SHOW UP EVERY DAY, PART 2 - TALENT

I get so frustrated when people say 'You're so talented, I could never do that!'


This phrase has been repeated to me hundreds of times during my life, and you know what? It makes me mad. This is not about god-given talent, it's about showing up...EVERY DAY!

"80% of success is showing up"
~Woody Allen


You can tell how dedicated to a project someone really is based on just this factor alone. If you want to do something, or get better at something...show up. Every day. Even if it's a small amount of time. Regularity and consistency are far more important than qualitative results. It's a marathon, not a sprint.

Keep showing up, you will get better.

You may eventually reach a plateau, a threshold, or a fork in the road. At that point you have to choose whether to stay on the same road, or to continue your artistic growth (challenge).


IDEAS ARE ONLY 1%!!!
You want a good idea, as you will spend most of your time laboring over it, but, don't get stuck on this, it's just a fantasy until you complete the journey.

THE OTHER 99%:
SHOWING UP (EVERY DAY): 80%
GREY AREA OF MAGIC AND MAYHEM AND INTERNAL/EXTERNAL REFLECTION: 19%

That 19% of fudge-space is where things are polished, modified, enhanced, edited, simplified, and distorted. This one I think comes down to you, this is human 'error'. This is where what makes you who you are takes over, this is where you own the work. This is where you bring your personality, your style, or not.

Now, that 1% is important, but I, like so many others was in love with the ideas...they are so easy, and so ambiguous and non-specific. It's easy to fall in love at this stage. It's like infatuation. But it's not love. It's not deep or fulfilling. It's a cheap thrill.

The great rewards don't come this way.

So, long ramble short....show up, every day

SHOW UP, EVERY DAY

I Just finished watching Zombie girl on Netflix streaming. Watch it, it's good stuff.

A great takeaway from the documentary:

"You're not a filmmaker until you finish the film"

F*** the quality. F*** the doubt. F*** the possibilities of making it better. F*** the new and better ideas you have while your doubt is screaming at you to do something else....anything else. F*** it all.

Just make it. Set some constraints, and do it!

If this is something you will continue doing, you will get better, but, if you don't complete it, it's not art. It's not anything.

Now, I'm not saying leap blindly into a busy intersection. Use your wits, your human instincts to survive. Rely on those things, and just make the best s*** you can.

In summary:
Show up, every day.

Q&A #1

Thanks for bearing with me...I will try to find adjectives for the word "incredible"!

COOL STUFF FROM PEOPLE I KNOW

Let me nerd out for a moment here cos I like tangents:

kickstarter, fathoms, me, thornberg, kyle, gel 2011 conference, kickstarter...it's a small (cyclical) world after all!

GEL 2011


GEL 2011 DAY 2 Intro from Thornberg & Forester on Vimeo.


PS - I only did a little bit of work on this, most of the credit goes to Kyle Miller and the magicians at Thornberg & Forester.