Curry’s rise to the supernatural is all the more profound when you understand how he actually does it. He was not expected to amount to much at a mere 6 feet 3 inches and 185 pounds. The 2009 NBA Scouting Report on him read as follows:

Weaknesses: Far below NBA standard in regard to explosiveness and athleticism…. extremely small for the NBA shooting guard position, and it will likely keep him from being much of a defender at the next level…. not a natural point guard that an NBA team can rely on to run a team…. Can overshoot and rush into shots from time to time…. Will have to adjust to not being a volume shooter, which could have an effect on his effectiveness…. Doesn’t like when defenses are too physical with him…. Not a great finisher around the basket due to his size and physical attributes…. Makes some silly mistakes at the PG position.

The truth is, had Curry not learned to trust the creative process and evolve into who he is today, that scouting report would have likely proven accurate. But Curry has become what New York’s Drake Baer calls “an extreme outlier… in his ability to process sensory input... In simplistic terms, he’s seeing more of the game, allowing him to exploit opponents’ positioning to create shots, find passing lanes and force turnovers… Curry is something of [a] poster boy for a new era in sports, where superior neural circuitry is regarded as just as much of an advantage as a higher vertical or a sweeter jump shot.”

Steph Curry didn’t get this way overnight. He’s a Grinder who saw the need to become a different sort of player, a more cerebral one who can see more opportunities and seize more advantages than his opponents. Then he worked his butt off to get there. According to Curry, that hard work has allowed him to “feel more creative on the floor… so I can make better moves and have more control over my space out there.” In other words, says Baer, Curry has trained his brain and body to create opportunities out of thin air.

The sum of trusting a fluid creative process is that you set out to shape and become, rather than to solidify or confirm. This small difference is so impactful because it immediately changes your expectations.

Grinders transition away from expectations that are governed by the success and failure of individual products or pursuits. Instead, they are free to allow their work to gain more and more momentum, which evolves into something clearer, better and more affecting than the original results they sought.

Igniters transition away from unrealistic expectations that never materialize beyond the surfaces of whiteboards and Moleskines. Instead, they are free to constantly work out their big ideas, not only into tangible products, but also into products that ignite bigger and better ideas.

Both Grinders and Igniters transition into expectations that are governed by constant effort, education and growth.

Both Grinders and Igniters transition into expectations that are governed by constant effort, education and growth. You become, to use Dostoevsky’s phrase, “engaged in full-time engineering.” As a result, you are constantly learning, evolving and creating. The product in focus—if there currently is one—is not your end product and it does not define you. It is merely a measure of your progress, either through success or failure, along the frontier of constant iteration.

Early in his career, Nolan Bushnell—the co-founder of Atari—was a young Grinder who missed some big sparks that flew along the way. But it seems that by the time the Navigator came around, he’d learned to embrace the Igniter in him, too. Instead of solely focusing on the finish line or the manifestation of the original product, he and Stan Honey remained open to the expansion of the initial spark.

I learned a similar lesson after losing my business. I, too, was a young Grinder who missed the flying sparks along the way. Looking back, I can see now where I could have evolved my business to perhaps weather the dot-com storm and eventually realize the bounty that the top speakers’ bureaus are now reaping from today’s multibillion-dollar pot. But all I knew back then was hard work—and hard work wasn’t enough. Still, I don’t look back with regrets. I wouldn’t be where I am today without my oversight. Bushnell might say the same thing. Sure, I’d like to have figured out a way to keep that flame alive, but the truth is that the ashes of that blaze are what cleared the way for a bigger idea and greater growth.

Prescribed burns are controlled fires that remove dead material and increase the exposure of bare soil, the good stuff that allows widespread growth. In 2010, two researchers studied prescribed burns on Colorado’s Pawnee National Grassland and found that “except after severe drought, prescribed burns done during late winter… increase forage protein content, starting with the first spring after burning.” In a related earlier study, the same researchers found that prescribed burning actually enhanced the digestibility of certain grasses.

Controlled burning stimulates the germination of desirable forest trees, thus renewing the forest. In fact, some seeds, like that of the sequoia tree, remain dormant until fire breaks down the seed coating. Prescribed burns not only renew the earth’s soil so that new seeds can spring up; they also prevent catastrophic wildfires that destroy everything in their path.

In Florida, during the drought in 1998, wildfires incinerated hundreds of homes over the course of nearly two months. More than 45,000 people were evacuated and fire suppression organizations from 44 states responded. To reduce the damage as much as possible, Florida hosted the largest aerial suppression operation ever conducted in the United States. Largely because of this massive effort, protection of structures was quite successful, with only 337 homes damaged or destroyed and 33 businesses burned. However, the damage could have been far less; it could have even been eliminated entirely.

When the ash had finally settled, forestry managers in the area noted that the underlying cause was prior cessation of annual controlled burning. Many homeowners in the area had complained about the smoke smell in the air some five to 10 days per year. Out of courtesy, the controlled burns were stopped, leaving the area highly susceptible to damage and loss.

Don’t make the same mistake and shy away from greater ignition. Not only will you—like me—leave yourself susceptible to an enormous meltdown, you will stall and even stop the growth of better ideas inside and around you.

Whether you have no idea or a big idea you’re already grinding out, press forward. You have to regularly ignite fires to constantly unearth the best seeds. And you must also not forget to step back from the fire you’re fueling and look around. Within the scattered sparks and embers, new signs of growth and better paths for progress emerge.

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