In 2016, I had this vision for a creative hybrid subscription of sorts. I wanted it to be part magazine with rotating content around a central theme; part online learning hub with new classes added on a monthly basis; and part exclusive art gallery where I could make a collection of art with a central message and share it to a group of art lovers that would appreciate it.
I called it Color Your Soul.
The only problem was…
What do you call a thing like that? How do you EXPLAIN a thing like that? And finally, the doozy-of-a-doubt that shows up for me on the regular:
Would anyone even WANT a thing like that?
Those are the questions that continued to bubble up as I took each and every step toward making my idea a reality.
Have you ever experienced that feeling before?
Have you ever fallen in love with an idea that felt unprecedented in a way?
Maybe it’s a weird business idea that you just can’t shake or a really specific niche audience you want to reach or your own hacked together way of designing something or an art style that feels strange but also kind of wonderful…
It creates in you a feeling like you’re floating out in the middle of the ocean—no one’s paper to glance at, no one to ask for advice, no one to walk ten steps ahead and make sure you don’t fall down a well. It’s just YOU.
Well, here’s what I’ve learned about that feeling.
Even though it can feel vulnerable and risky and kinda lonely and TOTALLY scary, it can also be a beautiful sign that you’re actually creating from your most authentic voice.
I forget sometimes that I actually live with the king of crazy himself, Mr. Jason Zook, who among other things has sold ad space on his chest, sold his last name, and most recently has sold his future.
In response to each one of those ideas, multiple people told Jason they either a) didn’t understand the idea or b) knew the idea would never work.
And you know what? He did them anyway. Why? Because that’s who he is. Jason’s authenticity lies in constantly doing things that push the boundaries and that challenge convention.
When I feel myself doubting any of my ideas that I’ve come to love so deeply even for one second just because it feels new and different and weird, I think of Jason and I’m reminded that different is memorable. Different is authentic. Different is original.
So let this article be a permission slip to you (and also to me):
Create the thing that only YOU can create.
“Create the thing that only YOU can create. ”
Create the thing that is so true to who you are and what your gifts are and what you feel compelled to make that it’s impossible for it to exist because YOU haven’t made it yet.
Go after your unique vision even if it feels weird and scary and completely unknown because that just means that the payoff of creating it will be that much greater when you see your vision come to life.
Not only will you have the distinct pleasure of making something you’ve been dreaming of and following through on your idea, but chances are that it’ll be the idea that makes people sit up and pay attention because it will be 100% YOU.
Creating is a scary and exciting thing, and I, for one, wouldn’t have it any other way.
