We don’t know if what we make will be any good. Whether or not it’s good is not the reason we begin. We begin because we must.
We practice because creativity is a practice. Showing up for yourself is a skill you must practice again and again and again, more than anything else you’ll ever do in your life. We don’t wake up with a new skill bestowed upon us in our dreams; we practice, practice, and practice more and each time, we carve out more ability in our hands, minds, and bodies.
Soul Pancake (the very one that features Kid President) and Unmistakeable Media reached out about turning a podcast I recorded with Srini Rao into an animated short piece. The video went live this week, and it talks about the essential art of practicing your craft.
Enjoy.
Hi Sarah.
Great video. Thanks for sharing. It reminded me about my habit of writing Morning Pages every day.
You’re right — creativity is a habit in that you let the *process* of showing up every day determine the *outcome* of your work. I wrote about showing up every day and doing the work regardless of the outcome. dazne.net/work
I needed this! Two of the biggest affirmations for me have been “I’m showing up” and “it grows where I water it”. This really speaks to that, and reminds of me how empowering and centering it is to have a practice and engage every day. Thank you so much for reaffirming that.
Really cool video. I remember listening to the podcast conversation when it came out, and the whole thing was a great story of your journey to where you are. Much respect for all of the honesty.
TO answer the question you mentioned in your newsletter, I’m working on an online course that teaches English teachers how to use Google Docs to help their students write better.
Because it’s a big project, the showing up theme is an important one to remember.
Love this, Gerard! Congrats on building the online course — and that sounds like a really useful thing to teach.
This. Is. Awesome! I love this.
I loved this video. I specifically appreciated the image of the swimming and the rhythm mentioned and shown in the piece. I love to swim and it really reminded me of the inherent rhythm in swimming a lap – even if it’s only one lap or a few minutes of writing. So thank you for that.
As for me, I’m now on day 13 of the 30 day Morning Miracle challenge and am starting to believe that I could be a morning person – the exact opposite of how I’ve always seen myself. I’m also prepping for my first NaNoWriMo starting in 18 (ack!!) days and doing some world building writing exercises for the fantasy YA novel I’m planning on writing and completing next month (did I mention that already??? ;) ).
Hi Sarah. I love this simple reminder to make simple daily ‘making’ part of our everyday. I find that when I am making something for friends or family I can get completely anchored in the moment. My creativity loosens and expands and magical ideas just drop in and connect. This is sometimes a harder place to access when I am making for a commercial project with deadlines and limitations.
So now, I try and let the creations flow for myself, friends and family – and trust at some point in the future these little makings may end up forming the base note or idea kernel for a commercial endeavor.
The trick is to just stop and play trusting that this really is the work!
A very creative and interesting video. Thank you.