A New Formula for Success
For as long as I can remember, I’ve had difficulty following through with things. I quit sports, I quit marching band, I quit every job I’ve ever had, I quit college, I’ve started countless business and creative projects that died at the first sight of friction. I’m interested in a lot so it hasn’t been difficult to just pick up something else. However, a few hobbies have stuck and I think I should start to really start taking those things more seriously. The hobby I’m most passionate about is storytelling.
Practicing this hobby is becoming more and more difficult. As I get older, there is mounting pressure to find some form of success in storytelling. Luckily, I believe the difficulty is not the result of my choosing the wrong focus or even an inherent flaw in my motivation. I think its simply my definition of success.
I think I have let too many external factors shape my expectations. Somewhere along the way, I lost sight of the joy I find in the creative process. I’ve put all of these expectations on my work (support me financially, gain me a following online, shape my very environment and lift my name to the ranks of kings). I started to care about having the best gear and how my work stacks up to my peers.
But no more! Here’s what I care about now. It’s really simple: consistency. Everything in my life will now be a slave to a single master. There are very few things I can control and one of those things is how often I’m completing my work. Even when I don’t think its good enough, even when I think no one will care, even when it couldn’t be farther from my vision. I’ll put it out in the world. I will improve through repetition and grit not through careful deliberation.
If I finish projects, I’m successful. If I don’t, I’m not.
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