Audacity Required - What it Takes to Share Your Creativity
You know you have a message inside of you, but what makes it worth listening to?
This is a question that I can’t help but ask myself on a regular basis. As a creator, I want to express myself. I want to take that internal force that drives me from day to day, channel it into what I create, and share that with others in the hopes that they can enjoy and relate to it.
But then the doubt creeps in. What if what I make isn’t good enough? What if nobody likes it? Or, even worse, what if nobody cares?
And although the contrary is almost always true in my experience (which I’m thankful for), these questions still present themselves everytime I think of putting something out into the world. And yet, I share what I create despite these feelings of doubt, and the reason for it all boils down to one word:
Audacity.
Listen to me. If you have a message you feel compelled to express, then audacity is required for you to be succesful in doing so.
You need to believe beyond a shadow of a doubt that what you have to give isn’t only something others will want to experience, but that once they do, they’ll want other people to experience it too. A belief like that takes a rock solid conviction in your own ideas and ideals, an unwavering understanding that people not only want what you have to offer, but will become better for having been given it.
Do you think anyone who ever stood out or achieved great things listened to thoughts of “Who the fuck am I?” and “Who the fuck cares?” The answer is absolutely not. Because if they had, they would have never become great or stood out in the first place.
They were capable of achieving greater heights than the average person because they never once gave into the thought that maybe the view from those heights wasn’t meant for them.
This is what is required of those who strive to go beyond what one might consider to be an average existence. I would go so far as to argue that it even takes a certain degree of arrogance and conceit, qualities we often consider negative, to achieve. After all, how else would you be able to justify sharing that which is within you without first thinking that it’s important enough to be shared at all?
In any case, be audacious in your decision to be a creator in whatever medium it is you choose to create by. Don’t just do it, believe in it, breathe it, live for it. And if it goes beyond doing it simply for yourself, if you feel in your heart of hearts that the world would benefit from what you have to give, then never consider that greater heights are not for you to obtain, and strive to be fucking great at it.
And don’t ever let yourself settle for anything less.
So true! I also find myself thinking that my creations (whatever they are) are not good enough and nobody will be interested. There will always be someone who resonates with what you do. You just have to believe in yourself and have a little courage to put yourself out there. I do not think it is about arrogance, there is a fine line between audacity and arrogance. In my opinion, they are the same thing, one perceived positive, the other negative.
Your post gave me a little boost for today! Thank you for that, Justin!
You're welcome, I'm glad you were able to draw value from it!
In regards to arrogance, I think a little bit is almost neccasary to be succesful creatively. After all, when you put a creation of any sort out into the world, you must first believe that your creation is worth sharing, that it's something others want to see and that it's something that will benefit them. Maybe 'arrogance' is too strong a word, but I don't think it has to necessarily be construed negatively! I think it just has to be taken in smaller doses : )
Well, maybe it depends who is seeing your creation. 'Arrogance' is a strong word, but you got your point across. You were honest, a good way to win people over. Doing things in small doses is the best way to go in everything someone does.
agreed 100%
thank you for your input : )
This was an inspiring post to read. It reminded me of The War of Art by Steven Pressfield. I would recommend it wholeheartedly. If you dare, listen to the audio book, because the narration by George Guidall makes it even more inspiring.
Keep writing my friend!!
I will absolutely check out the book as I love to read! Thanks for the recommendation!
When we break that insecurity wall we always put in front of us, then miracles happen! Cheers mate!
Absolutely my friend, thank you for your input :)
Very inspiring post, thanks. I am a songwriter and, yes, I often do question myself too much. It's ironic, I'll simply have so much fun doing it, but when the doubt creeps in it is no more fun at all. How dare we actually do that to ourselves!? I'll often have to force myself to stop a negative train of thought in its tracks and just continue creating and having fun doing so!
Hey thats awesome, I'm a song writer as well! What kind of music do you play/write? Do you play any instruments?
The doubt is all just a part of the process. While we should never give into it, we can use it to check ourselves to some degree. It's just a matter of not letting it control you.
Yeah I play guitar and sing. I have been for about 20 years now, since I was 13 :) I've entered @openmic a few times. There should be a song on my blog still from last week.
You're right, the doubt must never control us!
Thats awesome man! I should do open mic soon too..
You are a very positive person. You should check out my son's blog @brotherbear. He is very young and could use a few pointers. I actually feel more positive now after reading your post. BTW I post what I want because it makes me feel better. I don't care if people like it or not. I am true to myself always and write about things that bothers me most. Followed you now.
will definitely check out his blog! have him stop by and tell him he's free to comment any questions he might have and I'll be happy to help him out anyway I can! Or he can hop on discord and add me there, I'm under the same name as I am on steemit!
love it! a positive attitude goes a long way - let go of those questions inside that are bringing you down. It's all about being persistent :)
Thank you pole bird, I appreciate your input and you're absolutely right! Persistence is key : )
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