(The following is a repost from my newsletter dated 8/23/17. Want to sign up? Click here.)
Perception launches today, and I may or may not be housing a kaleidoscope of butterflies in my stomach. I believe art, in all of its forms, is meant to be shared. It’s a two-way street. And any time you share something, you release some of the control you had, or thought you had, over it. That can be scary.
My favorite-bit-of-advice-of-all-time about creativity comes from Joseph Chilton Pearce:
"To live a creative life, we must lose our fear of being wrong."
Nothing will kill creativity faster than that little voice in your ear whispering things like, “That’s not the way other people do it. What if that doesn’t work?” And the always-deadly, “What if nobody likes it?”
As a Creative, almost all the people I’ve met along my journey – whether in music, theater, writing, etc. – face these kinds of fears. In fact, I’d go so far as to say it’s healthy. It reminds us that sometimes things don’t work. And yes, sometimes nobody likes it.
And that’s ok.
The problem comes when we let those fears control the creative process – to dictate what’s “allowable” in our art. The fear is fine, but letting it take the driver’s seat isn’t.
So, I would amend Pearce’s words and say, “To live a creative life, we must overcome our fear of being wrong.”
Need help with that? You don’t need my permission, so consider this encouragement:
Go make something awesome. Do it the way you want to. Paint that picture. Write that story. Prepare that dish. Design that UI. Sing that song. Make that whatever-it-is-you-make.
You’re the only one who can.
And have fun doing it, will ya? 🙂
