Summary: For the creatives out there, for the makers, the doers, and the dreamers, a few pointers: Don’t let the gap surprise you in the beginning. Ira Glass mentions the gap between our high-quality taste and our low-quality work. It will always be there early on, and sadly, most creatives can’t put up with it. What got us into the game was that we had a passion for good work but good work isn’t achieved overnight. So sadly, your work won’t be good for a while, that’s the gap in full effect. Remember Neo in the Matrix when he first jumped off the building? That’s us trying to fly, and falling into the gap. So we harakiri our creative dreams, we take ourselves out of the game. Instead, what if we were to race to close the gap? If we jumped into the abyss of work, of creativity, knowing that the ground is soft and rubbery. We can always bounce back. Then we race right back to the top of the building, and try again. Quickly. Until one day there is no gap to jump, we are finally as good as our tastes are. I’m fine with this, all true creatives should be also. Next thing to remember: Let your work be itself. Let it be unapologetically like nothing else out there. Don’t make it like his work, or like her work. Don’t be a poor man’s anyone. Rather, be you. A poor man, period. Finally, for my creatives out there: Have fun. Enjoy the making. The fun you have is the fingerprint that sets your work apart. The time in obscurity is tough, but have fun anyways. The dividends are accumulating in the background, you just don’t see them yet. You don’t even know what currency they will show up in, but they’re there. Your painting might be helping your gardening. Your writing might be helping your selling. Your dancing might be helping your relationship. Art enhances life in the same way life enhances our art. Nothing is a waste if you know how to look. If these things seem simple to remember, it’s because they are. But they’re not easily recalled when the weeds of frustration are covering our eyes. The creative’s life is rocky in its own unique way, let’s keep busy working with our heads down and our spirits high.
