Forget the 10,000 Hour Rule. Consider this Viable Alternative

When I talk to creative people who feel overwhelmed, distracted, and struggle to manage their time, they all have one thing in common: they try to do too many things at once. They move one mile in a thousand different directions instead of a thousand miles in one.

In a recent office hours session we held, one of our Unmistakable Prime members told the rest of the group that she had started three different paintings but eventually abandoned all of them. Having too many ideas and the impulse to implement them all is one of the blessings and burdens of being an entrepreneur or artist.

New ideas become very seductive when we lose interest or motivation in another idea.

You have a hundred ideas for blog posts, book ideas and businesses that you start but never finish. Then you compare yourself to other people, beat yourself up and say, “Why bother?” Does any of this feel familiar?

This is because we overvalue intensity and underestimate the power of consistency. My old roommate Ahmad Russ gave up his high-profile job in finance to pursue his dream of becoming an actor. When we lived together, I was addicted to pursuing new ideas that never led anywhere.

Ten years later, he was at my parents' Christmas party and asked ME for advice on how to…