How Dolly Parton stays focused and productive

I have a newfound appreciation and respect for Dolly Parton after listening to her being interviewed by Adam Grant. Adam does a great job of bringing out how Dolly’s creative mind work and how she stays focused and productive.

Dolly has written over 3,000 songs throughout her career, which spans more than six decades.

She has three practices she’s internalised that enable her to stay in her creative zone and focused for longer:

1. Self-Belief – Dolly has a burning desire to be creative and help those around her be as successful as they can be. This north star allows her to dance over discomfort and see it as part of the normal creative process.

2. Absence of judgement when things go wrong – when things fail to work out as planned, she says she doesn’t blame others, and instead looks to see what can be picked up from the experience and taken to a better place.

3. Humility – She explains that with every success, she grows more appreciative of the opportunities she has had, acknowledging how few people ever see their dreams come true​. Her humility enables her to keep focused on the challenges of revising and iterating her songs until they are ready to be released.