Most creatives don’t do anything.

I’ll repeat that.

Most “creatives” don’t do anything.

They sit on their couch watching netflix, youtube, and other creative people doing creative things instead of doing something themselves.

Despite the understanding that today is the best time there ever was to pursue something creative - they still do nothing about it.

These days, all the knowledge and information you need to succeed is available online.

You have all the best tools of the time - whether that be digital programs to paint and draw, cameras for photography, or video editing programs to make content.

Now is the best time to be a creative person.

You can post online, build an audience, build a platform talking about whatever you wanna talk about, share what you’ve learned, and make money doing so.

You can build your own creative business that allows you to do the things you wanna do, live the life you wanna live, and be the person you wanna be.

And you and other artists can communicate, talk, convene and grow together - because we are in a collaborative world not a competitive one.

And yet most people sit down and do nothing.

They’d rather talk about their dreams than live them. They’ll tell their friends about how they wanna do this and that, plan this and that, create this and that, yet when the time comes they’ll say things like: “oh I don’t feel like it”, “oh I’m not motivated”, “now’s not the right time”, “I’m too busy this week”, etc, etc, etc.

I’ve felt all of these before.

Actually I still feel all of these every day.

The difference is I sit down and do it anyways.

If you want to get ahead of 99% of creatives you must work.

There is no way around it.

Life is hard and the people who tell you its not have yet to meet their rude awakening.

All these hacks, these tools, these shortcuts might help a bit but they can also overcomplicate the process.

It’s a preference - sure I’d prefer to feel good, be motivated, have all my tools and stuff in place so I can have a great time working on my creative stuff, but if I don’t?

What am I gonna do, go back in bed?

No - I’m gonna sit my ass down and do it anyways.

And to be real I’m not perfect. I’ve had my fair share of burnouts, unproductive days, and complaining.

But over time I’ve slowly whittled them down so they no longer get in the way.

Every morning, I wake up and write. It doesn’t matter how I’m feeling. It doesn’t matter if I’m super pumped and motivated or not.

I sit down and I write.

If what I write that day sucks - I don’t care. I’ll make it better later.

Then I’ll either edit photos, make content, or do other productive creative stuff that pushes this channel and business forward.

This process of “doing” builds the creative muscle.

Over time things get easier and I get better.

Simply getting started is what actually finishes the project.

Eventually this becomes a process of being. If you do this long enough and consistently enough it becomes who you are and you might even feel weird when you don’t do the thing.

This other side of this bridge is magic:

• It’s creative freedom matched with responsible discipline.

• It’s self awareness of one’s strengths and faults and the proper systems to match them.

• It’s a feeling of true empowerment when you can say you’re going to do something and actually go do it.

When you know life is going to hit you with the things life does but it’s not going to matter because you’re going to keep walking anyways.

That’s the creative freedom I work for every day, and hope to help others get to as well.

But today, we’re not going to go there.

Before we can run we must walk.

And before we can walk we must crawl.

So today we’re going to learn how to crawl.

I’m going to share with you the tools to get started, get ahead, and stay ahead.

We’ll begin with what I call the “Three Pillars of Mastery/Growth” or “The Formula for Growth”. It’s a concept I’m still working on so if anyone can think of a better name, please let me know.

This is how to literally get ahead.

In a future letter we’ll talk about what success actually means and how to escape competition.

But for now, lets get started with making things.

Disclaimer: this is a dense reading.

This is meant to be a timeless resource both you or I can come back to every now and then and remind ourselves of what to focus on as we move along in our creative journeys.

It’s not going to be perfect - because I myself am still learning. But it’s going to be the best I can make at the level I’m at right now.

If you’re not ready for it - don’t read it.

If you’re not looking to improve or get sh*t done this year - also don’t read it.

Lets get started.

How to Literally Get Ahead

These are the Three Pillars of Mastery/Growth. (formula for growth)

We’ll break each one of these down individually and then talk about what happens when you’re able to do all 3. Because if you can get to that point, that’s where the magic happens.

Step One. Do Something.

In life there’s something called “analysis paralysis”.

This is a term used to describe overthinking and overanalyzing prior to starting something.

We’ve all experienced that one thing when we say we want to do something, we do all the research, get all the tools, have everything in place, and then we don’t do it.

We can’t take the jump, take the leap, make the hurdle.

It may be our own perfectionism limiting us: we want everything to be in order and in place to get that “perfect start”.

Or maybe we’re overanalyzing each component to the point where we don’t even know how to start because there’s a zillion different things we could do.

We are trying to have the entire roadmap complete before we’ve even done anything.

And because of this, we end up never doing anything.

This compounds over the course of our lives and we begin to associate ourselves as the type of person who can’t keep promises to him/herself.

“I can’t get things done.”

“I’ve tried before and it didn’t work.”

“This stuff’s not for people like me.”

These self-limiting beliefs prevent us from ever doing anything again.

Our pre-existing evidence about our failures make small things look bigger than they really are.

“How can I start a YouTube channel, when I couldn’t even edit that photo today?”

“What if I make the video, but it sucks, and then everything is messed up and no one likes me?”

“I want it to be good but I’m not capable of making what I’m envisioning, and even if I do no one’s gonna care, so I should just get a normal ass job and not even try to begin with.”

Relax.

Take a deep breath and chill the f*ck out.

Let go of the past.

Just because you didn’t do “X” in the thousand times you tried to start before, doesn’t mean you can’t do “X” now.

Release that baggage from the past and realize that the past doesn’t actually exist.

Its gone now.

Who you were back then doesn’t have to have any affect on you are now.

The you today is a brand new person.

Literally. Your body replaces cells every day.

Some body parts take longer than others but your skin cells replace themselves every few weeks.

So you are literally not the same person you were yesterday.

And a brand new person can make different decisions and do different things.

Meaning if you want to be a productive creative in 2024, you can.

It is your choice.

If you haven’t started yet, get started.

If you’re someone who’s already started, don’t stop. Keep moving.

It doesn’t matter if its good or not, because perfection is impossible.

Aiming for perfection or “getting things in place” is like trying to find a needle in a haystack.

Except the needle doesn’t exist, and we’re fully aware of that, but we keep searching anyways.

So it being “perfect” or even “good” simply doesn’t matter.

Get started.

Whether you have the right stuff or not, get started.

Whether you feel ready or not, get started.

Here’s a practical tip to getting started:

Whatever it is, make a “shitty first draft”.

Allow it to be bad.

Actually, intentionally make it bad.

“Say, I’m gonna make a shitty Instagram reel just because. It’s not going to be good and I know it, but I’m going to do it anyways because this is the first step.”

Upload the video knowing it’s gonna suck.

Take the photo even if it could be better.

Do it anyways so you can start improving on it.

And then the next day, do it again.

Write the draft, plan the video, take the photo.

And then the next, do it again.

And again.

What you’ll notice is that it’s easier to make a better version because the first version sucked so bad.

Set the bar low to begin, and make it better later.

You’ll begin to realize that the hardest part of a creative project is starting.

But if you get good at starting, the rest of the project basically completes itself.

Most people are stuck on their phones consuming more than they create.

They’re busy looking at what other productive creative people are doing, not realizing they could be doing that as well.

And then they’ll talk themselves up to their friends about their visions, goals, and dreams, because that acts as a status buffer: they care more about how they look than the craft itself.

So literally.

The bar is that low.

If you do something, anything, you will be ahead.

Take the first step and your creative journey can finally begin.

Step Two. Learn Something.

The next step in our journey is to build a habit of learning.

The sooner you can build and understand this component, the better.

Fyi, these next two steps are very important, but if you’re someone who hasn’t done anything yet - focus on step one.

When you’ve got that down, then come back and work on steps two and three.

Because the rest of this might overwhelm you.

If it does, ignore it and focus on step one until you’re ready to move on.

After school, people stop learning.

I’ll repeat that.

After school, people stop learning.

To make things worse, many people never actually learn while they’re in school.

They’re showing up to get a participation grade to fill a quota for some pointless class for a pointless degree so they can get a job they hate.

Not everyone, but that’s what a lot of people do.

Many people never learn anything to begin with and many people stop learning as soon as it’s not required of them.

But to stop learning is the greatest disservice you can give yourself in this lifetime.

When you stop learning you prevent yourself from getting better.

When you prevent yourself from getting better, you make life harder.

You literally cap your own potential.

Maybe it’s because you don’t see the point.

Maybe it’s because you think you know everything.

Maybe it’s because knowing how much knowledge is out there will make you feel small and hurt your ego.

Those were all things I’ve struggled with.

Perhaps not that dramatically, but there were definitely some prideful ideas I had in the back of my mind that limited my growth.

I felt like I could learn everything on my own, and I didn’t need to learn from others.

That mindset eventually hurt me in the long run when I burned out.

It was only then that I realized that I had to let go of all this pride.

I had to start back from zero and build myself up again, this time by “pretending as if I knew nothing about anything”.

That was about a year and a half ago, which marked the beginning of a long journey of learning and self-improvement.

I began by reading every book I could get my hands on.

I learned personal finance, photography, productivity, philosophy, and watched any podcast or interview I could find with useful or interesting info.

And what do you know, my life got better.

It was like lifting the weight off my back or unshackling the chains around me.

What I learned from this is that:

There are people who have figured a bunch of sh*t out.

From the great artists of the past to famous inventors and gurus, there are people who’ve spent their lives solving the same exact problems we are dealing with.

And all we have to do is read a book or listen to them talk - and learn.

You don’t have to reinvent it.

Learn and use what they’ve figured out to improve your life.

That way you can spend your time and energy doing the stuff that actually matters to you.

So I can say this on the front and back end of the flip.

From someone who stopped actively learning to someone who became a “knowledge sponge”, learning is potentially the best habit you could build.

You don’t need to be a beginner to learn.

No matter what level you’re at, learning leads to growth.

And I’d argue that experts prioritize learning more than beginners because they understand the importance of it.

Experts know that they can accelerate their growth by learning.

The famous investor Charlie Munger once said, “As long as I have a book in my hand, I don’t feel like I’m wasting time.”

Now of course, not all learning is “good”. There is a difference between useful and not useful information, and you want to be able to filter between the two - but we’ll talk about that in another video.

For now, simply try and learn something new every day.

How do we actually go about that?

I would recommend to follow your interests.

Watch podcasts, read books, watch my videos (heh) - anything that interests you or is “useful”.

It doesn’t have to be about the craft itself.

Of course if it’s related to the skill you’re trying to build, that will help you out more, but learning in general is good.

You see, there’s a common misunderstanding that there’s no point in learning unrelated things.

We don’t learn sales because “we’re not salespeople”.

We never learn basic finance because “we’re not business people”.

We don’t study painting because “we’re not painters”.

Who cares.

Learning is learning, skills are translatable, and there is no useless knowledge.

Don’t limit your learning to one thing.

And remember, just like step one, we can start small:

• read for 15 minutes a day

• learn from a podcast for 15-30 minutes

• watch one tutorial a day

If you learn something new every day, no matter what it is, you will ahead of 99% of your peers.

It doesn’t have to be big.

Remember: most people stop learning after school.

Meaning, if you keep stacking small pieces of knowledge, you will be ahead of most people.

It’s the accumulation of small things that creates the big stack.

You’ll soon realize that what we’re building here is the habit or “metaskill” of learning.

Once you develop this skill of learning, you can learn anything.

You’ll never be scared of a subject or idea again.

You know that if you spend the time, break it down, you can learn it.

When you realize that, no hurdle is too big to jump.

No mountain is too tall.

And you can go as far as you want or wherever you want in your creative journey.

Step Three. Teach Something.

Most creatives are selfish.

Most artists are selfish.

They figure something out and keep it to themselves because they are afraid someone’s going to take their secret and use it to get ahead.

This is a normal phenomenon but it’s a silly or fake one.

Because if you understand how things work in life, trying to keep your knowledge a secret never works.

All you end up doing is hold yourself back.

Lets break each one of these down.

People Will Find Out Anyways

If someone is motivated enough, smart enough, and willing enough, they will put in the time and effort to learn that thing regardless of if you told it to them or not.

There are endless resources online and people will figure things out - so if they’re gonna learn it anyways, it may as well be from you.

You Create Your Own Scarcity Mindset

When you try to protect what you know you enter a zone of scarcity.

Everyone becomes your enemy and everyone is here to take something from you.

You have no true confidence in your own individualism as an artist.

This is a poor way to live as a creative because you’re living in fear.

Flip the scarcity mindset into one of abundance.

When I teach I learn.

When I learn I get better.

Therefore sharing doesn’t hurt me - it helps me.

You don’t have to live in fear.

Other artists aren’t your enemies.

Collaborate don’t compete.

You are Preventing Yourself From Learning or Growing

Lets expand on the teaching idea.

When we teach we learn.

That’s literally why we teach.

Having to breakdown a thought or idea into something tangible that someone else can actually understand will allow you to understand it better.

That’s a big reason why I make what I make.

When I share with you guys what I’ve learned throughout my journey I have to make sure it make sense.

That process forces me to simplify the concepts in my head and create a useful framework for people to use.

When I understand the knowledge to that degree, I can use it better myself.

But I can also help you guys along your journey as well.

So teaching is a win-win.

However, if you choose not to share what you’ve learned you are limiting yourself from accessing this level of growth.

So that’s step three. Teach something to someone.

It doesn’t have to be big or fancy and you don’t have to be an expert to teach.

Because if you know something, anything - someone probably doesn’t.

You don’t have to be super good, just start with what you know now.

If you don’t know what to teach or who to teach, grab a friend and babble for 20 minutes.

Or maybe use your pet dog or a stuffed animal to “fake explain” something to someone.

When Knowledge and Communication Meets Experience

Now that we’ve gone through the 3 pillars of growth, we can literally get ahead of our competition.

Doing something allows us to get better in the craft.

Learning something allows us to apply new knowledge from others.

Teaching something allows us to articulate what we’ve learned to understand it better.

If you do any one of these three things you’ll get ahead, because like I said earlier, most people don’t do anything.

However, if you’re able to get all three, something magical happens.

When experience meets knowledge we get understanding.

Being able to communicate our knowledge deepens this understanding.

When we understand things better, we can take and apply that in our daily actions.

This allows us to “level up” and make something even better.

Which in turn gives us more experience that we can take and teach others.

So it comes full circle.

We do something

-> We acquire experience

-> We learn something

-> We acquire knowledge

-> We teach something

-> We learn by teaching

-> We go back and do something again

In each one of these components, we get better.

It becomes a never ending cycle of growth.

You see where the magic happens?

When we have all 3, we begin to compound and accelerate our growth at an exponential rate - one that would have been impossible with just one alone.

And then we just keep getting better and better and better until we’re actually pretty good.

That’s how we learn, grow, and get ahead.

This cycle is something that can be applied to any aspect of life, not just creative work.

So now you’ve got the magic.

Go and do something with it.

Don’t let this be just another post that flies over your head.

Also, if this helped you in any way, share this with a friend you also think it’ll help.

If you want to learn more, sign up for the newsletter down below and join dozens of other creatives trying to improve.

Also, I’ve got a new photography zine on the way, stay tuned for that.

And as always, thanks for reading.