Let's Begin...

The posts on this blog will be my thoughts and memories on various wide ranging topics such as innovation, working at startups vs big companies, photography, creativity in all of its forms and anything else that compels me to start writing.

I have almost started writing these posts at least a dozen times over the years.

Fear stopped me.

The demon of imposter syndrome sitting on my shoulder, alternating between whispering and shouting “No one cares what you have to say!” or “What makes you think what you say is valuable?”

One constant for me over the years is that advice and lessons can take a while to percolate in my brain. Subconsciously they are there, brewing away until the moment they are needed and they pop up to the foreground. Once they do, they seem so obvious and should have popped up long before. My current theory is that they pop up when I am ready to accept them.

One of these lessons I will talk about in a later post is around “Create the job you want” given to me by the author of the amazing book “Feck Perfuction” by James Victore. The impact that this statement has had on my career cannot be overstated.

Starting these posts has been influenced by 3 sources of lessons. Actually many more, but here are 3 that stand out immediately.

Number 1

The book titled “The War of Art” by Steven Pressfield. I have this book both on audio and physical book. I have read and listened to this book at least once per year for the last 5 years. See, I told you it can take a while for me to process advice! Steven has a few books on the creative struggle and I heartily recommend them all. The main point of the book is to enlighten you about resistance to creating in all of its insidious forms. It really is an eye-opener to things that prevent forward progress on your creative passions.

Number 2

A YouTube video from Ze Frank called “An Invocation for Beginnings”. This video is from 11 years ago. (Are you starting to see the pattern?) At the time when I saw it I was so moved I even bought a poster that is a transcription of the invocation. I see that poster every day I walk into my office.

I love this video because of how seen I feel when he is talking about his fears and how to handle criticism. I also have watched this many times per year over the 11 years it has been out.

Number 3

Sometimes the universe will provide you with a subtle kick in the pants when you least expect it. I love to ride bikes. One of the peeps in cycling that has an amazing art style and attitude that I love is Chas Christiansen aka @notchas . Chas has a lot of fun bike adventures as well as this fun graffiti meets carved up school desk aesthetic that is right up my alley. Chas produces some various bike merch showcasing his art and I ordered a couple of neck gaiters from him a couple of years ago and this was written by him on the plain envelope they came in.

As you can see, I pinned this to my wall. It is to the left of my monitor and I see it all day, every day.

This day is the day I believe, it is time to begin.

My FILDI is strong.

p.s. Ze Frank’s animal videos are absolutely amazing and hilarious. A favorite of mine is “Creepy Dave”.