I recently read a post on LinkedIn, of all places, that interested me. I rarely tend to actually read articles, let alone personal posts, on there. I find it all to be very redundant. Unfortunately, I didn’t save the post. And quite frankly, I don’t remember who posted it. It had a couple of likes and comments, but the message was brilliant. I’m going to paraphrase the man’s words below:

More often than not, people do not post content because they are afraid it is not good enough. Content creators should create, especially online, as often as possible, if not every day. The content might not be great every day, or really any good in the beginning. But it is not always the work quality people are looking for. People who post consistently share their creativity despite the quality. They post for the fun of it, the joy it may bring someone. Do not be afraid to post something that is mediocre. Post because you want to post. Share because you want to share. Just start doing it, and eventually something good will come of your persistence.

Unknown

Now, I can tell you this hit me very personally. I tend to be a perfectionist. I want everything to be good – as perfect as possible – before I show it to someone. When I draw, I rarely draw around other people because I feel judged. I have a very dirty process, and I don’t want people to see that unless they have to. But I’ve come to find, through a lot of stress, struggle, and internal anxiety, people really do want to see the process. They are intrigued by the shitty, scribbled napkin sketch. It’s humbling for people to see your dirty elbows and sweaty brow. You want them to think you’re effortlessly talented. Like you sipped lemonade, thought up a brilliant new idea, and then just waved it into existence out of thin air.

I am doing a photography project cataloging a bunch of architecture and color studies throughout Detroit. I had looked up collage inspiration, and came across a few images with beautifully saturated windows from around the world. Deja vu hit me like a truck. I remember following this random blog years and years ago, titled Windows of New York. It was a graphic designer who would post a digital illustration of a single window they saw each day. As a follower in the early days of this website, I can tell you, he/she didn’t post every day. And the quality wasn’t always the greatest. But I absolutely adored them. It made me so happy, scrolling through these little scenes I felt transported to.

It took me a few minutes to remember the name of the site, but as soon as I found it a few minutes ago, I spent a while just scrolling. I’ve inserted a few of my favorites throughout here. I’m here to tell you, this site has over 14 million people following on various social media sites. 14 million. How incredible is that??! It goes to show you, that yes, persistence is key. People can feel this creator’s energy. They are connected somehow. It gives me hope for my projects, my posts, my shares, my views, my praises and my critiques too. Show people the process. Everyone starts somewhere.