blazing sun, playa cerritos by c.o.
Being an amateur is important. It’s not a mark of shame, it’s just reality. That’s where we all are when we start out—amateurs. We’ve got very little experience, but we have heart, and passion, and very defined palettes. That’s why beginners are in a terribly good position. You can always get more experience, but you can’t easily manufacture (or beat) pure and genuine drive coupled with good taste.
Austin Kleon has covered this pretty succinctly in Show Your Work, but it bears repeating.
“Because they have little to lose, amateurs are willing to try anything and share the results. They take chances, experiment, and follow their whims. Sometimes, in the process of doing things in an unprofessional way, they make new discoveries… Amateurs are lifelong learners, and they make a point of learning in the open so that others can learn from their failures and successes.”
There is a very real latent energy or untapped potential that lies inside each of us, if we are open to it. If we listen to the little voice. And once we start listening, it begins to get louder and louder… and if we foster it—if we let it get loud enough to be heard by others—then real changes starts to happen. It all starts with listening to ourselves and believing in what we hear.
I re-watched Rushmore for the 100th time last week and re-discovered this.
from shoot angle
Just because we don’t have experience in something and feel like we have no idea what we’re doing doesn’t mean we can’t make a meaningful contribution.
“I have no concept of knowing how to be a musician at all what-so-ever... I couldn’t even pass Guitar 101.”
The very act of creation is sometimes so alienating and strange, especially when we begin to craft a discipline around it and force ourselves to do it when we don’t feel like it. That’s when we start facing the inner obstructions—our limitations, our frustrations, our distractions, our addictions… It can all come out when we sit down and try to do that one thing. This is why creation can be difficult. But that doesn’t mean it’s not worth the struggle.
“Sometimes you have to go on when you don’t feel like it, and sometimes you’re doing good work when it feels like all you’re managing is to shovel shit from a sitting position. ”
Good craft doesn’t always feel great at the moment we’re bringing it into the world—ask any mother around. But we keep doing it with knowledge our skill and end product will improve with time.