Creative Cave Creatures
How to perfect your skills so you can build fires that illuminate the world.
If you want to create something great, you’re going to need to focus.
I’m not sure if you’ve noticed, but the pace of modern life is distracting, to put it mildly. The endless notifications, alerts, ads, mentions, market updates, activities... We’re living in a virtual Times Square with bullhorns from every angle. These external forces will scream at you, flash lights in your eyes, and grab at you in an attempt to soak up every last drop of your attention. They’ll pull you off your path by presenting 1,000 other paths they want you to believe are better.
It’s exhausting.
To combat this, I’m a big fan of going into your “cave.” Your cave is where you can focus. It’s a place and time that you control so you can turn off all that junk. It’s quiet and peaceful, away from the wind and rain of the outside world. It’s small, and only your trusted inner circle exists in there with you. It allows you to explore what value you want to provide to yourself and the small tribe in the cave with you.
This value is akin to building a fire. At first, the fire is small. Over time, you learn how to build a larger fire and use it to illuminate your cave, which benefits you and your small tribe. The peaceful conditions of the cave make this much easier than trying to build out in the elements. You grow skill and confidence over time.
At some point, though, you’re going to reach a limit. You have illuminated all you can within the cave. It’s safe. It’s comfortable. It’s peaceful. But, it lacks excitement and limits potential.
Eventually, you realize it’s time to step out of your cave, where you can shine a brighter light to more people. To do this, you need to learn how to build torches: value you create for the world beyond your cave.
A useful torch is one that can withstand the harsh elements of the outside world; the very world you were avoiding as you learned to build fire in the first place. Conditions are very different outside of the cave. Your first attempts may fail, blown out by the wind and rain. You return to the strong fire you built inside to ignite increasingly better torches, then go try again. This process continues as you create bright, brilliant torches that illuminate the world around you.
Eventually, you reach one of the most enjoyable states of the human experience: Showing others how they can make their lives better.
This is an incredible place to be. In fact, I find it to be a Spiritual place. I believe that helping others achieve what they want not only elevates them, but everyone around them. In doing so, the light continues to spread exponentially from just the initial spark. We can literally change the world by simply shining our light.
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With all this talk about caves, let me explain how I used my cave. Then, I’ll give you an example of another bright light using hers.
My approach was to block off basically all outside factors for about 10 years. Early on, I learned that I simply don’t do well unless I’m all-in. I get distracted too easily. Using this approach, plus the strong partnership of my wife and the small tribe I brought with me, we slowly built the life we have today.
Here’s a quick recap of what we accomplished:
Built a solo business that billed millions.
Climbed out of six-figures in debt to a state of literally years of cash reserves.
Converted a foreclosed, dilapidated farm property into a beautiful home and environment for our family. We built almost all of it ourselves.
Created the aforementioned family!
Continually reinforced our strong marriage and grew together each day.
Raised 3 awesome kids who learn and grow constantly.
Solidified deep, meaningful relationships with supportive, loyal friends.
Traveled to 33 states.
Grew investment and real estate portfolios that are well on target (even with the current down-turn).
Stayed healthy and strong.
Basically, I wanted to build one hell of a bonfire in that cave, and I did.
Now, though, it’s time to utilize what I built in the cave to build torches I can take to the people. It’s time to take the next step.
Our model looks like this:
Shifting our focus away from generating income via service work (i.e., clients) to serving the next generation of people who want to live how we live (i.e., free).
Using the resources and experiences we built along the way to create powerful information that would have been highly valuable to us (i.e., torches).
Seeking those who want to take charge of their lives and helping them get there.
This model is new to me. It forces me to “build in public.” This means I’ll spend much less time building in a cave and much more time building where people can see. I get to learn in real time, in front of others. I now get to collect and build upon other peoples’ ideas and input. I get to work on something I’ve never done before while other people watch.
However, I still have my previous experience. That bonfire can burn for quite a while. Ultimately, if I needed to, I could go back into that cave and do what I did before. It provides a safety net that allows me to go all-in and focus on my new adventure. This is how I’ve chosen to avoid distractions and focus on one thing at a time.
But, it’s not the only way.
Some of you are really good sharing the creations and lessons as you go. My friend Koda Witsken is a perfect example of this. She’s one of the most prolific creators I know, and she continually shares her “best energy and bright colors” with others. Her mural work is, by definition, completely public from start to finish.
There’s literally no way she could create her work and keep it in a cave!
Her skills are evidence of time spent in her own “cave” developing and expanding her creative acumen. But, unlike my approach of living a caveman lifestyle for 10 years, she runs out into the open with the latest iteration of her torch screaming, “Look what I’ve made!” She observes the torch, thinks about what she wants to improve, then runs back in the cave to test it out. It doesn’t take her long to reappear again with a fresh, new creation.
Koda embodies the “build in public” model. She’s an example of someone who inspires me as I embark on my own process of building in public.
Her model looks something like this:
Use your current skills to create work while everyone watches.
Share the process and outcomes as you go.
Improve in real time by applying the lessons learned from the previous project.
This model leverages quick iterations between focus and creation. Rather than building a single bonfire, like I did, she’s building a series of small, slightly different torches and delivering them on the fly. If our approaches were on a chart, mine would look like a staircase, while Koda’s looks like a ramp.
Over time, both of these approaches provide the same amount of light. They’re simply delivered differently. Neither is better than the other, but you might use one or the other at different times.
Whatever approach you use, the core lesson is to make sure you have a place where you can focus. Your potential is too great and too important to the world to be wasted on meaningless distractions. Figure out what process works best for you at your current place in life, then practice it every day.
If you're starting out, commit to just 20 minutes a day for journaling. I teach exactly how to do that in my 2-part article "The Demons Won't Destroy Themselves" and "The Journaling Framework." Once you gain control over this initial block, you can continue to build out more time where you can focus on building off the spark you created.
Build your fire to shine more brightly.
You truly are the light of this world, and we all look forward to seeing what you illuminate with yours.
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Take Action:
What conditions provide you an ideal “cave?” What distractions will you need to eliminate?
What “fire” are you building now? What fires do you want to build?
What have you been sitting on that you could unveil and bring out into the world now?
If you don’t yet feel ready to emerge from the cave, when will you? Specifically define the conditions? Specificity will highlight fear, then you can overcome it.
Which model feels most natural to you? When does one model work better than the other for you?