
Think about the process you’ve gone through. Is there anyone you know
who could benefit from hearing your story?

How can you pay forward what you’ve learned? Write down the
biggest lesson and decide who you’re going to share it with.
Let’s say you will be granted one wish for a future
project.
You can receive one of the following: ten times more money, ten times
more time, or ten times more praise.

Which one would you choose? More time, money, or praise? Why?
If you had to start your process all over again, what
could you definitely live without?
Be as specific as possible about what you would do differently.
Letting go makes room for future opportunities.
Share what you want to let go of—and what you think is coming.

What is gone:

What is coming:
Finally, after everything you’ve been through, everything you’ve shared and
uncovered and accomplished, I have only one question for you:

What’s next?
Editor: Madeline Jaffe
Designer: Diane Shaw
Production Manager: Rebecca Westall

ISBN: 978-1-4197-4346-7
eISBN: 978-1-64700-930-4
Text © 2020 Kara Cutruzzula
Illustrations © 2020 Tessa Forrest
Cover © 2020 Abrams

Published in 2020 by Abrams Noterie, an imprint of ABRAMS.

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