This morning I reviewed my book project images that I’ve been working on for several months. And when I finished reviewing all sixty of them I felt so happy. For the first time every single image felt like it belonged in this collection. The flow of the images from one to the other felt exactly right. I think I’m done adding and deleting, ordering and reordering them. Now I need to begin the hard work of actually creating the book. It is so easy to procrastinate by fussing about which paper I should use or to arrange and rearrange the order of the photos. So I return to the maxim…
Do the Work
again and again.
My plan for the time before I have cataract surgery in early/mid December is to get some supplies I need to make a small sample book to learn the techniques for putting a book together. Then my December/January plan is to create a small sample book with about a dozen pages to try different techniques.
A child has no trouble believing the unbelievable, nor does the genius or the madman. It’s only you and I, with our big brains and our tiny hearts, who doubt and overthink and hesitate.
― Do the Work
Getting myself to actually do the work and begin this book is so hard!
Why is it so difficult?
I think on one level I have fear of it turning out to be a mess. Another fear is that I will start making the book but never finish it. On top of that, I know from my work as a software developer that no matter how much you plan, once you begin a project you learn what you don’t know. Right now I don’t know what I don’t know. But I am certain that no matter how much I plan and prepare, there will always be unknowns and problems that appear partway through the project.
Ignorance and arrogance are the artist and entrepreneur’s indispensable allies. She must be clueless enough to have no idea how difficult her enterprise is going to be—and cocky enough to believe she can pull it off anyway. How do we achieve this state of mind? By staying stupid. By not allowing ourselves to think. A child has no trouble believing the unbelievable, nor does the genius or the madman. It’s only you and I, with our big brains and our tiny hearts, who doubt and overthink and hesitate. Don’t think. Act. We can always revise and revisit once we’ve acted. But we can accomplish nothing until we act.
― Do the Work
No wonder so many creatives feel blocked in their work. In many ways beginning a large project is a little bit like taking a step onto an invisible bridge and trusting that the bridge will be there even though it is invisible.
Making it easier to do the work
For me, the idea of making a small sample book to try out techniques and hopefully suss out some of the unknown unknowns is helpful. I am also giving myself permission to make mistakes, creating an online simulation of the book, setting small goals, and letting go of outcome as much as I can. I still have a lot of writing to do for the book but I feel like I need to do it as I create the online book simulation. Will it ever be a book I can hold in my hands? I don’t know. And that’s okay with me. All I can do is continue to do the work.
Creative panic is good. Here’s why: Our greatest fear is fear of success. When we are succeeding—that is, when we have begun to overcome our self-doubt and self-sabotage, when we are advancing in our craft and evolving to a higher level—that’s when panic strikes. It did for me when my book crashed, and it was the best thing that happened to me all year. When we experience panic, it means that we’re about to cross a threshold. We’re poised on the doorstep of a higher plane. Have you ever watched a small child take a few bold steps away from its mother? The little boy or girl shows great courage. She ventures forth, feels exhilaration, and then … she realizes what she has done. She freaks. She bolts back to Mommy. That’s you and me when we’re growing.
― Do the Work
What helps you to do the work in your creative life?
May you walk in beauty.
Note: A few images from my collection of photographs for “the book.”
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