Letters to a Young Creative

And as with any advice, YMMV. Nobody has the "One True Path to Success." Those who say they do are trying to sell you the book they wrote about it.

So there's another piece of writing (or creative life) advice that's making the rounds again and I think we need to talk about it. That piece of is, "You've gotta jump off the cliff and build your wings on the way down." And it's being misquoted, so let's start there. The full quote is…

“If we listened to our intellect we'd never have a love affair. We'd never have a friendship. We'd never go in business because we'd be cynical: 'It's gonna go wrong.' Or "She's going to hurt me.' Or,'I've had a couple of bad love affairs, so therefore…' Well, that's nonsense. You're going to miss life. You've got to jump off the cliff all the time and build your wings on the way down."
― Ray Bradbury

Now I like Ray Bradbury, and yes I know at the end of his life he got a little too right-wing for people at attempted to claim copyright over his title Fahrenheit 451, mostly because he disagreed with a certain filmmaker who used its concept and power to get attention. Yes, yes, yes, but I still like Bradbury, both his writing and what he contributed to the genre.

Let me start with what he means here. There comes a time with every endeavor that you have to take risks to gain anything worthwhile. You can always find a reason not to do something, not to take the chance. Not to make that jump. You aren't ready, you may fail, you don't know what will happen. What he's saying is screw all that, walk up to the cliff, take the risk and figure it out because somethings you learn by doing. This is a corollary to carpe diem. Notice how he's saying "all the time." There isn't just one cliff.

However we live in the age of EXTREMES and this phrase has come to mean something else entirely. All or nothing. Because many people have a fucked up view of life and must "live on the edge" and all that other shit, this is now considered to mean, "To get anything, you gotta leave everything you have, risk it all, and just jump."

Well, I'm standing at the base of that cliff and let me tell you there's a hellofalotata graves down here. Some of them, actually many of them, are literal. These people didn't figure out how to build their wings or forgot that they needed to bring materials to build wings with or even have some concept of physics and aeronautics that allowed them to make wings that would work. Some of them face planted and never got up. Some of them found the journey too tough and because of this ideal of "all or nothing" chose the latter and killed themselves because they didn't have success as soon as they thought they should. I'm serious here, that "give it all up and jump" concept is a killer.

We won't talk about the mass graves of dead dreams that are down here too. Because, damn, call the UN we have a crime against humanity.

So let me tell you about my life. I'm a moderately successful designer, I make a good living. There were two opportunities that would have involved giving up almost everything in my life to take a grab at the gold ring. And it might just be the allure of the road not taken, but they would have been great. I had invites, so it wasn't a total blind leap. I didn't take those for various reasons (most of which is I wouldn't have been gambling with my own life and I do know how tough it is to build your way up from nothing because I did). However I have taken about six moderate gambles like this in my life (probably more if I think about it, but here I'm talking about working as a creative). Times when I didn't know if I could do something, or if I would survive. At this point I'm batting 500.

I have had two "dream" jobs at really "great" design firms. Both of those crapped out for various reasons (one was because they were insane, the other because they were jealous). Am I doing the highest-end design work, grabbing those great clients (lots of money and a willingness to experiment), and landing in the awards? No. But I make well above the average in my market and I am worth it. I have a second job I love (that was another leap moment, that one worked, mostly). I am successful for various definitions of successful. And for the most part I enjoy the work I am doing.

But I also look at the smoking holes that were those 3 leaps where I face planted. Those things guide my decisions. How could they not?

There are people in the creative field who will tell you that you have to give everything up to do "art." I was told to my face that I might need to divorce my wife to get ahead (look at that crater smoke, will ya, maybe that was my "mistake" with that one, but I'm more than okay with that decision). That you should give up sleep, give up money, give up food (starving artist anyone?), give everything to be the "artist." Let me tell you, every single person peddling that narrative is out to rob you of your creativity, your money, or your life.

That doesn't mean you won't need to sacrifice things. You might not go out as often as you want. Sometime you have to make less temporarily to make more in the long run. And being a creative means being on the outside, even among friends (but it helps to find friends who understand what being creative means and how it warps your perception of the world). It means spending on equipment or training you need instead of a nice vacation. It means delayed gratification. It means knowing what is important to you, and what can be jettisoned without diminishment.

But I'll tell you something, that's life. Few people make it through life without those things, unless you start from a position of abundance. Scratch anyone who has "made it" and you'll find the scars of their sacrifices. Some are greater than others. Some are deeper wounds than others.

But I wanted to tell you that being a creative is not a "Cake or Death" decision. While you can't have it all, you also don't need to abandon the things you love. Life is hardly ever an all or nothing prospect. The fire of this creative life will change you, temper you, make you stronger. But it will also burn the dross away. Don't cling to it.

Cliffs come in all sizes and heights. You can choose your cliff. And you don't have to leave everything behind, you need something to build those wings out of anyway. Don't allow people to separate you from your world, from yourself, from people you love. But do take risks when you can. Don't be afraid to do things that scare you. Don't be afraid that you don't know everything.

You don't have to quit the day job.