You as a creator won’t accept that fate. Everything you do is with the intention of making an impact on the world.

Willpower is the missing link in reaching human potential. Because it’s so crucial, you’ll discover many other situations where you need it. Try out Jeopardy in those everyday moments when you tend to lose your will: getting out of bed in the morning, concentrating in the face of distractions, or restraining the impulse to give in to a bad habit. It works just as well at those heightened moments when you’d like to take your life in a new direction. You might want to start a book, a new business, or move to a new city. You fantasize about it endlessly but you don’t even take step one. We’ll elaborate on these other uses of Jeopardy at the end of this chapter.

Jeopardy is a model for being fully alive. Paradoxically, this sense of life emerges from a relationship with the deathbed version of yourself. Because he knows what it’s like for time to run out, he has the wisdom you need every moment. Invite him into your consciousness, feel him looking at you every moment, and welcome the pressure he puts on you. You’ll move through life with a wind at your back.

The consumer expects a reward for the slightest effort—or better, for no effort at all. He cares only about what he gets from the world, not about what he might add to it. Living on the surface, jumping from thing to thing, his energy is diffused, like milk spreading across a tabletop. He makes no impact on the world; when his time on earth is over, it’s as if he never lived.

The creator won’t accept that fate. Everything he does is with the intention of making an impact on the world. His code ensures this: 

• He doesn’t accept the world as he finds it; he brings things into the world that aren’t already there. 
  
• He doesn’t follow the herd; he sets his own course. He ignores the reactions of others.
  
• He resists superficial distractions. 
  
• He remains focused on his goals even if he has to sacrifice his immediate gratification
  

Anyone can live by this code, but very few of us do. It means putting your life in the service of higher forces. These forces can’t be found on the surface of life; they’re found in its depths. The creator’s energy must have the singular focus of a drill boring through stone. As difficult as that is, a creator is rewarded many times over for his efforts.

You don’t have to be an artist to be a creator. You can add something to the world in any human activity—even the most routine. Your job, your role as a parent, your relationships, your contribution to your community—all become more meaningful when you put your personal stamp on them using higher forces.

The Tools: 5 Tools to Help You Find Courage, Creativity, and Willpower--and Inspire You to Live Life in Forward Motion