Read time: 9 minutes
MCC #73 – 15 Sep 2023
Welcome to My Creative Calling!
You’re riding on the train home.
You gaze off into the sunset.
That sinking feeling creeps in, weighing you down in the seat like you’re slowly falling into a bottomless pit.
A single tear rolls down your left cheek.
“Have I made the wrong decision?” you despairingly wonder.
You stutter in your mind:
“It’s too late to go back, isn’t it?”
You take the longest gulp, like you are swallowing a concrete boulder.
A shiver runs up your arms and then down through to your thighs.
Your hairs stand up and salute you as goosebumps burst out of your skin.
The penny drops.
“It is too late.”
“And I wouldn’t have it any other way!”
You place your elbow on the windowsill and plant your chin into your palm.
That sunset has peaked with striking beauty as it flashes between the shadowy buildings.
A glimmer of hope warms your stomach. And a tiny smile forms at the corner of your eyes.
“Am I f*cking crazy?”
But you don’t mean crazy in the bad sense.
Your cheeks rise up to a smile as you wipe that single tear away with the sleeve on your jumper.
“I’m f*cking doing this.”
“Oh, yeah… This is happening.”
“One way or another. This is happening.”
Congratulations, my friend.
You have done it.
You have crossed the threshold.
What threshold?
Commitment
You are committed to doing everything in your power to achieve your dream.
Do you know what just popped into my mind after writing that? (I love how the creative mind weaves ideas together!)
A quote from the movie Fight Club, by a character famously played by Brad Pitt:
A scene from Fight Club
Now, you might be wondering, how the hell is this relevant?
Especially if you have not seen the movie.
Now I know you wanna hear the quote. But first, a little backstory to build the tension…
Tyler Duren (Brad Pitt) storms into a convenience store with a gun. He grabs the cashier and drags him out into the back parking lot, pushing him on his knees with the gun pointed firmly at his head.
He inspects the cashier’s wallet ID, “Raymond K. Hessel”, and says:
“Raymond, you’re going to die.”
Tyler sees an expired community college card, “What did you study, Raymond?”
Raymond is overwhelmed with tears, shaking on his knees.
“Biology”, Raymond whispers.
“What did you wanna be, Raymond K. Hessel?” Tyler commands as he clicks the chamber on his pistol.
Tyler repeats the question louder.
“Veterinary, veterinary” Raymond stammers. But it was “too much school”, he wails.
“Would you rather be dead?” Tyler asks, “Here on your knees in the back of a convenience store?”
“No”, Raymond cries.
“I’m keeping your licence,” says Tyler. He promises to keep an eye on Raymond and check in on him:
“If you’re not on your way to becoming a veterinarian in six weeks, you will be dead. Now run on home.”
The main character (Edward Norton) then says to Tyler:
“I feel ill. That wasn’t funny. What was the point of that?”
To which Tyler says:
Tomorrow will be the most beautiful day of Raymond K. Hessel’s life.
His breakfast will taste better than any meal you and I have ever tasted.
Tyler Durden, Fight Club
Powerful, isn’t it?
Tomorrow could be the most beautiful day of your life
Tyler dragged this poor man through that horrible, life-threatening experience.
But he had a point.
He wanted this man to stop playing small, hiding from life in his unfulfilling job, and start building out his dream.
And tomorrow, Raymond would wake up a new man. Now a man with purpose—a man committed to achieving his dream of becoming a vet.
So that’s why that scene popped into my head after writing the intro to this letter — that feeling:
“His breakfast will taste better than any meal you and I have ever tasted.”
The person who has committed to their dream (or calling) wakes up a different person. They have a new drive, a new thirst. Ready to jump over obstacles and smash through brick walls.
That is the feeling of the person who commits to their dream.
That person could be you.
Wake-up call
Not all of us will have a wake-up moment of Brad Pitt pointing a gun at us. But these moments do happen in other ways. Life gives us a gentle nudge from time to time. Other times, it full-blown fly kicks us in the face, knocking us off our comfortable chair into the depths of rock bottom.
It happened to me when the pandemic wiped out my job seemingly overnight. Suddenly, my world flipped upside down.
“Am I gonna survive this?”
On the one hand, it was terrible — all the chaos and uncertainty of losing your work.
But eventually, I came to see it was liberating — finally, an opportunity to break the mould of the status quo and do what I had always wanted.
But first, I had to commit to the new path.
Commitment
A line from last week’s newsletter stayed with me:
“You need to commit.”
You need commitment if you are going to find any success in this journey.
I don’t necessarily mean you move to a deserted island and burn the boats. Don’t do something stupid and blow up your life for no good reason.
But there is a mindset shift from the uncommitted to the committed person.
They see things differently.
One has an inner determination and tenacity to make things happen.
The other will inevitably give up when things get hard, or they see no results.
What is “commitment”?
A promise or firm decision to do something.
Willingness to give your time and energy to a job, activity, or something that you believe in.
Something that you must do or deal with that takes your time.
Cambridge Dictionary
A commitment is more than just saying you hope to do something.
It means you’re going all in. You’re staying the course until you get the job done. Or sometimes that job is never “done”. It’s a new way of life.
No commitment, no depth
I cannot express how much better my life has gotten since transitioning to a “committed” life. Three levels come to mind:
Work
The obvious is my work — I’m committed to following my creative calling and bringing that vision to life. The injection of purpose has reignited my spark for life.
It’s liberating now to block everything else out peacefully. There’s no FOMO anymore for other careers.
I’m on MY path.
Marriage
Next is marriage — I remember being young and single. I felt “free” but drifting all over the place and craving stability.
Some people give marriage a bad rap in modern culture. Call me old fashioned, but I believe in the power of finding a life partner and building a life together through the inevitable rollercoaster ride we encounter.
I now have this deep sense of groundedness through marriage.
Parenting
Finally, there is parenting — I remember being scared of having kids one day. I selfishly worried about all the freedoms I would lose — world travel, partying with friends, and my hobbies like playing music in bands.
But I was short-sighted and wrong.
Sure, you have less flexibility — you can no longer be running off fooling around with your mates all the time.
But for what parenting lacks, it more than makes up for in terms of meaning and responsibility.
You are forced to grow.
Becoming a father has filled a hole I didn’t even know existed.
I can’t explain how fulfilling it is.
It almost brings a joyous tear to my eye when I picture my son’s smiling face.
Lack of commitment
Commitment is something lacking in today’s society.
There are too many fence-sitters who don’t want to commit.
They like to “keep their options open”.
But I argue that a fulfilling life comes from closing options and going deep on the few things that matter. You want to choose depth over width. Get out of the shallows and dive head-first into the deep end.
Unless commitment is made, there are only promises and hopes… but no plans.
Peter Drucker
Not only that, there are too many wannabe dreamers. They’re talking the talk. But they aren’t walking the walk.
They are pretenders.
Cause as soon as the going gets tough, they give up.
You see it all the time in creative pursuits:
- They start a newsletter but give up after five weeks when “life gets busy”.
- They create a podcast but don’t have a system for a pipeline of guests, so they give up after four episodes.
- They begin on YouTube, but it all becomes too time-consuming. So they give up after three episodes.
Once the initial glow of excitement dims, they are no longer interested.
Why?
Because they were in it for the wrong reasons.
They only wanted the glory and status that comes with having a platform.
But they didn’t want to do the hard work.
And once they soon realise it is much harder than they anticipated. It might take years to match the financial rewards of their salary job, so they give up.
It’s no longer worth it for them.
They weren’t committed.
But here’s the thing…
Opportunities open up to those who are committed
There are plenty of people out there who are happy to help you.
But they want to see some commitment.
No mentor wants to pour hours of advice and support into someone who gives up as soon as the going gets tough.
You might not realise it, but people are watching you, regardless of your audience size.
And whether they know it or not, they are subconsciously weighing up if your words match your actions:
“Are you the real deal?”
“Are you worth taking a bet on?”
And as soon as there is a hint of misalignment, a lack of commitment, they want nothing to do with you.
Why?
Because professionals want to work with professionals.
They don’t want to be messed around.
They don’t want their time wasted.
Demonstrate commitment
Pressfield writes how moving to the epicentre of our dreams shows commitment.
For example:
- The aspiring actor moves to Hollywood
- The aspiring writer moves to London or Paris
- The aspiring entrepreneur moves to Silicon Valley
But this is not only in our physical sense but also from the view of those who may hire or help us.
They see you have demonstrated commitment. You are here. You left something behind.
She has shown that she is “crazy” in the best possible sense (as those established artists and entrepreneurs see themselves).
She has demonstrated that she is driven by a dream.
She has shown that she is willing to risk and sacrifice.
She has proven she has guts.
Steven Pressfield
Pressfield states this bold act “does not go unnoticed, by mortals or the gods”.
I have felt this in my career change, navigating the rough seas of transitioning from accounting to writer and coach.
I often feel like the crazy one when I speak to friends and family. They simply don’t get it. They don’t understand the creator economy, so they don’t see the big shift and miss the opportunity.
But you know what?
It doesn’t matter if they don’t get it.
Because the people who do matter do get it.
I recently had an admirable “big creator” acknowledge my efforts.
They see that commitment, that dedication, and they respect it.
They value it.
They start seeing you as valuable.
This leads to opportunity.
The game is changing — we will all be creators
Things are heading this way.
Work is trending away from resumes. More interesting than a conjured-up piece of paper is your body of proven results — projects online, testimonials, etc.
AI is absorbing all the basic, repetitive jobs.
So, what is left is human creativity and problem-solving.
This game of physically moving locations has changed in the digital landscape as creators, as there is no set place like Hollywood. Much creative / knowledge work is done remotely now.
But usually, any capital city is good for finding other like-minded creators in your country.
Connection in person is different to online networking.
It breaks down barriers and forms stronger bonds.
But still, you need to be hanging out at the online epicentre for your dream:
- What social platforms?
- What online communities?
- What events and seminars?
This is where you will network and meet peers who will become your like-minded friends, and as you grow together, you will propel each other forward.
You are standing on the edge of the Grand Canyon of opportunity.
But you have to commit to taking action.
Are you committed?
Reflection
What is the big idea or dream that is calling you?
How important is that to you on a scale of 1-10?
Don’t pursue anything that is less than 8. You won’t commit if it is not important enough.
What will it take for your “Raymond K. Hessel” moment, where you stop playing small and commit to going all-in on something with purpose?
How would your 80-year-old self feel if you ignored your calling forever?
In what other areas of life are you avoiding commitment? How is that holding you back? Also, how is it serving you?
How can you demonstrate commitment to those potential collaborators, employers, or mentors above you?
Where do you need to start virtually hanging out to make things happen?
A quote to ponder
We are living an earned life when the choices, risks, and effort we make in each moment align with an overarching purpose in our lives, regardless of the eventual outcome.
Marshall Goldsmith
What happened this week
Poetry & Purpose
Your Gift
“It’s definitely a gift,
this thing you say you don’t have.
What comes easy to you,
is challenging for others.”
… Continue reading on Substack.
Final thoughts
Today’s writing background music playlist was Robbers & Cowards by Cold War Kids on Spotify.
I hope you enjoyed this letter, please share it with a friend.
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It would be great to have you on board!
Cheers!
Matt K. Head
When you’re ready, here’s how I can help you:
Coaching
- Find more meaning and fulfilment in your work
- Gain clarity and start taking action on your creative journey