How do you know when it's time to make the entrepreneurial leap? On this episode, I share a metaphor that helped me make my own decision to strike out a decade ago, and one that I still share with budding entrepreneurs.

Keeping a shortlist of open creative loops in front of you consistently will help you stay focused on what matters, and prompt your mind to be looking for potentially useful creative stimuli in your environment.

There are three kinds of work that we need to do in order to produce brilliant results. When we compromise one or more of them, we can begin to spin out. On this episode, I describe each of them and what happens when we neglect them.

Who is in your collective? This is a group of people who helps you stay inspired, synced to what matters, and on-course. Do you have a group that you meet with routinely to help you stay in creative shape?

What do you do every day? Because what you do every day will define the course of your life and career much more than what you do every so often.

The best way to stay creatively viable is to learn to empathize, and to draw from the inspiration of others.

Do you have hunting trails in your life? They are valuable for helping you generate new ideas more consistently, especially under pressure.

Do you have a place in your life where you can retreat? Where you do your best thinking and your "life's work"? We all need a sacred space.

What do you do when you're actually working? When you're producing the value you're uniquely capable of producing? You have to protect that - it's the "main thing".

If you want ideas when they matter most, you need to practice generating them when it doesn't matter at all. Today, I share how with some advice from James Altucher.