The gift of an externally imposed deadline isn’t always available. Sometimes you need to set your own. But you have to take it seriously. One way to do this is to make it public. Tell people who are important in your life. The firmer the deadline, the harder it is to break, and the more energy it confers. Above all else, move and keep moving. Don’t go off half cocked. Take time for wise planning, but don’t take forever. “Whatever you can do, or dream you can—begin it,” Goethe wrote. “Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it.”
