From Here to There – 0 – Beginnings

This is not a how-to guide, a sharing of best practices designed to get your artistic career and life to work like anyone else’s. It’s not a philosophy or a collection of quotes. This is an ongoing conversation, a series of love letters to the artist at the core of it all, because the creative journey is a lonely one, and there are a lot of people out there who will happily keep you company if they can benefit from it.

I sat with a pop singer in a beautiful park in Los Angeles and asked her about how clearly she could see her goals. Did she know what she wanted to be, what direction she wanted to go? Were her goals way off in the distance like the red building just beyond the fence? Could she visualize with some familiarity where she wanted to end up, and did she know how she would get there? She hadn’t quite thought about any waypoints on the way to her goal, had only planned on that finish line, which included fame, paparazzi, fans, and money.

Is her story any more or less valid than the backup singer who tours but never steps in the spotlight, the balloon twister who street performs four times a week, or the quiet, isolated teen who sings songs in her bedroom? Knowing that these people are actually out there on their own journeys should give you hope that all talent, in its most raw and unrefined form, is hidden from context, buried in obscurity, and has amazing potential waiting to be discovered. In that sense, everyone begins with the same spark of individuality, a way of communicating something that can’t otherwise be defined. That thing you love to do is your fingerprint, your unique contribution to the world, and it’s no less valid than anyone else’s inspiration.

The creative world where talent swims is a deep and mysterious ocean of self expression that has room for everyone to find their depth and live comfortably there. There’s no limit to the space available for people to express themselves, so trust yourself, and reach out into the unknown. It is yours to define, to build, to navigate exactly the way your heart dictates. Trust that you’re not alone, your talent has value and purpose, and you may, as you reach out into the darkness, connect with others who are either travelling the same paths or truly needed to hear your voice.

This is for the little fish and the big fish, navigating to where you need to be, and listening to yourself the whole way. You are the hero of the story, regardless. This is for you.