Author and former literary agent John Hodgman is talking purely about the life of a writer, but I like what he says about brilliance and persistence.
The unconscious life is not worth living. A creative has to understand what he knows in a truth-seeking way, and be willing to maintain a daily practice — to pitch ideas and samples, to be present enough to perform, to simply persevere.
Amateurs built the ark; professionals, the Titanic. Speaking only for myself, assuming I've got a couple good decades left, I don't want to be dying and thinking, "Thirty years ago...I could've tried that." Everyone starts out as a novice, a rookie. The world is filled with talented amateurs who give up too soon.
Persistence, not talent, will carry you further. I had a professor who said, "Talent is just indication of potential. What do you have after that?"
Most people love the perceivable assumptions of "the creative life" — the supposed irresponsibility and outspokenness — but I'm here to tell you, being a creative is one of the most responsible, rigorous things you can be. Most people don't want to do the work, because it doesn't fall into conventional work hours, it's not always "billable," and it's subject to criticism from everyone and his brother. Life is filled with a thousand necessary tasks and distractions, and nobody is blamed for submitting to them (especially where child-rearing is concerned). Harder to understand why anyone would acquiesce to a life of constant effort and repeated rejections. (I'm thinking of my friends who are painters and poets and jazz musicians.)
So...write your book or magnum opus. Go back to school for a poetry class and fill notebooks with your own sonnets. Take up sculpture or quilting or photography, and see the world in new dimensions. Relearn something you once loved and let slip away.... It may take years to master, but the time will pass anyway. Seek out constructive criticism, and make a friend of rejection. Rejection is a form of discomfort, and discomfort is temporary. Any pain you feel lasts 90 seconds, and then it dissolves into a new insight, a new lesson. There are more reasons to persist than to quit, and it will be an adventure. Good luck to you.
#noregrets #dietrying
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