Follow Your Heart — With Caveats

Sometimes you come across an idea and you think, Oh man this is going to be so easy — the money and success are going to flow in, and when that’s done I’ll go do what I really want to do.

The minute you start feeling that way about an idea it’s a good sign to chop it off the list. Creative projects should be things you want to work on. Not things that you work on because you think they’ll be easy.

Why? Nothing that works is ever easy. It’s always a long road. So hanging your hat on the hope of a quick success is unlikely to lead you to the result you want.

It’s okay to follow your heart when the stakes are low. If the stakes are extremely high, you’ll probably want to think harder before making the leap.

Do a spreadsheet, talk to smart friends — and try to lower the stakes. For most situations you can find ways to lower the stakes and dip your toe in the water without diving in head first.

Start with that. You can alway swim into deeper waters once you get used to the temperature.