Sometimes–we start doing something before we realize why we’re doing it.
I’ve been writing for almost two years–and the purpose has changed almost every time I hit publish. But looking over two years of hitting publish–easily over 100,000 words written, edited, and revised–a few trends stick out.
I took a moment last year to write about My Message. Using Chris Brogan’s Triangle Exercise–I thought about the artists and entrepreneurs I’d like to best emulate. Hoping that by copying slivers of three styles–I would find my own. The original corners for my triangle were Seth Godin, Tim Ferriss, and 37signals. But what they’ve represented to me and my message has changed (and I’ve replaced 37signals w/Jay-Z).
Some things I write are easy, and some things I write make me feel shitty to go through them. But I do so to grow my metaphors. I do so to be a better leader. I do so to have and inspire better friends. I do so to build my platform.
Defining my message has become a key start to my Annual Review process because I can reflect on how much my message has changed. What have I focused on–what have I avoided? My maturity as a writer comes from increasing resonance with my message.
Now, I write for three reasons: Irreverence, Rebellion, and Hustle.
And thank you Anne Lamott for writing Bird by Bird–where all this post’s awesome quotes come from.
Artistry Begets Artistry
Irreverence
“One of the things that happens when you give yourself permission to start writing is that you start thinking like a writer. You start seeing everything as material.”
We learn to see the world through a certain lens. Farmers see seasons–they live through the crops and livestock they grow. Lawyers see risk and liability–they live through self/client protection. Painters see the world as a canvas to inspire and be inspired by–their colors come from and return to nature.
We are repeatedly what we see in the world and the visions we take from it.
I work through the primary lens of being a consultant. I see the world as problems, causes, solutions. I see people being beset by their environment–yet always looking to become better through the environment. But as a writer–I see the world as this and many other stories. I see the world as much a canvas as the painter does–but my pen is the brush.
“If you bring forth what is inside you, what you bring forth will save you. If you don’t bring forth what is inside you, what you bring forth can destroy you.”
Writing is cathartic–writing is therapy.
If you’ve been reading for a while–first thank you. You understand this outlet as been a journey. A journey to find my own voice–in a world where custom, tradition, and history made it easy for me to hide it. Without our own unique voice in the world–we lose the ability to express ourselves. We hide what frustrates and empowers us–we turn ourselves off from the creativity within.
It is through cataloging this reverent world I find my irreverent voice.
Steven Pressfield notes, “What these masters were learning [in 10,000 hours of focused practice] was to speak in their own voice. They were learning to act as themselves.” That’s what writing is for me–it’s my mastery practice. It’s my 2-4 hours of day behind the paper or screen–putting into the words the material that is my life. The history I would rather leave behind. The future I still believe in.
Rebellion
“When people shine a little light on their monster, we find out how similar most of our monsters are.”
We all have gremlins, saboteurs, and silencing inner critics.
How come it took me moving to California to realize that?
For as much as we want to be great–part of us truly wants us to fail beyond belief. Whether you’ve named your monster or used a common name or archetype to describe it–it’s there. Instigating your sameness and smallness.
Writing helps me reveal my saboteurs and saboteur logic. It helps me unravel when I see it in other people. When I write out reasons I’m not going to the gym–those reasons become petty once they get out of my head. When I write down reasons a project could fail–it helps reinforce for me why that project is important.
What we read relates to us–even Facebook feeds.
“Tell the truth as you understand it. If you’re a writer, you have a moral obligation to do this. And it is a revolutionary act–truth is always subversive.”
Artists have a moral obligation to perform their art. We have an obligation to do what we are gifted in doing. To not do so is to desecrate the gift–and diminish our connection with the world. But the act of artistry is rebellious and revolutionary by design. In totalitarian cultures–artists are blasphemed and targeted. Their works burned or scarred from ever being recognized by the future.
Hustle
“We write to expose the unexposed.”
Hustlers live on the fringe–constantly putting in the hours. Constantly sourcing their insurgency. Hustlers make the best stories–they give us the best thrills as they succeed in their exploits. There’s a whole fringe network of media who play to this edge–who give us amazing stories of hustlers at the edge of what we know.
Rebellion is about revealing the truth within–hustle is about living the truth outside.
Marc Ecko talk about this division between “guts to the skin” and “skin to the world” in his first book Unlabel. His art exposed hip-hop to the mainstream–his exposure provided him a billion-dollar brand. And his story is the exemplar when it comes to hustling. Big up Lakewood!
“Your anger and damage and grief are the way to the truth.”
Hustling gets a bad connotation. But that’s what writers do–that’s what we revel and languish in. When we’re crying because our manuscript has been rejected the 20th time; when we’re angry because we aren’t getting more readers; when we commiserate about finding the right dialogue for a character in our novel–that’s all the hustle. Writing doesn’t stop just because pens are down. The work doesn’t stop just because we’re not on our metaphorical corner.
Great writers hustle–good writers haggle–and shitty writers troll.
Your Art Will Find You When You’re Least Prepared
The Message
“If you’re not enough before the gold medal, you won’t be enough with it.”
If you’re not inspired, humbled, and disciplined when the risk becomes reward–you lose it. As much as I love the Sinatra Rule (If you can make it here, you can make it anywhere)–it may not be the best case. Just because you win once doesn’t mean you can win again. We have to be ready for our success long before our success comes.
That’s what resonates about the hyperbole in the rags-to-riches stories. People who are ready for their fortune don’t change (even if they don’t realize they were ready)–people who aren’t ready for their fortune let it destroy them (lottery winners?).
I write to be ready for when my writing breaks through. For when there are 1000 or 10000 of you–true fans who honor my work with your time. Who have your own message and art in the world–and allow me to help you become better for it.
That is why I write. That is why there is no other choice.
photo credit: greg.turner via photopin cc
photo credit: Olivander via photopin cc
