Prelude
For years, I have been comparing myself to a calm sea. On the surface I don’t look like much. Nothing exciting is happening. Inside, I am full of wonder and adventure. You might think that the young man I used to be was laboring under the illusion that he had great ideas people would admire one day. Also, the guy was suffering from social anxiety and lack of communication skills. If you thought both of these things, you would be right. Eventually, I grew up and discovered that when people did not admire what I say, it does not necessarily mean that they are not geniuses enough. I am a normal human being whose bad ideas most probably outnumber the good ones. It took courage to accept that fact. The courage to be normal and the courage to be disliked are important to build up but very difficult to attain. When this realization dawned on me, I gave up on a lot of my hobbies and personal projects. Why should I bother with any of them, if I am not going to become the next Austin Kleon or Mark Manson. Well, Austin Kleon came along to rescue me from this stagnant status. His wonderful trilogy: Steal like an artist, Show your work, and keep going, really made a difference in my life. When I finished “Show your work” I bought the very domain I am posting on right now.
You don’t have to be a genius
I used to wait for the perfect moment to jump in a conversation. I must have something wonderful to say and take the conversation to a whole new level. Have you ever thought this to yourself while in a gathering with friends or in a social event? A good conversation is never one-sided. The most enjoyable time you can spend with your friends is when each of you share something interesting and the conversation builds up with all the bricks each of you put in it. When Austin said: “Share your ideas before you die”, “Be a documentary maker of your work”, “Join a scene”, his words resonated with me. I don’t have genius things to day but who says these are not worth saying.
Here is another question. Have you ever found a brilliant thing to say, and when you actually said it, it turned out to be extremely ordinary and unappealing? The issue is you would never have known unless you say it out-loud. When Austin said “Find your voice by using it”, he really encouraged me to go back to writing and even posting several things on social media.
The Courage to be disliked
This is another brilliant book by Fumitake Koga and Ichiro Kishimi. It is hard to be disliked by people. It requires immense courage. Fear from people’s responses is the greatest obstacle preventing me from sharing my what I want to say. Austin had great insights when he discussed how we should learn to take a punch. As he said, we might be our own worst trolls. Our self doubts and dark thoughts would make the impact of negative feedback a thousand times worse.
Parting Thought
It turns out I am not a sea full of wonder and adventure on the inside. I was too afraid to get feedback and work on what I have. Fear from feedback is the death of any creative work. The coveted scenario of someone who hits gold every time he talks is a myth. Success lies on the path of only those who persevere.