Creative Calling

1. Embrace Your Creative Calling: You Are Inherently Creative

Creativity is as essential to health and well-being as exercise, proper nutrition, and mindfulness.

Everyone is creative. Creativity is not a rare talent limited to a select few, but a natural force within all of us. It's about connecting unlikely ideas in novel and useful ways. By expressing yourself regularly in small ways, you'll discover the agency and drive necessary to create the life of your dreams.

Creativity is practical. It's not just about making art; it's problem-solving, business, activism, and building connections that make life worth living. Any creative craft practiced regularly unlocks and activates your larger creative capacity, allowing you to see all the possibilities available to you and choose among them to create the life you want.

Areas where creativity applies:

• Art and design
• Business and entrepreneurship
• Technology and innovation
• Personal relationships
• Life planning and decision-making

2. Design Your Creative Life: Develop Systems and Habits

Your goals can only be reached through a vehicle of a plan, in which we must fervently believe, and upon which we must vigorously act. There's no other route to success.

Create a framework. Establishing a consistent creative practice and sticking to it is crucial. Build a basic framework for creative work to save yourself disappointment and put you on the fast track to success. This includes setting goals, developing habits, and creating a conducive environment.

Optimize your environment. Your physical and mental space greatly affects your creativity. Create a dedicated workspace, reduce distractions, and cultivate a positive mindset. Use tools like time-blocking, batching similar tasks, and working during your most effective hours to maximize productivity.

Key elements of a creative framework:

• Clear, achievable goals
• Regular, consistent practice
• Supportive environment
• Time management techniques
• Positive mindset and self-talk

3. Take Action: Make It Till You Make It

Don't fake it till you make it. Make it till you make it.

Action trumps planning. While preparation is important, too much planning can be a trap. Instead of trying to plot out the perfect project before you start, accept that it'll take a few shitty drafts to get things sorted out and just start creating. Play, enjoy the process, and figure it out along the way.

Volume matters. The quantity of your output is crucial, especially when starting out. By creating a large volume of work, you'll close the gap between your taste and your abilities, develop your unique style, and improve your skills. Don't wait for perfection; embrace the process of learning through doing.

Strategies for taking action:

• Set small, achievable daily goals
• Embrace imperfection and learn from mistakes
• Focus on quantity over quality initially
• Celebrate small wins and progress

4. Learn Continuously: Develop a Growth Mindset

Learning is the lifeblood of creative work.

Become a lifelong learner. The most successful creators never stop learning. They take the reins of their own education, doing what they need to survive formal education but still investing their heart and soul in mastering their chosen subjects on their own or with outside coaching and training.

Create your own learning path. Develop the meta-skill of learning itself. Understand how you learn best and create a personalized approach to acquiring new skills and knowledge. This might include a mix of resources such as books, online courses, mentors, and real-world experience.

Components of effective learning:

• Personal exploration and experimentation
• Structured instruction (online courses, books, etc.)
• Community engagement and peer learning
• Practice and application of new skills
• Reflection and self-assessment

5. Overcome Fear and Failure: They're Part of the Creative Process

Failure sucks. It hurts, and you couldn't pay me enough to do it on purpose. But like death and taxes, failure is unavoidable.

Reframe failure. Instead of seeing failure as a reflection of your worth, view it as a necessary step in the creative process. Every failure contains the seeds of future victory if you're willing to learn from it. Develop resilience by embracing challenges and seeing them as opportunities for growth.

Face your fears. Creative work often requires vulnerability and risk-taking. Acknowledge your fears, but don't let them paralyze you. Use techniques like visualization, small steps, and reframing to push through fear and take creative risks.

Strategies for handling fear and failure:

• Practice self-compassion
• Focus on learning and growth, not just outcomes
• Celebrate effort and progress, not just results
• Seek support from peers and mentors
• Use failure as feedback to improve your work

6. Build Your Tribe: Find Your People and Nurture Community

We become more fully ourselves when we are in a community of other creators.

Find your base camp. Seek out communities that align with your interests and values. These can be both online and offline spaces where you can connect with like-minded creators, share ideas, and find support. Start with small, focused groups and expand your network over time.

Give generously. Build your community by consistently adding value. Share your knowledge, offer support, and engage authentically with others. This approach will naturally attract people who resonate with your work and values, creating a loyal and supportive tribe around you.

Ways to build and nurture your community:

• Attend events and meetups
• Engage regularly on social media
• Create content that serves your audience
• Collaborate with other creators
• Offer mentorship or support to newcomers

7. Launch and Share: Your Work Gains Value When Released

Your work isn't done until you walk away—or, far better, share it with the world.

Overcome shame and fear. Sharing your work can be scary, but it's essential for growth and impact. Recognize that you are not your work, and that criticism or indifference to your creations doesn't define your worth as a person. Practice vulnerability and build resilience through regular sharing.

Create transformational projects. While consistent small efforts are important, also focus on creating standout projects that represent significant effort and growth. These big swings can propel your creative career forward and make a lasting impact on your audience.

Steps for successful launches:

• Build anticipation within your community
• Prepare thoroughly, but don't let perfectionism hold you back
• Celebrate the act of sharing, regardless of the immediate outcome
• Learn from each launch to improve future efforts
• Use launches as opportunities to connect more deeply with your audience

Last updated: August 9, 2024