As some of you might know, I'm in the creative industry as an architectural designer, and I've been going through my ups and downs as an individual through my burgeoning career. I forget that I've only graduated three years ago, and I see people that have been out of school for a decade and compare myself to them, which, inherently I know is only detrimental to my own psyche. I see my own work and think that it's not 100% what I wanted, but what now?
A brilliant man named Ira Glass has kept me going. Some of you may know his quiet, brittle voice from the incredible podcast, This American Life. He's taken on roles such as executive producer and writer, but he'll always be the fave (or voice) of daytime radio in my world. His words on design and indomitable spirit never fail to lift me up from one of my quarter-life freak-out moments, and I just want to pass it on to you all of you.
Here is a brilliant video made by Daniel Sax that illustrates exactly the woes we go through as creative producers. The original audio of Ira Glass' interview as the main event. I've written the text below if you're more into reading.
"Nobody tells this to people who are beginners, I wish someone told me.
All of us who do creative work, we get into it because we have good taste. But there is this gap.
For the first couple years, you make stuff, it’s just not that good. It’s trying to be good, it has potential, but it’s not. But your taste, the thing that got you into the game, is still killer. And your taste is why your work disappoints you.
A lot of people never get past this phase, they quit. Most people I know who do interesting, creative work went through years of this. We know our work doesn’t have this special thing that we want it to have.
We all go through this. And if you are just starting out or you are still in this phase, you gotta know its normal and the most important thing you can do is do a lot of work. Put yourself on a deadline so that every week you will finish one story.
It is only by going through a volume of work that you will close that gap, and your work will be as good as your ambitions.
And I took longer to figure out how to do this than anyone I’ve ever met.
It’s gonna take awhile.
It’s normal to take awhile.
You’ve just gotta fight your way through."
- Ira Glass, The Gap
