Be An Artist

For many of us, in our professional setting, everything we do is about the result. We put our effort into the assembly line of tasks because we believe it will generate an output.

This attachment to the output sometimes paralyzes us. If we are not sure about the result, we don’t want to do the work.

There is a voice in our head that keeps saying, “are you sure this will work. What if it doesn’t work. All your effort is wasted.” We seek certainty and confidence that our effort will get us the result.

Unfortunately, confidence means you have a high degree of certainty that something will work. In an administrative role or a process-oriented role, you can have high confidence and assurance. If I do this, the result will be this.

In entrepreneurship, leadership, marketing, strategy, product management, sales, or any other activity where courage, insight, creativity, and enterprise are needed, one can never be sure something will work for certain.

• “Should I work on a new strategy? What if it fails to deliver the top-line growth for my business.”
• “I have this idea. Should I pursue my dreams of becoming an entrepreneur? I don’t feel confident. What should I do? “
• “I want to start a blog. But will it work? Am I good enough to do this?”

The paradox of our lives is that often we are caught in situations where we have to do work that we may not be confident or sure about.

“How do I go about doing something I am not confident about?” By trusting yourself that you will be in a better place by doing it.

Whatever you choose to do might not work, but it will work better and be better than the alternative of not doing any work at all.

Be An Artist

We all have this alternative narrative to how we can manage our lives.

Take on work even if there is a risk that it may not work. Do it in the way you believe it should be done because you will create some value and touch someone in the process of doing this work. And even if it does not work, you will still be better off in terms of your learning and experience.

Seth Godin, in his Book The Linchpin, describes the work of most people to be like that of an artist. Art isn’t only a painting. Art is anything that’s creative, passionate, and personal. And great art resonates with the viewer, not just with the creator.

Anyone who shows up to do work that is personal and requires creativity, insight, courage, skill, and passion is, therefore, an artist.

The way artists grow is by showing up and creating art. They don’t worry about the output and whether others will like it or not. They make it because there is an idea inside them that needs to be expressed.

We are all artists in our own right, and we all have our ideas that need to come out as our art. Just focus on showing up and doing your work- like a true artist.