In line with my New Year’s Resolutions and as a reminder to myself, here’s five ways I’ve learned or am trying to be more realistically happier in creative work:
1. Nothing is Precious
There’s a really fine line to balance between loving what you do, and being too emotionally invested in the elements of what you do. There’s nothing wrong, necessarily, with loving the elements and the little things. But there’s just a point of exhaustion and fatigue, where you can’t keep THINKING about the elements in an emotional way, and they get in the way of you finishing the entire project in front of you. If you have to make changes to a song, or a draft, you go in and make the changes, you push a combination of buttons, you erase and fill-in, and you do it like a factory line job. If something doesn’t work, you execute it, with no mercy. Let go of emotional attachment to the singular elements, so that you can be precious about the whole. Building that whole thing is a job, like any other.
2. Bounce Back Immediately
Disappointment and rejection are constants in creative work. But even beyond that, there’s a certain amount of masochistic dreaming one has to do to have the perspective and vision to figure out how to make a bigger name for yourself. So even beyond the disappointment and rejection that naturally comes along with the regular day-to-day existence, you have to sort of take on projects, take chances, and do things that COULD lead to a bigger break, but most likely WILL NOT lead to anything. It takes one special thing to break through to a higher level, and until you find it, most likely every other thing you thought “could have been” that special thing will be crushing disappointments. Learn to make yourself reflexively bounce back. When something falls apart, or hits the ground with a thud, sulk for a couple of hours, and then resolve to go make a new thing, with no expectations or preconceptions of what they will be. You never know, it could end up being the special thing that breaks.
3. Nice Guys Finish Last
Sure, you should be a nice, civil guy to everyone around you. But honestly? Talent often comes with a price. Talented people are often driven, ambitious, selfish assholes, and for good reason. They probably have a ton of people nipping at their heels, haters left and right, and have had horrible encounters in the industry. But you know what? I would rather work with a dickhead who’s immensely talented, than a really nice guy who’s pretty good. So learn this: watch your back, make terms clear, act professional, and make great craft. Pretty good is not worth the price of “more fun working experience.” All of it is work, so understand that you’ll deal with assholes every now and then. And understand that, if you are good enough, you will probably act a bit like that asshole now and then, too. It’s a cold, cold world.
4. Nobody Owes You Shit
Nobody owes you anything. So if you’re building a model to rely on someone else, or multiple people, be prepared to struggle. If you want talented people to work with you, expect to pay them. If you want a blog to cover you, present it to them professionally and make it easy to understand why they should want to. If talented people are willing to do you a favor, remember this and treat it with respect. If you have extra time, do someone a favor. Trust me, 99% of them will be a waste of your time, and even cause you grief, but the 1 that works to everyone’s benefit can be the start of wonderful friendships and working relationships. But in the end, nobody owes you anything. You make your own way.
5. Take a Break
You need a weekend. It’s too easy to work on a stupid website, or a press email at midnight, or sit in front of the computer for 8 straight hours. Just cuz you have DVDs playing in the background doesn’t mean you’re “relaxing.” You need to exercise regularly, eat real food, and go out and have fun. People get weekends, people get days, so be realistic about how much you can accomplish. Also, go take advantage of the fact that you don’t work a 9 to 5. That’s half the reason you chose that life, right?
Bonus Tip: Shut up, work harder.
