Sharpe's Opinion
Tuesday, 2nd Dec, 2008
Mr Merlin Mann, of 43Folders, on making a fool of yourself while you get better at your chosen hobby or creative pursuit:
Nobody likes feeling like a noob, especially when you’re getting constant pressure on all sides to never stick out in an unflattering way. And, in this godforsaken just-add-Wikipedia era of make-believe insight and instant expertise, it’s natural to start believing you must never suck at anything or admit to knowing less than everything — even when you’re just starting out. Clarinets should never squawk, sketch lines should never be visible, and dictionaries are just big, dumb books of words for cheaters and fancy people. Right?
I think finding your own comfort with the process (whatever that process ends up being) might just be the whole game here — being willing to put in your time, learn the craft, and never lose the courageousness to be caught in the middle of making something you care about, even when it might be shit and you might look like an idiot fumbling to make it. What’s the worst thing that could happen?
Comments
And me! I like his story of going and laying down on his front on a pavement while lugging a huge camera around so that he can get the perfect picture of a shoe. That’s just the sort of thing my wife huffs at me for, but I’ve taken some of my best pictures just by playing about like that.
Wow that could have been written for me!
Blue Eyes
December 2, 2008 at 4:53 pm