Thursday, February 16, 2012

"...it's just not that good."

"For the first couple years you make stuff, it's just not that good."

There's an image of a quote going around on Facebook.
Supposedly it's from Ira Glass, producer and host of This American Life.
I haven't heard it, but I like it.
It's about how those of us that do creative work, we kinda suck at first.
We have the drive, the "potential," but "it's just not that good."

I appreciate this reality.

I've been going back through old posts.
I've had to revamp my entire blog of almost 5 years.
I've looked through my first images from my first weddings and guess what?
It's just not that good.
In this quote, Ira Glass recommends doing a lot of work to push past the mediocrity.
Looking thru my entire blog, I see I've done a lot of work.
In the quote, Ira Glass reminds us that it's going to take a while.
Looking back thru my entire blog, I feel like it's taken a while.
A long while.
And in the quote, Ira Glass encourages us to fight your way through.
Looking back through my entire blog, it's hard not to be discouraged, even with my recent work.
It's not where I want it to be - it's not perfect.
It's hard not to ignore that nibbling sensation known as burnout (which I'll be talking about in the near future).
So I guess I fight my way through discouragement.
To find that place where my work is as good as my ambition.


And Ira Glass reminds us... that I'm not alone; "we all go through this."
"You gotta know that it's normal."

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