“Creativity is always a leap of faith. You're faced with a blank page, blank easel, or an empty stage.” – Julia Cameron
I sat staring at a blank page tonight, uninspired and tired. So I proceeded to give up and put my computer back in my office and shifted my blank stare to mediocre repeat shows on television. I didn’t feel like researching or putting rigor into the content that I want to offer on Start3Things.
But I couldn’t go to bed without posting this. If we wait for inspiration to start, we will rarely if ever start. There’s nothing magical or romantic about it. It takes work, repetition and filling up the blank page with less than perfect words. To accomplish meaningful and lasting things, the things we are built for, we need to put in effort and push through so we don’t get stuck in our heads.
Put it down on paper even if it’s not perfect or up to your expectations and standards. We reach our goals and aspirations - the finish line - by starting, no matter how clumsy and awkward the attempt.
So despite my inclination to work longer and harder on this piece, I think the message of filling the blank page rather than giving up is a worthy one. I am posting tonight to keep my promise to myself to write a minimum of one article a week (I’m a bit late) and to follow my own advice of starting three things daily to keep moving ahead one step at a time.
So consider this your “permission slip” to go on the often imperfect and uninspired field trip to the finish line. It’s a wonderful destination and the journey to get there is the real gift. Pick up the pen, fill the blank page and complete your story. The one only you can complete.