What You Do Today Matters Tomorrow
I watched Ben Stiller sort through his parents' home in the new documentary Stiller & Meara: Nothing is Lost, and I felt it in my chest.
He was finding forgotten treasures—scripts, photos, recordings—piecing together the daily practice of two comedic legends who showed up, wrote, performed, and prepared for decades. Their journey was beautiful and worthy of honor and recognition.
I know that feeling.
When my parents neared the end of their lives, I did the same thing. Old yearbooks. Countless loose photos stored away. Things that seemed useless at first, until I realized they were breadcrumbs of a life lived with intention. Their journey, like Anne Meara and Jerry Stiller's, wasn't an accident. It was the result of what they did today, every day, compounding into tomorrow.
Here's what Ben discovered about his parents. Here's what I discovered about mine. And here's what I see missing in most creative professionals I work with:
Practice + Preparedness over Time = Success
Let me break that down.
Practice isn't just rehearsal. It's not the glamorous version we see in highlight reels. In the same way a lawyer "practices" law or a doctor "practices" medicine, creatives practice their craft every single day they decide to get up and do it. Writing. Designing. Leading. Creating. The daily, unglamorous showing up.
Preparedness is different than being busy. Preparedness is all about intentionality. And by definition, intentionality can be scattered, but it cannot be accidental or haphazard. It's asking: What happens if this works? What happens if it doesn't? Am I ready for either outcome?
Time is the multiplier. You can't skip it. You can't hack it. You compound small, intentional actions into something worthy of being discovered in a documentary one day.
The Mistake Most Creatives Make
Most creatives ignore preparedness because they're just looking for the next win. They forget to prepare for what happens when they DO win—or what happens when they don't.
Ben's parents prepared. They built systems. They documented their work. They created a body of work that told a story even after they were gone.
What are you building?
Part of my personal daily practice is writing these blog posts each week and releasing podcasts—over 130 episodes now. This helps me be a better consultant when my clients need direction. I'm "practicing" creative operations consulting the same way a surgeon practices medicine. Every. Single. Day.
It matters today. It'll matter tomorrow. And when someone sorts through my life's work one day, I want them to see a journey of focused determination—not scattered activity.
Here's what I want you to do:
Define a daily practice that will make you better tomorrow. Not inspirational fluff—real, unglamorous practice.
Identify where preparedness is lacking. Where are you unprepared for success? For failure? For growth?
And if you need help strategizing and implementing systems that prepare you for what's next, that's exactly what we do at Chief Creative Consultants.
Because what you do today matters tomorrow.
PS, if you want to read my story of growing up, you can find my book here.