The freezer. It’s a stretch of time. It’s a way of thinking. It’s a point on a path.
Most are familiar with it; many are moving out of it, and a few have long since left.
You’re in the freezer when you:
- Are reacting, rather than creating.
- Don’t believe you can make money doing work you love.
- Don’t move.
- Do work that bores you.
- Consume more than you produce
- Don’t have enough money to relax into your best work.
- Work hard at the unimportant things.
- Are not seeing traction yet.
- Are not on the minds of many people.
- Make excuses.
- Compare yourself to others.
- Are escaping; avoiding what’s important.
- Are starting from scratch.
You move out of the freezer when you:
- Move your body and breathe.
- Do whatever it takes to exceed your financial baseline.
- Work without expectation; without ego.
- Go narrow and focus on mastery.
- Create so much they can’t ignore you.
- Make consistency your new mantra.
- Tell others about your work even if you fear rejection.
- Build a trusting network, one person at a time.
- Use what you learn to improve yourself and your work.
- Re-frame limiting beliefs by breaking them down.
- Stop doing things that sabotage progress, movement and being bold.
- Make a commitment to doing what makes you come alive.
You are out of the freezer when you:
- Are doing enlivening work most days.
- Are committed to staying out of the freezer, maintaining your momentum.
- Have enough cash flow not to be afflicted by a lack of money.
- Have the enthusiasm to tell people about your work.
- Have options and can say ‘no’ to proposed projects.
- Create remarkable work almost effortlessly.
- Are on the minds of many.
- Have traction with an audience.
- Have momentum to continue to grow your brand.
- Are high on raw, creative energy.
- Pay others to do the work you’re not suited to.
- Are making connections that others don’t see.
Making a success of your creative work requires an understanding of the freezer.
We must push against the current that will hold us there.
The freezer, for a time, is inevitable when you are starting a new phase. There will be a period of no traction — of little interest from others. And that’s ok if you keep moving.
But it can return, many times, when you rest on your laurels; when you soften; when you allow yourself to cool.
Get warm and stay warm.