I admire people who always knew what they wanted to be when they grew up.  Not everybody knows exactly what is the best thing to do at any given time. Concentrate on what brings you the highest reward both financially and emotionally. You will have to make some tough choices, many times between better and best. Pick best.

Don’t give till it hurts.  ‘I don’t want any more responsibilities apart from writing the most beautiful stories I can’.

Get in the zone.  Loose yourself in what you do. Fully focussed.

Choose your rituals.  The same time each day and place to write.

Take out an umbrella policy. Combine a variety of interests and a tendency to hop around into a broader field or category.  ‘Storytelling’ for instance, can offer room to move about without getting too far afield. How about finding different ways to do the same job?  Being columnist and writer and giving speeches.

Keep your eye on the ball.

Practice your juggling.  Establish limits on how many balls you will  try to keep in the air at once. When the balls marked relationships,  health and quality start hitting the ground, cut back.

It is feast or famine. Creative work is rarely regular. Sometimes a month’s worth of work will all hit in the same week. Sometimes you’ll have empty weeks. It is hard to turn any work down today because it might not be here tomorrow.

Variety pack. True, one project at a time is not enough for most divergent thinkers. You need to be able to shift gears to stay interested. That is why i switch between speaking, writing, running online magazines and being a travel guide. All tie in with each other, so my efforts overlap, while still letting me dabble in lots of different projects. When I have too little going on, I actually get depressed.

Remember the ten times rule. It is ten times harder to get a new client than to keep an old one. Don’t spend all your time trying to get new ones. Cultivate the ones you have. Make them happy. That is the best way to get new ones, anyhow.

Know your limitations. How many actors want to be musicians? I’ll tell you, nearly all of them. Some will make it, some won’t.

Don’t try to do everything. If something is interesting but unrelated or you are unqualified to do it, don’t be afraid to say ‘that is something i am not good at’ and give it a pass. Even if you could do it, but it would sidetrack you from your goals, say no. Just because you can do something doesn’t mean you should.

You need balance. You can have some order and routine without stifling your creativity and need for variety. Freedom and order. Solitude and quiet. One hour of uninterrupted time is worth days working beside a constantly ringing phone. Don’t let yourself get too busy, too harried and distracted. Life will pull you away from your art if you let it. Choose a career and a situation that will let you get into the zone.