Episódios
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What if your best creative ideas show up when you let go and disappear into your work?
I’ve been testing a new approach to writing, thanks to my work with the amazing writing coach and friend Azul Torronez.
It feels entirely different. I let the writing come through me rather than forcing myself to come up with ideas. I sit down to write with no preconceived plan, and as I write I explore what’s on my mind. When I do it this way, without a specific agenda, but rather for me to discover what it is that I have to say, I’m able to feel what I write more than think it. The key way that I know that I’m writing well is when I feel it.
Strangely, when you write in this way, you read through what you wrote and think to yourself, “huh, I had no idea I wrote that?”
This type of writing feels complete in a whole different manner. The piece itself is complete, even if it needs editing. I know it’s complete because I can’t feel anything else to say.
And what I end up writing comes as a surprise, even to me!
In writing, and possibly in many other domains, my best work is when I don’t try so hard.
When I surrender, It feels like I’m disappearing into the process and allowing it to happen rather than trying to make it happen.
This is very difficult for those who believe that they should have a plan or every outcome.
Creation as Discovery & Vulnerability
What Azul taught me is that everyone gets the craft of writing backwards. Many people have an idea for a book or a topic, and then they outline it, and then they try and write their point. At least for me, what I’ve discovered is that I can do the opposite. I get curious about something and then explore it through writing.
The point of what I write arrives at the end, as does the title and as does me understanding what I have to say. I feel into different ways of communicating as I’m sunk into the writing process without being so directed. I can write something that I *know* I should write without me knowing that I should have written it moments before. It’s like pulling a thread and seeing where it leads and then getting clear signals about what you must say or share.
In this way, I’m writing as a discovery process – the ideas are ahead of me, not behind me. My best writing exists in what I discover, not in what I know.
The more vulnerable I am to go places in my writing, the more I feel connected to the thread I’m following, and the better the writing feels for me. There’s a time and place for editing and categorization, and that comes after you’ve gotten out what you want to say.
Going Beyond Your “Self” in Your Work
Where do I pull my ideas from if not myself? How do I write things that I don’t already know that I have to say? I believe that this is where artists get it right, that there is some other aspect of consciousness, our own or others, that we can tap into that is more spontaneous.
When you write from a source beyond yourself, you are able to pull ideas out from beyond your own mind’s limitations.
Because I’m pulling from a source that is expanded beyond myself, my ideas themselves are more expansive and whole in their form.
If I was writing only what I already knew, I would only be writing over well-worn territory. How did Einstein come up with novel ideas in physics? He used his imagination to go beyond his own limitations, he connected to something beyond thinking. He dismissed logic and praised imagination.
The mind knows the past, and where you’ve been. As you go beyond your own thinking, your creative future is in an intuitive synthesis, connecting to a consciousness beyond yourself. When you go beyond your individual self, you connect more with the whole.
All of this has me wondering and learning more about how and where I can apply this process beyond writing. How can this same process work in speaking, recording, coaching, coding… even making decisions?
Another interesting area related to this is learning.
Have you ever just “known” something?
Or have you ever picked up a new skill set and it just “clicked?” immediately? I felt this way when I picked up a camera.
Everything about how a camera worked to me was intuitive. I didn’t *technically* understand a camera but I knew intuitively how it functioned so that I could use it well despite not having technical understanding.
Have you ever said something or seen something or created something genius that didn’t feel like it was yours at the end of it?
What if the most innovative ideas, the ones with true creative spark, show up only when I’m willing to loosen my grip and let go?
This idea I’m talking about is not new or novel. Artists across history have spoken about the muse, or how they pull from something larger from themselves to create their work.
The direct experience, however, for me is still and always completely new and novel, because it’s always surprising, spontaneous, and more enjoyable than working with your mind as the planner and control.
Create Freely, Then Organize.
A big takeaway from this process for me is to create first and organize later. When I let go, the raw material emerges in a way that’s more authentic and surprising.
Afterward, I can refine, categorize, and polish. You want the initial spark to come straight from the source—wherever that mysterious muse might live. Then you can edit and organize, and often it needs it. The material is raw, it’s precious, but needs refinement.
There is often a need to edit and adjust after the initial spark.
Boundaries and constraints help as well, for example, word counts or lengths of a song. I like to use 1,500 word counts as a basic constraint. Constraints help bottle the creative stream of consciousness and help you pour it into something more structured and concrete.
You can still do “planning” just enough to create direction and constraint, and then you can let go and allow the experience or work become what it wants to be.
What I’ve noticed is this work also feels more “complete” than work that I would have otherwise tried to plan to a T.
I love this sense of completion, it’s satisfying because you feel like you reached into the depths and grabbed something and now that you’ve pulled it out, you’ve done your job and the work was the work it was meant to be at that time.
I talk a lot about enjoying your work as you do it, and there’s no better enjoyment than getting into a flow state with your work and not forcing any agenda.
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You're always starting something new in business, or testing new waters. You did it before, you can do it again.
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Estão a faltar episódios?
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What do you do when you've changed, but your business remains the same? Time to evolve..
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“I’m always telling myself that things will be easier ‘once I get through this next phase’—but that phase never ends.”
When I ask you, “How are you doing?” I don’t mean as a founder. I mean as a person. Often, those two selves give very different answers.
The entrepreneur might say they’re making major decisions, hiring, pivoting, scaling.
The person might say they’re exhausted. That they feel like they should be happier by now. Despite all their progress, they still feel behind.You know that feeling. The work that used to light you up has started to feel dry, mechanical. The spark has dimmed. It’s not burnout, not exactly—but it’s something close. You’ve become efficient at producing outcomes, but in the process, you’ve started losing yourself.
I don’t want to just write you to get this done. I want to write because I mean it.
Because when I’m fully present in this process—when I actually connect to what I’m saying—it feels different. And that difference comes through.
What if work wasn’t just a means to an end? What if the goal wasn’t just an outcome, but the experience itself?
We tell ourselves we’re building a future where we’ll finally feel free, confident, at peace. But what if you could feel those things now? What if waiting wasn’t necessary?
Some things keep you from feeling that way:
The editor in your head. The constant critique while you’re creating. If someone interrupted you every two minutes to point out mistakes, you’d never finish anything. Yet, you do it to yourself all day.The belief that somehow the future you has the answer. The idea that life will begin once you’ve made enough, built enough, proven enough, and then you will make a change.Self-sacrifice. The belief that your worth is measured by how much you give up. That working harder, longer, and carrying more weight than anyone else somehow makes you deserving of success. But when your entire identity is built around pushing through, what happens when you finally stop? Who are you outside of the struggle?But time doesn’t wait. You don’t get it back. If you skip the moments that matter—if you trade them for the promise of later—there’s no refund. You can’t buy back your child’s first years. You can’t relive the friendships you let drift. You can’t rewind the nights you spent working instead of really living.
I’m not saying don’t invest in your future. I’m saying don’t abandon yourself in the process.
Because if you do, what parts of you will be left to enjoy it?
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Productivity is a byproduct.
The most productive people you know aren’t focused on systems and hacks.
They are driven, energized, and enthusiastic.
They do a lot all of the time without really thinking about productivity. They make tweaks here or there to enjoy themselves more.
Productivity hacks are what we use when we don’t have intrinsic motivation.
Productivity is obligatory and external.
The soul’s pursuit is joyful and internal.
If you’re not productive, there are two things you can do:
Change your mindsetChange your context (Focus)Changing your mindset means seeing your work in a new light. We have agency over how we view ourselves and our world. What we expect to see, we see, and because of that, our attitude, thinking, and point of view changes how we look at what we do. It might be that the more productive person than you has a different story about their work.
Changing your context means putting yourself in a space where you naturally thrive. I’m attending a conference this week, and I was SO drained after one of the afternoons, and then the next day I was totally fired up. I realized that the talks I listened to on the first day were not in my zone of genius and interest, but on the second day the people and workshops I did were right up my alley. I was so energized. The first series was energy draining. The second was energy giving.
If you do something and it gives you energy, wouldn’t it be easier to do more than if you do something and it takes your energy away?
If you do something and it gives you energy, wouldn’t it be easier to do more than if you do something that drains your energy?
Your favorite Productivity Youtuber is in their zone of genius. They love productivity for productivity’s sake – so much that they spend their time making videos about it.
The deeper lesson behind their work is not the productivity hacks they may or may not actually be using. The deeper lesson is that they have found something that they love to do so much: YouTube, and a topic they love so much: Productivity that they enjoy doing it all of the time.
Love is the best fuel source for productivity. Desire is a good fuel source but not as strong as love. Obligation is a poor fuel source, even though we use it all of the time.
When you love doing something, you win twice.
First, when you get to do it, and then when or if you get an external outcome related to it.
Focusing on your productivity is an unnecessary step in the process.
As Yoda wisely said, “Do, or Do Not, There is No Try.”
A good productivity question to ask yourself is:
“What do I most love to do?”
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Delegation is a challenge for many entrepreneurs.
You either:
Struggle to figure out what work to hand off.Have a ton of work but don’t know how to communicate what needs to get done.Or (less talked about) even feel a little guilty about giving work to someone else...Delegation, when done right, isn’t a burden—it’s an opportunity to align your team with the highest-impact work.
1. The Telescope Approach: Start big picture
The first step in effective delegation isn’t where you’d expect. I always tell entrepreneurs to start by zooming out—like using a telescope.
A telescope can either give you a wide view of the entire night sky or zoom in on a specific planet or star. When you’re thinking about delegation, start with the widest lens possible.
Ask yourself:
What is this person’s role?What are the most important projects this month, quarter, or year?What actually matters most in the business right now?Before you get lost in the details of small tasks, take a step back and list the top three most important priorities for the business. This helps you delegate work that actually moves the needle, rather than just keeping people busy.
If you already set clear quarterly goals, this gets easier—you already have the right context in place. From there, you can start focusing on what specific work needs to be assigned.
2. Focus on 80%
Once you have the big picture, think about what this person should spend 80% of their time on. This give you a starting context.
Ask:
What is this person best at?Where should they be focused?Are they currently aligned with their highest-value work?If they’re already spending 80% of their time on the right things, then you’re just tweaking the remaining 20%. But if their focus is off, that’s where you need to start making adjustments.
For example, if someone’s role is to lead brand marketing, then ask: What part of brand marketing does the business need most right now?
Instead of just handing them random tasks, make sure they’re working on what will have the biggest impact.
Delegating small, unimportant tasks effectively doesn’t help if your team isn’t aligned with the most important work in the first place.
Communicating
One last thing—these conversations don’t have to feel heavy or overwhelming. A client of mine recently shared how much anxiety they felt about these discussions. But the truth is, you don’t have to approach delegation conversations with a super serious tone.
Yes, delegation is important, but keeping it light makes the process easier for everyone. Instead of making it feel like a high-stakes, make-or-break situation, try saying:
“Hey, let’s take 10 minutes to check in on this.”“I love a lot of what you’re doing, I just wanna tweak one thing.”“I must not have been super clear before—let’s make sure this is aligned.”This makes people more open to feedback and less defensive. The more relaxed and collaborative you make it, the more effective the conversation will be.
A lot of times, when you’re frustrated with a team member, the issue is actually pretty small. But in the moment, it feels like everything is wrong. They’re probably doing a great job in most areas, but one small detail is off.
Instead of assuming everything is a mess, take a step back and recognize what’s going well. This makes the conversation with your team much more productive:
Acknowledge what’s working – “Hey, I love the work you’re doing on X.”Identify the one thing that needs tweaking: “I think we could improve Y a little bit.”Collaborate on a solution – “How do you think we could approach this better?”This keeps the conversation positive and solution-oriented instead of turning it into a stressful critique.
Here’s a quick recap of how to delegate more effectively:
Zoom Out First – Start with the big picture before diving into the details.Focus on the 80% – Ensure your team member is working on the right 80% of their role. Communicate Big & Small – Most issues are small; recognize what’s working and adjust from there.Keep It Light – Delegation doesn’t have to be a stressful, serious thing.I hope this helps you think differently about delegation. Let me know—where have you struggled with delegation?
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If you’ve ever felt stuck, frustrated, or like you're spinning your wheels despite putting in effort, this might be what's happening beneath the surface….
You might rationally know what you want—whether it’s raising your prices as a freelancer, launching a new project, or taking a big step forward.
But despite your conscious desire, something always seems just out of reach…
The way to recognize subconscious resistance is to look at areas where you're putting in a lot of effort but never seeing the results you want. It’s like hitting an invisible wall. You get excited, you try, you push, and then suddenly, something stops you. You fall back to where you started, and the cycle repeats.
Usually the subconscious makes itself known through strong fear (ah!), discomfort (in the body), or resistance but you can’t rationally explain why it’s there.
Here are a few examples:
You know you need to raise your prices, but every time you go to send that email, you freeze up.You're about to record your first podcast, but seeing yourself on camera makes you feel terrible.A casual conversation suddenly makes you deeply uncomfortable, and you just want to leave.These are signals that something deeper is at play. In the healing and personal development world, this is often referred to as a “trigger”—an unconscious emotional reaction that doesn’t have an obvious logical cause.
Work with your emotion, not your logic.
The good news is that once you recognize this dynamic, you know where to focus your energy.
Instead of trying to rationally “figure it out” (which can be exhausting and often ineffective), shift your attention inward to observe what’s happening emotionally.
Pause When You Feel Resistance – When irrational fear or discomfort shows up, don’t ignore it. Instead, acknowledge it as valuable information. Thank you!Stay With the Emotion – Instead of pushing it away, sit with it. Ask yourself, What am I actually afraid of? Usually the fear is deeper and wider than the task at hand.Identify the Conflict – Example: You want to start a podcast, but deep down, you fear being misunderstood or criticized. This is why there’s a “push-pull” effect – we have a conscious desire and an unconscious fear.Curiosity and awareness help you detect the bigger pattern at play. Shockingly, whatever is coming up for you right now related to this fear is probably something that is affecting other areas of your life as well.
Look for your resistance
If you feel stuck in an area of your life—whether it’s business, relationships, or a creative project—start paying attention to where resistance shows up. Often, there’s another voice at the table, one that isn’t rational but still deeply influences your actions.
Find someone to help you identify, map, and learn more about this fear; be it a coach, therapist or just a good friend!
Have you noticed any recent irrational fear or discomfort holding you back from something important?
How do you work with your subconscious fears?
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The idea that one day your business will be "stable" and free from uncertainty is a myth. Markets shift, customers change, and what worked yesterday won’t necessarily work tomorrow. There is no finish line where you finally “made it” and get to stop adapting.
The real safety net? Trusting yourself to respond.
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Instead of forcing yourself to fit into an old model, it’s time to evolve your business to fit YOU.
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I remember having a phone call with Paul Jarvis (Author/Creator) and we were talking about his newsletter, which I was an avid reader of. I told him how much I was impressed by his consistency and quality.
“Oh,” he said. “I just spend a few days at the beginning of the quarter writing and scheduling about 3-4 months’ worth of emails.”
“You can do that?!” I asked.
For Paul, his workflow meant batching and scheduling, but to the outside, it looked like extreme willpower. To him, it probably felt like a short burst of focus and then leisure to think about other aspects of his business.
It’s easy to look at others and think they possess some type of magic we don’t have. But when the “trick” is shown, we see that it was our perception that was false. We just didn’t see the possibility.
In working with Founders, sometimes all I do is simply point to the potential that someone wasn’t able to see for themselves. It’s obvious when you know it, and yet it remains frustratingly hidden when you don’t.
The first step to making something happen is seeing that it’s possible.
Some people look at magicians and leave confused, amused, or annoyed.
Others ask the magician to learn and then practice their sleight of hand…
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I have a client who went from $5k months to $10k and then $50, $100k+ months.
Here’s what I noticed along the way: He’s still him, and yet the way that he sees his work has changed drastically at each step. He’s embraced a change of role, and a change of leadership; how he serves his clients and what problems he solves for them.
Each change in revenue was preceded by an unlock, you could feel it happen in our conversation.
Suddenly it was no longer about him doing the work, but finding others to help. Suddenly it wasn’t about just hiring others, but creating new products. Suddenly, his business was about client experience, and now how much value he creates for his network.
This is the seamless process that happens when you are entering a growing market with a high propensity for flexibility and complexity.
And of course it doesn’t seem so seamless at all. Each block in thinking is caused by what previously worked, and it’s hard to change roles. It takes a small ego and a big desire to learn.
If you don’t know where to start, here’s a question to consider;
How has your role changed, even though technically you still are the same title?If you could promote yourself, what would your new title be?How can you start doing some of that work, today?Business growth comes from leadership growth and change.
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I’ve been practicing meditation again, now through a new App called “The Way.”
It’s been teaching a simple framework for noticing more about how our minds work.
What can you do about being stressed, having anxious, coming back into the present?
The framework is very useful for getting yourself out of your head and back into the present. It all starts with awareness and noticing – catching yourself getting out of presence. There are so many different ways that we stop being present.
So it helps for you to get a basic understanding about how you, specifically, leave the present moment:
Presence/Out of Presence:
Audio/Past: We remember a conversation that we were having (and maybe cringe about it). Audio/Future: We’re practicing a conversation that we’re going to have.Audio/Present: You’re hearing something in the room you’re in, right now.Visual/Past: We see images of some past event or person.Visual/Future: We are imagining how we’ll act, we’re in a fantasy of the future.Visual/Present: You’re seeing the room you’re in, the color, the texture.Etc.
Those senses, those same senses that were distracting you become an anchor to getting present again.
Talk about a counter-intuitive move!
Start by “labeling” what you’re noticing. Understand a bit better and get curious about yourself in this way.
And, you can download the app the way if that's helpful to you.
What helps you get outta your head and back into the present?
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If you’re stuck selling, ask yourself if you’re trying to prove the value of what you do to someone else.
The biggest misconception of sales and selling to clients is that you’re convincing someone to buy from you. This manipulative view leads to poor processes and poor outcomes.
It’s very unlikely this potential client values what you value.
This is where the manipulation shows up in attempts to correct this misalignment.
(rarely works).
Instead, see if you can learn what your client values.
Become a detective to understand how they see what they need and want.
Become a partner to them in creating or capturing that need together – and ask yourself how you can help bring them to that better future faster, easier, or more artfully.
Even that is not enough.
Your job isn’t even just to deliver and meet expectations but to go beyond them.
The best client relationships go beyond the initial scope into an even more expanded and valuable future.
Selling is the art of transformation.
The faster you identify what transformation is needed, the faster you can start delivering value to your clients.
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There’s a subtle lesson as to why our best thinking arrives in the shower. It’s a multiple of effects all happening at once.
The first is that you’re not intending to think about anything in particular. This “release” from our problem-solving mind seems to allow to actually… solve problems for you. But done in a holistic manner that skips the direct logic of pouring energy through the known problem space.
The second is the heat. You’re relaxed. You’re no longer in the rush or the stress of the day and that gives your system a chance to calm down. Strangely, the calm also works well for solving big problems in simple, effective ways. Stress as a stimulus may give your work more distance, but perhaps not more depth.
Third, is the sound. There’s a white-noise effect, a hum of the water pressure and splash of the droplets. Attuning to this sound, you center yourself unconsciously into a type of meditative state. This meditative state anchors to sound, the consistency of it allows you to drop into a more open state giving you some separation from your thoughts.
You can take a few lessons from this confluence of factors – that you have a system of senses that are all intelligent. That your mind-based logic is only one system and is a blunt tool.
That your environment matters for your consciousness and your experience of being.
And – that turning away from something is also a useful method for working through something.
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Explore why many people get their best ideas in the shower and what it reveals about problem-solving. Discover the role of relaxation, white noise, and a calm environment in fostering insights. Learn how stepping away from intentional thinking and engaging all senses can lead to holistic solutions. Share your own experiences and methods for finding the best answers in the comments.
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Are you struggling with overthinking, especially at night or before important events? In this episode, we discuss how the meditation app The Way has helped with managing stressful thoughts by bringing users back to the present moment. Learn about identifying your unique overthinking patterns and using sensory experiences like sound, sight, and touch as anchors to alleviate stress. Join the conversation and share your thoughts on dealing with stress.
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David Sherry discusses creating a business and life that align so perfectly that you never want to sell or quit. He challenges the traditional 'moonshot' mentality prevalent in entrepreneurial ventures, which often leads to an unsatisfactory post-exit life. David emphasizes the importance of diversifying both income and personal identity, maintaining a fulfilling life outside of business, and leveraging your business as a platform for greater good. He provides actionable advice on taking profits, diversifying interests, and using your business to impact and contribute positively. This approach can help entrepreneurs build a sustainable and satisfying life and business, minimizing the allure of the exit strategy.
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how to reframe struggles in various areas of life, such as fitness and relationships, by focusing on the enjoyable aspects of these activities. Cherry shares personal anecdotes and suggests shifting focus to moments of enjoyment within challenging tasks to cultivate a positive mindset and make progress. He also invites viewers to share their own techniques for transforming difficult areas of their lives.
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