You've prolly heard the saying,

"The journey is the reward."

Whether taken at face value or interpreted askance, it's such a brief blip of text but it really makes you think, "What does it mean?"

Along the same lines recently, I've been thinking:

"Experience is results."

This may first and foremost sound like it applies to work and one's professional life, which it can, but it means so much more.

I sometimes liken the creative process — and it isn't just a sudden occurrence that takes up a microsliver of time, but a gradual unfolding of ideas, implementation, and obstacles along the way — to progress in a video game. Classic level design commonly includes sub-stages and mini-bosses you need to thwart, and items you acquire early on which may not achieve their ultimate use until near the game's end. Or as a variation on that, a type of "alchemy" is part of the plan, involving combining item types into a superweapon to defeat the big baddie, unlock the final portal, or another such challenge.

The broadened scope of creativity is much like this, because childhood experiences (there's that word!) which might've not been all that memorable/useful when they occurred may significantly impact something you're doing in the present. You wouldn't have known it until now; similarly, what people label and observe as "breakthroughs" often come as a result of much laborious research, perhaps a period of easing up… then the "Eureka!"

I've had the above happen to me many times. When something happens to me I can learn from — experience — it achieves little goals along the way, even if I don't view them as such at the time — that's a quirk of hindsight.

It's likely problematic to look at a goal as a definite finish line you cross, then it's over. Because until you're dead, it never really ends… and even then, you may have followers, disciples, and mentees to take up the cause! The world's top athletic stars need to keep practicing until they retire, and even then, no doubt they reminisce about their glory days, teach a new generation, or are able to participate in sport without the stress of competition, but still very much aware of what they went through.

In that case, I propose looking at goals as continuous, a cyclic rebirth that builds on itself. I'm not going to riff deeply into reincarnation, but it is sort of similar: you evolve into a higher lifeform in the ways of knowledge, taking what you learned at lower levels and pushing it ever-so-higher. If you're a writer, "write what you know" comes to mind, and with further life experiences, you're empowered to know more, write more. And hopefully write better. As a visual artist, taking in what you see around you and refracting it in unique directions, be it the art of the cinemaholic — as Quentin Tarantino so effectively illustrates by way of incorporating numerous homages/references into his works, largely clever syntheses of earlier ideas — or simply paging through Flickr for fresh inspiration.

From all this, it's easy to see how not just letting stuff happen to you, but engaging your interests, firing up your passions, and being very active in what you want to participate within is key to getting results, producing & creating enthusiastically.

Mentally, a stumbling block when thinking "I'm on the path to achieving my goals" is distancing the "goal" (singular) from where you are today. This often isn't true, because it's important to think non-linearly: just like my example of combining item types for success in a video game, there isn't just one path to visualize. And it's often not straight, or even curvy. It looks more like a spiderweb, or a labyrinth where there isn't just one right answer. Furthermore, there are shortcuts — things you can do more efficiently, effectively. For example, I noticed I was killing 5-15 min. each time I created a Second Life video tutorial, so I took about 30 min. to setup a template that's saved me many hours in the far term, across dozens of vidtuts. Look for weaknesses/drags/crutches in your step-by-steps and find tools to help automate and smooth them over. Whenever you can take a little more time in the short run to save much more time in the long run, do it.

And when there are things you can drop out altogether — like "friends" who diss your work, drain your emotions, and outright aren't supportive of your dreams — dump 'em! With over 6.6 billion people in the world, you can do better. Related guidance from M Dot Strange, who almost singlehandedly made the suitably bizarre masterpiece We Are the Strange (I recommend you watch it!):

Get rid of all the "noise" in your life… Don't spend time with people who don't inspire you or can't help your filmmaking in any way… Make film the most important thing in your life. Strain every experience through your filmmakers sieve and pull out the inspiring bits for use in your films… Love things, hate things…. live with no regrets… A bold life will give you plenty of inspiration for your films…

While I don't think productivity should always be #1 in your life, especially if you're in love with someone(s), it should definitely be up there on your list of priorities.

A lot of things are easier done than said, especially if you don't overthink, and I'll be covering "Chop the slop!", AKA "dropping dead weight from your everyday life", in future articles.

Peace be with you, yet remember: your happiness is dynamic. Like water, it flows. Like air, it should surround you. Like the earth, it grows life. And like fire, its heat can shape other materials — who you are, what you experience, and the results you continually achieve.