Welcome to my weekly newsletter – A journey of personal growth into mindset, self-mastery, meaning in work for creators and solopreneurs.
#43 – 17 Feb 2023
💡 Play the fool: It’s time to give yourself permission to be creative
Do you feel like you’re not allowed to be creative?
It’s like some invisible brick wall is blocking you from your potential.
Then layer on top of that a stack of limiting beliefs and self-doubts.
“I don’t want to be seen to be a fool.”
So then you just bury that creative desire.
And cover it up with truckload cement for good measure.
You try getting on with life, but something feels a little off.
Something is missing.
A little voice tells you that you are destined for more.
That creative spirit wants to break out of the prison you locked it in.
After many years of suffering, you come to a realisation.
A big one.
You realise that your time on Earth is running out. And you want to make the most of what’s remaining. You no longer wish to give a damn about what people will think.
The fear of regret of not following your creative dream is now more scary than being seen as a fool.
Great!
Welcome to the rest of your life.
The part where you stop caring about other people’s thoughts and start pursuing what fulfils and makes you happy.
The part where you permit yourself to be creative.
We have two lives, and the second begins when we realise we only have one.
Confucius
Give yourself permission
It’s incredible how little signs of inspiration appear when we need them.
This TED video featuring Ethan Hawke randomly popped up in my feed and smacked me right in the face – Give yourself permission to be creative.
It seems like a strange choice here, as I’ve never really been into Ethan Hawke movies.
But hey, a new respect for Ethan!
The words deeply moved me.
Why did it hit me hard?
I think it perfectly captures the feelings of my creative journey. And my belief that we all need to tap into our inner creativity to be fulfilled in this lifetime.
We aren’t meant to sit around consuming all day and being told what to do.
That’s not fulfilling.
Or purposeful.
We are meant to create.
Being creative is in our DNA.
Whether you can see it or not right now, it’s there.
Think back to your childhood and the things that brought you joy.
I bet you were actively participating in something. Often creating or exploring:
- Playing a ball game at lunchtime.
- Biking across town and into the forest
- Making shapes out of play-dough
- Building a tree house
What do these things have in common?
They are FUN.
And they usually involve other people.
So where along our way did we decide to stop having fun making things and going on little adventures with other people?
When did we decide that passively doom-scrolling and binge-watching were more important to us?
Where is the legacy in that?
It seems like the kids had it right all along.
And I would argue that a key to their approach is a creative mindset, being an artist!
You just have to be willing to take a little risk and start to express what you feel.
That’s what I am doing here in this writing.
You are an artist
You might be wondering, “Creative? But I’m not an artist!”
Creativity: The ability to produce or use original and unusual ideas.
Cambridge dictionary
By “creative”, I don’t necessarily mean being an “artist” in the traditional sense – writing fiction, oil painting or making electronic music.
An artist is someone who uses bravery, insight, creativity, and boldness to challenge the status quo.
Seth Godin
I love that as a better, more human definition of an “artist”.
There are certain parts of your life where you are an artist – you use bravery, insight, creativity and boldness.
Maybe you:
- Lead with humour at the weekly client meeting.
- Bring a sense of wonder to the way you play with your kids.
- Spent hours perfectly designing the invites for your upcoming party.
There are a million ways you can show up with that artist mindset.
There is something special in the way you things. You bring a unique flavour and combination of elements unlike anyone else.
Time to start doing it more.
Here’s another banger from Seth to challenge your views on what art is:
Art is what we call…the thing an artist does.
It’s not the medium or the oil or the price or whether it hangs on a wall or you eat it. What matters, what makes it art, is that the person who made it overcame the resistance, ignored the voice of doubt and made something worth making. Something risky. Something human.
Art is not in the …eye of the beholder. It’s in the soul of the artist.
Seth Godin
For example, in the TED video, Ethan spoke of his brother’s unique gift:
His creativity was leadership, leading others his bravery to help others that was something he felt called to do, and it gave back to him.
You’ve probably had at least one super-cool boss over your career. You know, the one-of-a-kind who seems to bring a real sense of creativity to their leadership. It’s unique, passionate, and it’s inspiring!
You wonder, “geez, why can’t all bosses be like this?”
My father-in-law brings a sense of creativity to how he operates in the kitchen. It has a unique and magical flair. It’s amazing what he can whip up seemingly out of nothing, and he brings a special energy to the dinner table unlike no other, a presence that lifts the room.
Now, why am I banging on so much about this creativity?
I think because I spent 15 years in a job that limited my creative voice.
It squashed it down to almost nothing.
And I felt like less of a human.
But now that I am starting to express myself creatively, my world has changed.
I feel alive and excited about the future.
I think we are born to create.
It gives our life purpose when our creations help others.
We aren’t meant to sit in a cubicle taking orders all day.
We have something inside us that is yearning to be expressed.
We must break out of that box and bring our voices to life.
Now is the perfect time.
With the online world and all the software tools available, we can make starting as low friction as possible.
Dip your toes into the water.
It doesn’t have to be some grand vision.
Almost three years ago, I started with a free WordPress blog and just started posting anonymously into the void.
I’m pretty sure no one was reading it.
But that didn’t matter.
It was helping me.
The daily act of showing up and writing something started to make me feel whole.
That creative spirit was healing me.
I was repairing all those wounds from years of struggling in the wrong direction.
But here’s the truly remarkable part:
Over time you start to find your voice, figure things out, claim a space of your own, and people want to come along for the ride – your tribe!
Being connected to billions of people online and sharing your message attracts like-minds.
Yes – they are out there.
And they will find you.
All you have to do is start and keep showing up.
Let the power of time and compounding work its magic.
Feeling like a fool
When I started, I felt like a fool posting all these motivational quotes online.
My inner critic had a field day:
“Who do you think you are, some Australian Tony Robbins? Pipe down. Nobody cares.”
You’ve felt the same, haven’t you?
Part of the challenge of showing up is the inevitable fears we encounter:
- What if I get laughed at?
- What if I suck?
- What if I fail?
We need to embrace the mindset of “the fool” here.
Recognise that it’s ok to look silly and make mistakes.
That’s part of progress.
That’s part of a life well lived with no regrets.
And it means we are connecting with others.
When we dare to show up, we become memorable and appreciated.
It doesn’t matter if you “feel like a fool”.
Be a fool, as that is probably the real you coming through.
And that’s genuine.
That’s what resonates with people.
That’s how you make an impact.
People will connect with your story and say, “yes, that’s my fool!”
❔ Reflection
Where do you bring a sense of creativity into your life?
What is the unique combination of elements and flair that makes you unique?
How could you further bring that to life in the coming week?
💬 A quote to ponder
It’s a thing that worries me sometimes whenever you talk about creativity, because it can have this kind of feel that it’s just nice, you know, or it’s warm, or it’s something pleasant.It’s not.
It’s vital.
It’s the way we heal each other.
In singing our song, in telling our story, in inviting you to say, “hey, listen to me, and I’ll listen to you”.
We’re starting a dialogue. And when you do that, this healing happens, and we come out of our corners, and we start to witness each other’s common humanity.
We start to assert it.
And when we do that, really good things happen.
So if you want to help your community, if you want to help your family, if you want to help your friends, you have to express yourself and to express yourself, you have to know yourself.
It’s actually super easy.
You just have to follow your love.
There is no path.
There’s no path till you walk it.
And you have to be willing to play the fool.
So don’t, you know, read the book that you should read, read the book you want to read.
Don’t listen to the music that you used to like. Take some time to listen to some new music.
Take some time to talk to somebody that you don’t normally talk to.
I guarantee if you do that, you will feel foolish.
That’s the point.
Play the fool.
Ethan Hawke
📣 What happened this week
Going all-in
I officially wrapped up my finance job this week.
Woohoo!
It’s been a long time coming.
Cheers to going all-in on the creator economy.
Looking forward to the year ahead!
💭 Final thoughts
Today’s writing background playlist was the “Magical Mystery Tour” album by The Beatles.
Thanks for reading!
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Cheers!
