Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Getting Started

I don't buy Moleskines anymore. Or any cool, trendy, pricey, or generally beautiful note/sketch book for that matter. 

I was listening to one of my favorite podcasts the other day for creative people, where they challenge you to start. A lot of us get hung up on the method of doing things, or why we can't do things, or ideas not being perfected before they are even started.

A few more recent notebooks that I'm known to juggle and flip between.
The one with the broken binding has earned its stripes.

It has a lot to do with being afraid that it's not amazing. But when it comes to fancy notebooks and crazy ideas, sometimes it feels like the idea has to be well presented and packaged in your mind before it makes it onto a fresh page of that beautiful sketch book. Things have to look great, and you can't have garbage populating and poisoning your creative space right? So the idea needs to be amazing, the very pen strokes you make need to be calculated, and if a color looks off- it's there for. ev. er.

Right?

Well, no.

As I've learned, a lot of creative folks who experience success actually fail. A lot. They've just become comfortable with starting on things over and over, even if they don't know where the project is going to end up, or if it'll even be presentable for that matter. The important thing is to just start. Every single time. Even just for a little.

Yes, that's actually back-of-napkin notes. My studio can be so fancy.

So I challenge you, for whatever it is that you're working on, don't wait until you get your next a really cool  pen with that special ink comes in the mail tomorrow. Don't wait to find the perfectly spaced grid notebook. Don't make your game plan of how you will later tag it. Don't first write the most epic tweet of all time to later announce it. Don't make lunch.


Just start. *steps down from soapbox*

3 comments:

  1. This is so real. I NEEDED to read this. thanks rach- keep doing you! proud of your efforts, your work, etc...

    ReplyDelete
  2. i definitely needed this boost- i'm so happy you found your inspiration and motivation rach!

    ReplyDelete
  3. So glad you guys got some use out of this. I think I needed it too :)

    ReplyDelete