My Creative Code

There’s a certain way of creating that can’t be taught through strategy.

It has less to do with what you do and more to do with where you stand inside yourself while you do it.

Be unshakeable.

This doesn’t happen through imitating the exterior of whatever you think that looks like. This power comes from being internally sourced.

Internally sourced.

Do not do anything to impress or attain. Do it because it’s in your nature to do so.

What follows is the operating code I’ve embodied in my creative work. It is not a set of motivational ideas. It is a way of relating to your creative power.

As with everything, take what resonates for you.

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The Work Is Sacred

The work is the point. Not the applause. Not the audience. Not the reception.

When I focus on how the work will be perceived, the work becomes distorted. When I focus on the work itself, the work becomes pure.

Clear the path from inspiration to expression.

My job is not to convince others that what I am doing is worthwhile.

I could care less.

I do what wants to be done.

What anyone thinks about it is none of my business.

I Trust My Own Knowing

There are people who can offer feedback, insight, and data. But no one can replace my internal authority. When I look to others to validate my direction, I lose my sight.

Silence and solitude are not escapes. They are where I hear myself most clearly.

When I am unsure, I do not rush. I return to stillness until the next step reveals itself naturally.

I listen until I Know.

Then I decide.

No Dilution

If something weakens the integrity of the work, it does not get included. This applies to partnerships, projects, pricing, collaborations, and opportunities.

A good opportunity that distorts the clarity and dilutes the potency of the work is not a good opportunity.

If the answer is not a clear yes, it is a no.

Solitude Is Where the Real Work Happens

Not the solitude of withdrawal. Not the solitude of isolation. The solitude of incubation.

I do not need to publish constantly to prove I am alive.

I do not need to update the world on the process.

I do not need validation. My efforts do not need to be seen.

Some seasons are for building unseen. Building something that speaks for itself.

I am not interested in being visible.

I am simply interested in being.

I Move At the Pace of Life

Urgency is often a sign of insecurity.

It’s where fear-based egoic expectation clashes with the reality of life’s perfection.

Like that quite often attributed to Lao Tzu, in nature nothing hurries yet everything is accomplished.

I do not rush my work. I do not rush my growth. I do not rush my decisions.

Masterworks can happen quickly, but not because they’re rushed.

The Work Speaks For Me

I do not explain myself. I do not persuade. I do not posture. I create, and the creation is what communicates.

If I am doing it right, very little needs to be said.

When someone asks me what a painting of mine means, I just tell them to look at it. Then they’ll know.

When someone asks me what my book is about, I tell them to read it.

When someone asks me what my coaching is about, I invite them to a session.

I let the work speak for itself.

Radical Self-Honesty

I refuse to create something I do not believe in. I refuse to pretend. I refuse to shrink to be digestible.

I would rather be misunderstood in truth than celebrated in falsehood.

I would rather have integrity than popularity.

I’d rather respect myself than be liked by others.

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This code is not about being hard or detached or unfeeling. It is about being deeply connected to what is real inside of you…

So deeply connected that everything else is secondary or, perhaps, insignificant.

Internally sourced.

So create what’s true for you.

Hemingway’s writing advice was to write the truest sentence you know.

Do the truest thing you know.

Boldly. Steadily. Without compromise.

The world will recognize it when it is ready.

Although that really doesn’t matter.