Why Sh*tty First Drafts Are So Important

tl;dr: Being a creator is more than just putting things together in a new way and it’s more than having a vision. It’s the ability to share your vision when you know it’s rough and not let the fear of judgment or ridicule hold you back.

In Dare to Lead: Brave Work. Tough Conversations. Whole Hearts, Brené Brown writes about the notion of a “shitty first draft,” or an “SFD.”

“The idea of a ‘shitty first draft’ comes from Anne Lamott’s exceptional book on writing, Bird by Bird. She writes:

The only way I can get anything written at all is to write really, really shitty first drafts. The first draft is the child’s draft, where you let it all pour out and then let it romp all over the place, knowing that no one is going to see it and that you can shape it later.

Creating something new is very scary.

You are subject to doubt, skepticism, ridicule, and dismissive behavior…and that’s just your inner voice.

Then, there is everyone else!

This type of inner discussion is on my mind as the Genesis DAO team and I continue to grapple with the idea of a Decentralized Marketing Organization.

The idea of a DMO reads beautifully in the book, but when it comes to writing it down into something more concrete and specific, it gets a little muddled.

• What is it really? A service or a product?
• What does it do?
• Who uses it?
• How do they use it?
• How and why would they pay for it?

Given the nature of DAOs (Decentralized Autonomous Organizations) and open-source development in general, the expectation is that you will build your product in public.

That means, pretty much from the get-go, and particularly true with innovation, you have to get comfortable with communicating at (or at least slightly above), the SFD-level.

Let’s call it the “shitty second draft.” (SSD)

A few weeks ago, I wrote about the idea of the Disciplined Pursuit of Accountable Creativity. That was as much about the physical (just doing it), and touched on the mental (just publish it, share it).

What Brown helped me understand is that the self-discipline to make the time to do the work is very important, yes, but the creative spark is more likely to start a fire if the mental discipline is there.

That mental discipline, as it relates to creativity, is the ability to 100% believe that sharing the “shitty second draft” with others is going to be ok.

You don’t need to fear being judged, either by other or by yourself.

That perspective can liberate you and allow you to confidently go forward in the pursuit of new ideas.

Easier said than done, I realize, but I would hope it gets easier with practice.

Here’s my SFD for today.