Doubt. Good ol' unsullied, formidable as fuck doubt. Whether you are just starting off as a creative or someone trying to pursue a hobby more seriously, doubt plagues every creative person's endeavours. All the time. It's not so much so the effort but the idea that you could do something and that the world wouldn't take notice.
So if you are about to start a project and doubt's stopping you in your tracks, making you wonder if anything you do is actually worthwhile, I've some comforting words for you.
NO. Nothing you do is actually worthwhile. You will not strike gold. That cute girl in class won't comment on your blog. Even your own siblings won't like your tilt-shift photos on Instagram. It's far better if you admit right at the outset that you could do your best but still not get recognised for it.
Life is unfair after all. Credit is not often given where it's due. But what's worth noting is that unless you actually put yourself out there, credit would never come to you.
So pick up that pen, write that sonnet. Let it be terrible. Let the rhymes be off. Just put yourself out there. Chances are what you do today might not bring you fame or fortune or whatever you might seek. Chances are what you might do tomorrow would mean squat to the world but the oft chance that whatever little art you put out there achieves critical mass rests on your perseverance of putting yourself out there. There's a reason why they say hindsight is 20/20.
So, shall we get started then?
PS: I wrote this because Seth Godin asked me to. No, well, not exactly. This is a part of the #YourTurnChallenge - a weeklong challenge that encourages people to ship things by blogging everyday for a week. This is Day I. Hope Day II goes well too.
So if you are about to start a project and doubt's stopping you in your tracks, making you wonder if anything you do is actually worthwhile, I've some comforting words for you.
NO. Nothing you do is actually worthwhile. You will not strike gold. That cute girl in class won't comment on your blog. Even your own siblings won't like your tilt-shift photos on Instagram. It's far better if you admit right at the outset that you could do your best but still not get recognised for it.
Life is unfair after all. Credit is not often given where it's due. But what's worth noting is that unless you actually put yourself out there, credit would never come to you.
So pick up that pen, write that sonnet. Let it be terrible. Let the rhymes be off. Just put yourself out there. Chances are what you do today might not bring you fame or fortune or whatever you might seek. Chances are what you might do tomorrow would mean squat to the world but the oft chance that whatever little art you put out there achieves critical mass rests on your perseverance of putting yourself out there. There's a reason why they say hindsight is 20/20.
So, shall we get started then?
PS: I wrote this because Seth Godin asked me to. No, well, not exactly. This is a part of the #YourTurnChallenge - a weeklong challenge that encourages people to ship things by blogging everyday for a week. This is Day I. Hope Day II goes well too.
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