Why haven’t you launched that business yet? Started that novel? Taken the plunge into the side hustle you can’t stop thinking about?

John Wright, in his hilariously biting yet deeply insightful book Advice from a Porcupine, has a theory. It’s not laziness. It’s not lack of talent. It’s distraction.

He calls it “the epidemic of average”—a world where people binge TikToks on how to feel better rather than be better. A world where gummies promise relief from everything but offer fulfillment in nothing. And while we might laugh at the absurdity of “CBD tampons” or “fake Instagram jets,” the real joke’s on us—because while we’re doom-scrolling, the world’s real opportunities are scrolling right past.

What you focus on expands, Wright writes. And most of us are focusing on the chaos.

He’s not preaching from a mountaintop. He’s been in the mess—stepping into dog holes, pondering life at the acupuncturist’s office, feeling the drag of ego and routine. But instead of accepting that drag, he asked questions most are too distracted to face: What do I really want? What would my perfect day look like? What’s holding me back that I’m pretending is protecting me?

The truth is, clarity doesn’t come from more content—it comes from silence. From setting aside thirty minutes a day, away from phones, newsfeeds, and even Netflix, and letting your inner voice speak.

Don’t dismiss those “weird” thoughts that come out of nowhere. Wright didn’t. That’s how floor murals, garlic farms, and worm business ideas are born.

The Law of Distraction is real. But so is the Law of Creation. You just have to choose which one to live by.