Summer is the perfect time do something you’ve always wanted to. Even if you aren't a student anymore with a ton of free time, you can still check something off your “wouldn’t it be cool…” list.
That’s kind of what my new video series is about. It’s crazy how easy it was to do some of the dumb stuff I thought would be funny to try. For several videos all I had to do was post on Facebook and say “hey, does anyone know someone who can help me do this stupid idea?” And within an hour I'd get A TON of responses from people more than willing to help. A lot of times you never know until you ask!
A lot of you have a “wouldn’t it be cool if…” that has to do with making something or doing something creative. Record music, try stand-up, make videos, write, paint, design, perform, speak, OR WHATEVER.
One of the big obstacles that gets in the way of us actually doing the things we want to do is fear. Elizabeth Gilbert is an author who talks a lot about creativity and she made this video called “A Letter to Fear” that I really love. It’s basically the conversation she has to have with her fear before she starts working on anything.
Here’s a fun exercise I started doing to help me get over my fear. Think of one of your favorite movies of all time. Look it up on iMDB. Scroll to the bottom of the page and find user reviews of the film and read ALL of the negative and one star reviews.
You’re going to find people who HAAAAAAAATE movies that you love so much. It’s always funny to read people complain about scenes in the movie that are actually the parts you love the most.You’ll read review after review of people annoyed, confused, angry, or who just “didn’t get it.”
It’s such a relief to me when I do this. It’s nice to know that no matter what you make there will be people who don’t like it. There will be people who hate it and don’t get what you’re trying to do.
There are people who hate Elf. There are people who really don’t like The Muppets. When I remind myself of that it stops feeling like the end of the world if someone doesn’t enjoy my stand-up. If those movies I love so much aren’t able to please everyone, then it’s ok that I can’t either.
What's on your "wouldn't it be cool if..." list? What are you going to try and do this summer? What's been stopping you from doing it?!