Be patient.
In an age where much of what we consume can be downloaded on-demand, it can become frustrating when we are dealing with extended or open-ended timelines. Things such as learning a creative program or tool, reworking designs over and over, sending out resumes or waiting for the phone to ring can be a daunting tasks.
My advice is this—be patient. Be patient with yourself, others and the system. Success is hard-earned and can only be achieved through consistently* good efforts. You can't change the business, you can't rewire your brain and you certainly can't speed up time. So, give yourself a break and take things one day at a time.
*Consistent is the key word here.
Surround yourself with greatness.
As they say, "Location, location, location". And you can expand that observation to many other facets of your life. If you wish to become better than you are, you need to expose yourself to people, places and experiences which will make that happen. The wider the circle of positive influences, the more productive you will become. By this, I mean make friends with people who are better than you at what you do. Visit museums and art galleries. And join clubs and organizations with like-minded people.
I'm not saying you need to dump your old friends and stop hanging out at the places you enjoy, but rather, re-examine your sphere of influence and take it up a notch or two.
Be the best "you" you can be.
A simple test you can do with yourself is to critically evaluate everything you do. Once you find a stopping point, ask yourself, "Could I do better than this?". Or, "Could I push this a little further?". You will be surprised how many times the answer will be, "Yes, I can".
If you do this continuously, with all aspects of your work, you will eventually get into the habit of always aiming a bit higher than normal. That is, setting the bar at a point which will elevate the quality and passion of your craft.
Create a plan.
This is the big one. The bottom line is this—any plan is better than no plan.
Where you see yourself going and where you will eventually end up will probably be two different things. However, if you want to make any progress at all, you need to have some sort of destination. That is, a fixed point in which you are heading. This way, you can say, "I want to go from point A to point B". And with that, you can find the necessary path to get you there.
Again, any plan is better than no plan. Without this plan you will end up like a piece of driftwood, wandering aimlessly.
Videos:
Ira Glass on succeeding.
