It's Ok to Take 15 Years to Get Good
I’ve been thinking about the ideas of Getting Seen and also Getting Good, and why we tend to worry about doing it in the “right” order. That is, we are so certain we have to be GOOD, BEFORE we are SEEN.
I don’t think this is true.
I think it’s ok to be visible, to get SEEN as we slowly “get good”, if we do that at all.
Below is an image of drawings of mine, all self-representations over twenty years from 1991-2011. The main reason I am showing you this, is because it took me arguably 15 years to "Get Good."
I was starting to get there around 2003 (12 years!), but it's not til 2006 I can comfortably say I was pretty good.
15 years!
Those whole 15 years, all that time, I was making work, publishing, sharing, trying to be seen.
And let's not get into all the horrible stumbles I made. Tons of them: lousy works, really lousy pitches, but all the while, I made some pretty good stuff too: fun stuff, and eventually I got more consistent and reliable.
To be honest, I was happy with who I was creatively then, but I was limited and frustrated. I'm happier now and I have a greater vision. And I have years of pracitce and experience: writing, drawing, but also of being seen to anchor me.
That’s what we encourage at SAW. Come here, do work, share it and let’s see you.
We already know you are awesome, we’re waiting for you to get good at showing it!
Thanks for reading and sharing!
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