How do you become who you want to be? Dare to be bad.

Inside your head, there’s a version of you who’s killing it.
That you is working steadily on the novel, the blog, the film, the podcast, the comic, the website. Alternate-you is publishing, going live. And the world is loving it.
But on the outside? You’re barely moving.
You’ve got to take the next step.

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There is no gatekeeper. There is no gate.

no gatekeeper

A few weeks ago, I assigned my art students a fun project, a “forgery” of an artist they admire and want to learn from. One student picked Michelangelo. (I talked her down from trying a fresco—in two weeks—to imitating his red chalk studies.) She copied his work in her sketchbook every day. She went to…

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Perfectionism is not your real problem.

Have you published your essay online? Have you sent your book to reviewers? Have you submitted your comic to that anthology you love? Is your website up? Have you actually told anyone it’s up? Have you shown your new work to… anybody? Have you even let yourself spend time on your new work? No? What’s stopping…

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