Think back over the last week or two. Something you saw, heard, read or heard about: a video, a photo, a song, a book, a post, a podcast, a product, a performance, a person doing something well.
Find the one that got under your skin.
Maybe they were making a living from what they love. Maybe thousands of people were cheering them on. Maybe they were simply enjoying themselves. And a voice in your head said “how did they get this?” or “honestly, it’s not that good.”
Stay with that reaction. It is honest, and it points somewhere.
Now ask it a question: “What element of this would I like to include in my own work?”
It might be the:
- Topic. What it is about.
- Format. A video, a photo, an essay, a song, a product, a service, an event, a performance.
- Voice. The humor, the warmth, the bluntness, the way they speak, write or move.
- Perspective. The angle they take, how they see something.
- Presence. How they show up, and how open they are.
- People. Who they are connected to.
- Look. The light, the colors, the design, the setting, the framing.
- Sound. The music, the voice, the atmosphere.
- World. The feeling of the place it takes you to.
- Technique. The approach, precision and mastery.
- Mission. What it stands for, and why they do it.
Then think about what their work did to you. Maybe it made you laugh out loud, or feel less alone, or want to get up and move. Maybe it let you see something ordinary as if for the first time.
Give that effect a name. Then picture someone in your place, and the same thing happening to them, because of something you made.
Finish this sentence: “I want to make something that makes people feel…”
Next, a second question: “What would I do differently?”
Here the sting starts to turn into material. You begin to see your own version: another pace or mood, more warmth, more courage.
Say it in one sentence: “I would make it…”
Now let it grow.
Ten years have passed. You always had what you needed. The right people found you at the right moments. Your skills grew exactly as fast as the work asked for.
What does your version look like now? Where is it, and how big has it become?
Give it more room. Who is it reaching? A hundred people, a hundred thousand? What are they writing to you? What are they doing differently because of it?
Now, this has simply become your life. Look at an ordinary Tuesday in that life.
Where do you wake up? How does your body feel as the day begins?
What do you do with your first hours? Where are you, what surrounds you?
Who is nearby? What does a break look like? What do you eat, and where do you sit?
How does the day end? How do you feel as you go to bed?
Now make everything one size bigger. More joy, more beauty, more of you in it. What do you see?
If a voice says “be realistic”, let it speak. Then answer: “Thank you. You get tomorrow. Today I am dreaming.”
The voice has kept you safe for years, and it will be a great help when it is time to plan.
Write one sentence in the present tense:
I am making…
