Timeless creator advice courtesy of a curious 5-year-old
Or, let go of trying to please the masses
I walked through our front door and saw my 5-year-old quietly drawing at our kitchen table.
I wanted to join him.
But since he was biting his tongue clearly lost in concentration — and remembering how much I hate it when people bother me when I’m in the biting-tongue zone — I opted for silence.
Every few minutes though, curious about what he was so obsessed with, I walked by to sneak a peak. “Is that a yellow cow?” I thought to myself only seeing partial snippets. “Or maybe it’s an overweight cheetah?”
When the tongue-biting was finally done, I went over to him and asked, “That’s super cool, what is it?”
The next words that came out of his mouth leveled me. Except for the time he scored a goal on me and then proceeded to moon me, I don’t think I’ve ever been prouder to be his dad —
“I’ve never seen a giraffe without a neck before and I wanted to see one so I drew one.”
I don’t know about you, but I love this. Everywhere we turn we’re bombarded with advice to write for our readers.
To put our audience first.
To imagine just one person.
To give them what they want.
Maybe I’m biased, but aren’t my kid’s words a helluva lot more motivating and even more fun?
Quietly scratching his itch.
Quietly defining his lines.
Quietly making the stuff he wants to see in the world.
We live in a beautiful time where we can make a living by writing online. But my kid’s words serve as a powerful reminder of the value of making stuff for an audience of none.
To let it rip.
To make first and breathe later.
To be completely free.
Looking back, the one thing all my favorite creations have in common is I treated my curiosity as my primary responsibility. I couldn’t not write them. There was no audience in mind. Just me. My thoughts. My feelings. My stories. I got so obsessed I bit my tongue like I didn’t need it later for dinner and didn’t stop chomping on it until the creation was done.
Let go of the polish.
Say no to packaging.
Choose raw.
Prioritize real.
The beauty of creating stuff for a living is we get to follow our nose until we don’t have a nose left to follow.
Steal a line from my kid and chase your nose wherever it goes.
Allow yourself to get lost and don’t stop creating until you’re found.
Curiosity is a word that was meant to be followed.
It keeps you interested.
It makes you interesting.
Like my mom said, “No matter your age, it’ll keep you young.”
If you enjoyed this post, you may like my new book — as the undercurrent throughout is how to live life on your own terms.
Shy by Design: 12 Timeless Principles to Quietly Stand Out
Shy by Design is a gift, a huge relief, and an easier way to be more wonderfully human.
—Denise Young, former Chief of HR & Talent at Apple.
Thank you for reading.
My best to you and yours.
—Michael
I love this story, every single time I read it (I think I've read it about a dozen times now).
Last weekend my 9yo nephew was writing a thank you note in the AIRBNB guestbook where we were staying. Another family member told him it was good and he was done. He looked up at her and said, I have more detail to add. She said it looked fine just the way it was. In order to "keep the peace" I didn't say anything. I wish I had.
Michael, I think one of the top three attributes of an exceptional parent is when they follow the lead of the child, especially in terms of creativity. This story is an awesome example of how letting a child be as he creates leads to beautiful experiences and lessons. We need more of this in the world.
Beautiful! We can learn so much from kids🥰 Thanks for the reminder to keep writing as well, until "you're found"✨️