We often approach our creative work as if the impact and success we seek is behind a motion-activated door.

That if we show up within sight of our target, the doors will simply slide open and we’ll be ushered in.

When the doors fail to open, we wave our arms around for a while before shrugging our shoulders and moving onto the next door, hoping we’ll have better luck with that one.

Maybe the sensor is miscalibrated, we might think, or even rigged against the little guys like us.

It turns out, however, that it’s not the sensor that’s miscalibrated, it’s our expectations.

The sensor doesn’t even exist, in fact.

If we looked closer, we would see that the door has a keyhole.

What’s more, there’s a ring of keys lying on the ground in front of it.

Sure, there are dozens of keys, but one of them will open the door.

When we understand this, it’s clear that more than innate talent, inspiration, or luck, all we need is enough patience to work our way through each of the keys until we find the one that fits.

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