Contents at a Glance
– The Danger of a Single Focus
– When Work Becomes a Drag

The Danger of a Single Focus
Terry warns of the dangers of a single focus for writing.

“I’ve met many writers who have only focused on their lengthy fiction project and never considered writing anything smaller like a short story or a nonfiction magazine article. Because of their single-minded focus, they have never experimented with the other writing forms to their own detriment. Why? They have failed one of the key ingredients for any successful writer and not built a body of work.“

Analysis
What “body of work” do you need to create — in books or in other places? What are the components of it? How are you going?

When Work Becomes a Drag
Gary shares some ideas on re-igniting passion at work when everything becomes mundane.

“Over time, however, that flame can begin to fade. What was once new and unique can seem routine and boring. Cutting-edge management ideas and philosophies, viewed through the prism of experience, begin to echo yesterday’s warmed-over initiatives. Management fads come and go as quickly as the buzzwords that spawn them. You reach the point where you’ve seen and heard it all before, and may have trouble getting excited about seeing and doing it all again.

Passion fades as cynicism creeps in. If this describes you or someone you know and you or they want to reverse the trend, take heart. Below are five tips to rekindle your passion at work, and your passion for work. “

He shares five ideas: (1) take responsibility for stoking your own fire, (2) redefine your passion, (3) get comfortable with being uncomfortable, (4) focus on a cause bigger than you, and (5) publicly declare your intention to find a new source for passion’s flame.

Analysis
So that’s one approach. Here’s another: take a 4 week vacation and see what happens. Perhaps you are just exhausted, and in that state, everything is bad.