In the past, I would have equated creativity to many things. But simplicity and minimalism would not have been one of them.

The idea that somehow doing less and curtailing my creative impulses was foreign to me.

If it was there to do, I would do it. Every idea was somehow equal in my estimation as a route to explore.

I would never want to discourage your own exploration, but I have discovered one key truth that has multiplied my effectiveness and my own peace of mind.

Although every idea may be good, they are not all good for me right now…

https://davidleemartin.com/minimalism-creativity-ditching-the-distractions-for-ultimate-flow/

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At one time, not following all of my creative impulses and chasing after every opportunity that was open to me seemed quite foreign. If if it was there to do, I would give it a go. You know, every new trend that came along, every idea, you know, particularly ones that potentially would help me make money, I would I would look into them and I would seek to find out. I would buy a course or buy some kind of training and and then try and figure out how I could implement it.

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But the honest truth is, oftentimes it did not lead to implementation. It just led to overwhelm because really my heart wasn’t invested in these ideas. And and that’s the thing really, with productivity, with seeking to to prosper and to multiply, sometimes we can be sidetracked by really what to to a great degree, good ideas. But they’re not necessarily all good for you right now. And that’s what I found as I went forward. I was really diluting my effectiveness because I was kind of pouring my thoughts and my attention and my time into projects that really did not resonate with me.

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And, you know, it’s so important for us to understand that although one idea may be good, it’s not necessarily God, it’s not necessarily the one for you right now in keeping with his purpose. You know, without such trees standing guard over our time and attention, we leave ourselves open game for all of the loud voices that are trying to get us to run in one direction or running in another direction. And the only reason I know that I know this, you know, I can’t point the finger at anyone else.

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I am the chief of sinners when it comes to distraction. I’m certainly getting better. You know, I believe in multiple streams of income, but not at the expense of really pursuing the things that we carry passionately in our heart. You know, some people never really find a groove because they’re fearful to eliminate the things that don’t bring joy to their life. And quite honestly, it’s not easy to do, you know, the self doubts and the reasonings that we go through to try and convince us that we have to submit to the status quo and continue just doing the things we’ve always done, the way we always have.

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But no change leads to no change. And I’m a firm believer that God is a God of increase, said he has things for us to step into and that our life is kind of should constantly be expanding, constantly exploring, and we should be growing with every step. You know that a lifelong school of learning really doesn’t come to an end and but but with any skill or specialism, you know, we become more focussed and we can’t become deeper the further we go in, you know, say say, you know, as you start very wide in general, but in kind of learning, in education, in areas of skill and specialism, the focus narrows.

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The knowledge that undergirds that narrow focus is deep. Yeah. And heavy. It’s like like the iceberg underneath the water. And that’s why that’s having a general understanding of the areas that you want to serve is very useful. But that does come a point where you need to focus and say after many years running in all sorts of direction, you know, I really saw much greater traction when I began to simplify the palette of projects that I was engaged in.

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And that really was not an easy thing to do. I’ve got to be honest, it was quite difficult for me to jettison certain projects because they were, you know, reasonably lucrative for me. But they did steal and they did take a lot of time and attention that I knew in my heart. Like, if I come in, I regard the legacy that I want to leave. I just knew that that focus and that attention needed to be elsewhere.

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And and, of course, in the process really of this expansive life in God that we’ve been called to live, the the measure of success is not only money. Now, that is one measure, OK, in in particular areas, in particular arenas, but, you know, the lifestyle that we live in, the pursuits that we engage in should leave, should lead to peace in our home. They shouldn’t just fill out our bank, but they should fill our heart.

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And so, you know, when a lot of people fall into fall prey to just the pursuit of riches and they sacrifice everything else in that pursuit and that the real cost of something is something to you, is something that you really can’t measure just on a balance sheet. You know, it’s not so clinical is that we are human beings and we’re in relationship with other human beings. And there is so much more depth and so much more life and so, so much richer experience for us to enter into that can’t be quantified by an accountant.

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And so, you know, I would really encourage you to take some time and look at look at the palette of different projects that you’re involved in and ask yourself, have some of these gone past their kind of use by date? Is it time for me to really move on? You know, sometimes it may require an element and a season of sacrifice in order to do it. But I can certainly testify that as I began to make some of those seeming sacrifices and set off on my own journey towards simplicity, I realise a startling change began to take place that not only led to less work, but to greater profits.

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You know, so and the weird thing is that the profits were lower on my list and probably had ever been. Instead of chasing the dollar, I began to kind of chase destiny, if you like. And in doing that, it opened up a whole new realm of prosperity and opportunity. I think to a degree was probably in my own heart, you know, that that began to take place because instead of being moved by fear of lack, of fear of missing out, I was beginning to move by faith and beginning to develop faith in moving by faith, if that makes sense, you know, and pursuing this value driven simplicity and whatever your own brand of minimalism might be, you know, with intentional investment in only the things that you really value, the things that matter.

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And that includes personal and professional marriage, children, friends, purposeful work, play, you know, add to contributing rather than consuming it, then consuming. You know, it can really. Radically shift the way that you frame the everything that you do, you know, instead of 10 or 20 diluted projects or pursuits, just one or two dynamically focussed projects based around my values resulted in more vigorous and tangible effectiveness and growth. Then, you know, all of the 10 put together and say, I guess you could say that my my results multiplied in tandem with how much I simplified and, you know, doing this podcast, doing daily posts on the blog, they’re all part of that renewed focus and says a Christian communicator or a content creator, you know, as a creative with a love for Christ and a desire to use your passion and gift ins to serve his kingdom.

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You know, this this, I believe, is a message for you. It’s a simple one, and it’s one that really calls for you in your own personal relationship with Jesus to ask him, Lord, what are the things I need to be focussing on right now and what are some of the things that I need to jettison? Is there is there a place that I need to simplify in order that I might begin to multiply? Well, thanks for listening.

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Hopefully it’s been an encouragement to you today. If you want to connect any further, you can do so through my website at Davidleemartin.com. Have a great day.