How I overcame the biggest mistake most creators make

It was 2015 and I was a scientist at UC Berkeley

I regularly worked 12 hour days, had six projects I worked on all at the same time.

Every time I made progress on one project, another would fail leading to more and more troubleshooting

And I was growing increasingly exhausted

I made little progress on all of them, but none were close to being completed

One day I woke up in my tiny Berkeley apartment to the whirling sound of my roommates blender at 7am

Only to realize I couldn’t get out of bed

I wanted to move, but my body would not budge

I realized then what my grandmother meant when she insisted I be careful not to burn myself out.

This went on for two days. I got up every now and then to use the bathroom

But all I wanted to do was stay in bed.

A sense of numbness washed over me.

I felt nothing.

And I dreaded facing the difficult reality of all of my failed experiments

Like cutting off the head of a hydra, only for it to grow new heads—each failed experiment created more doubt, confusion, and overwhelm

I needed help. And fast.

I remembered hearing a Tim Ferriss episode that spoke about the benefits of meditation

So, I looked up a nearby transcendental meditation institution and took their introductory course

A few weeks in and the results blew me away.

I began to understand viscerally the power meditation can bring into your work

Several months into my meditation practice and I became laser focused on doing one thing at a time

This not only propelled my main project forward tremendously, but it opened up the peace and freedom I was desperately seeking, but didn’t know I needed

An added surprising benefit was a huge boost of creativity

Not clouding my mind with so much technical details and information created the inner space required for innovative ideals to flourish

I was blown away by it.

Most creators are like me—working nonstop and deeply passionate about their projects.

But this leads to burnout, stress, and overwhelm

Try a meditation practice.

It can quite honestly transform your life. And your work.

Love and Power,
Alex