Smells Like OldWhat do scented candles and being prolific have in common? Everything.

Cinnamon. Pumpkin. Baked apple streusel ... Not ingredients in a winter festival requiring stretchy pants. Although that does give me an idea for our next themed Friday. Those scents are actually some of my favorite candles to burn in my daily ritual of lighting before writing.

Why? Because as a woman over 40, these are the official scents we must check off as adoring to enter the club of awesome that yours truly is a member of. And they bring back nostalgic feelings of warmth and love from the holiday without the need to gift wrap a thing.

我最喜欢的类型是木头芯that crackle as they burn. I light one every single morning along with the lazy man's version of a roaring fire (gas) as I brew my first cup of coffee of the day. It's a ritual that signals to my brain that it's time to write; time to pull from my zone of genius and create. And it works.

Every single morning, even on Christmas or my birthday — all of the days — I get up, run through the ritual and write with joy and thanksgiving. In fact, I produce more than 20,000 words a week in this ritual, which allows me to write a daily email, course content, my books, my columns for this website and more.

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This routine has trained my brain that this is the only option in the am. No excuses. No distractions. No alternatives. We produce content with joy every ... single ... day. And the joy part is intentional as well. I never think, "I have to." I always think, "I get to."

Do you have a morning routine? Setting one is like lending a cape to your superpowers, signifying it's time to fly. Start with one set thing you will do before you create. Perhaps it's drink a glass of lemon water or do 10 jumping jacks or something else I imagine people that are tan, buff and taller than me are doing.

或者去你最喜欢的椅子上,用你最喜欢的foot stool with your favorite mug brimming with your favorite warm beverage (ahhhh, this is more my jam) to tell your brain it's time to go.

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It doesn't matter what it is, just that you do it. For one day. And then the next. And the next. And then continuing on for days because big dreams aren't completed in a second, or they wouldn't be big dreams. But setting up your day to first conquer the most important means those things get done. Because where your focus goes, your energy flows.

Remove excuses from your subconscious, and give yourself every advantage to create create a morning routine to remove obstacles and make your next dream come true. Middle-aged crackling candle suggested but not required.