613: David duChemin- Start Ugly To Do Your Best Work

The Self-Employed Life

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3+ y ago 49:42

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Creativity is iterative. It is about possibility. True creativity is about the everyday making of things; of just doing and refining until we can eventually get to our genius. Sometimes all we need is the discipline to just start. So if we can give ourselves the permission to just start with whatever terrible ideas we have, we can often get into that sought after “flow state” even sooner.

Many creatives are binary when it comes to what and how they produce work. Either it’s all about inspiration and the arts, or it’s sitting down and hammering out an idea. Too many of us are quick to judge a thing as good or bad. And in doing that we paralyze our process with fear of failure or looking foolish. But there is an unfiltered nature to “starting ugly” and if we own it, we can open up a variety of pathways until we get to where we want to be. But being a fulltime creative and/or self-employed means you have to wear your discipline hat. You have to have a routine in order to clear your brain and just start.

To dive deeper into how to “start ugly” I have brought back a friend and past guest, best-selling author and photographer, David duChemin.

David is a leading expert in the field of creativity. His podcast and book, A Beautiful Anarchy, help him share his message with tens of thousands. Fueled by his endless creative hunger, he has built a seven-figure business with the goal of inspiring others to realize that the creative life is for everyone—not just artists. David spent the last twelve years travelling the world as a humanitarian photographer and creativity workshop instructor on all seven continents. His expertise has been profiled in magazines and podcasts including Overland Journal, Elephant Journal and The Accidental Creative.

Find out how to own your “ugly” by downloading this episode now.

THE WARRIOR OF EMPATHY

“Poetic over perfection.” - David duChemin

Highlights -

- We can get to the “flow state” faster if we give ourselves the permission to start with bad ideas.
- Inspiration comes from discipline.
- Perfection can be reframed as something that is “complete” not something “without flaw.”
- If we wait until our fear goes away, we’ll never get to our best work.
- Perfection is not what endures. What leaves a legacy is poetic, not perfect.
- “Write drunk. Edit sober.” - Hemingway
- Make your start automatic.
- Routine clears the brain and gets it ready to work.
- Setting constraints around yourself to give yourself less of a chance for choice paralysis.

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The Geography of Genius

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