Starting Over as a Creator: 8 Crucial Lessons For Renewal

I’m learning a new creative skill. It’s energizing, exasperating, inspiring, and reminds me what it’s like to be a new creator. I thought I’d share this humbling experience with you because it’s brought new clarity about what it’s like to start over and fight to cut through the noise.

When I was a little boy, I loved to draw. Although the arts were not a priority in my family, somehow I acquired a drawing pad and some colored pencils. I loved making pictures of animals, but the hobby and the drawing pad vanished as I reached my teens.

About 45 years later, I had a drawing pad in front of me once again. My wife and I were at a mountain resort that had been snowed in. The lodge brought in a local artist to teach a watercolor class to relieve our boredom. Improbably, this was the first art class I ever had in my life.

The teacher patiently showed her five students how to paint an autumn leaf while explaining the type of paint, paper, and brushes to use in this very difficult medium. I actually created something that looked like a leaf. Here it is:

Painting a leaf that looked like a leaf had the same effect of being a lousy golfer who hits one good shot: You convince yourself that if it happened once, it can happen again. So I bought some supplies and started to experiment. This photo was taken just a few months before the pandemic, so I was about to have a lot more time to practice!

As my post-COVID consulting/speaking career heated up, I didn’t have much time to paint but never gave up. Even if I had an hour a week, I kept experimenting, and usually failed, but kept moving forward by creating little pictures to give to friends who were sick or suffering.

After about three years, I was brave enough to post one of my paintings on Facebook:

A friend reached out and asked if he could buy it as an anniversary present for his wife. I was shocked and humbled, but took his money : )  Ha! I was officially a paid, professional painter, even though most of my work was crap.

Fast forward to today. A local boutique is now carrying my paintings, and I’m selling 4-5 per month. In a few weeks, one of my paintings will hang on a wall at a local art show for the first time.

It occurs to me that my ups and downs are the same as what you’ll experience as you begin to publish online to build your personal brand. Here are eight lessons that might help you.

1. There are no shortcuts.

I’m not the most patient person. I want to be successful NOW. In my personal branding class, I emphasize that you have to publish every week for 18 months to see if your idea is working. The more you practice, the better you get, which makes it a lot more fun. You have to be humble and put in the work. Nobody is born with a million social media followers.

2. The beauty and truth of mistakes

About two years into my journey, I created this painting:

If you look closely at the bottom right corner of the painting, there are feathery little disruptions in the water. Technically speaking, these are mistakes called watercolor “blooms.” But to me, this is the best part of the painting. It suggested something magical about the water. The work was so much better when I left in my mistakes.

Of course, this is what I’ve been teaching for many years: The Most Human Company Wins. Especially in this AI Era, showing up as human — mistakes and all — will become a point of differentiation.

3. Joy is a competitive advantage.

Now that my paintings are becoming a little popular, I’ve received requests to make a painting of someone’s house or pet. Nope. If I’m not painting what interests me, then it becomes a job.

In my classes, I teach that you should be fearless in your content and pursue the path that will bring you most joy. If it’s not fun, you’ll quit. And you can’t quit.

4. Pride is more important than perfection

My biggest problem is not knowing when to call a painting “finished.” I keep tweaking, trying to make it perfect, and I end up adding so many details that it becomes a mess.

Whether a blog post, podcast, or video, I have never posted a piece of content that was perfect. However, I’ve always posted content that I’m proud of. Striving for perfection creates an unrealistic obstacle to success. If you’re proud of it, the work is ready to go.

5. Consistency is more important than genius

There are two main reasons people fail after completing my personal branding class: They never start, or they stop too soon.

I am not a great painter. But I want to be one. Yes, I am super busy in my “normal” career, but I’ll never improve if I don’t find time to practice. I have a little painting kit and notebook I carry on business trips now. All I need is a cup of water in a hotel room to keep practicing. If you’re going to win in this world, you have to make your content a priority.

6. The only thing that matters is quality

The benefit of consistency is quality. The more you work, the better you get. Here’s a comparison of my paintings of a blue jay, about two years apart:

The one on the left from two years ago is overworked. The background distracts from the bird. The lines are hard where the feathers should be soft. The body looks flat instead of round. Somehow, the bird on the right seems to have a personality!

I’m lucky that I can compare these paintings and see progress as a creator. It’s not that easy when you’re in the trenches working on a podcast or video series, but it IS happening!

You can trick somebody into clicking a link to see your post, but you can’t trick them into subscribing to you or hiring you. To build and retain an audience, there is only one solution: quality. Keep improving over time.

7. Create what you feel

An important part of my journey was watching YouTube tutorials to learn new skills. My goal was to copy exactly what the teachers were demonstrating. I still do this, and always will, because I have so much to learn! But to stand out, I’ll have to stop painting what I see (copying others) and start painting what I feel (my distinct voice).

When I started as a blogger, I had no idea what I was doing, so I just copied other bloggers. To cut through the noise and earn my own audience, I had to stop copying and develop my own confident voice. In the professional world, if I’m known for one thing, It’s probably my originality. You will see ideas in this space you will see nowhere else!

I have a long way to go to achieve this confidence and originality as a painter, but it’s starting to show up. In my latest painting, the colors are unrealistic and wild, but they reflect my feelings about a favorite spot in the Smoky Mountain National Park called Tremont:

This is not a real scene, but it is MY scene.

8. You have no competition

It’s been fun discovering new watercolor artists on Instagram. There are thousands of them! They are all using the same paint and paper, but they’re all unique. Every one of them is earning their own audience day by day.

It might seem intimidating trying to break through the noise. Some people might think it’s impossible, especially in the AI Era. But let’s get real. Before AI, you had a million competitors. Now you might have a billion competitors. Does it really matter? There is still only one you. You have no competition.

There are millions of artists. I am not the best watercolor artist in my country, my state, or even in my county. But I’ve found a small audience that cares. I am growing as a creator, and that is something to build on.

If you’re at the beginning of your journey as a creator or beginning to build your personal brand, I hope these lessons fortify you.

I know it seems daunting to begin from scratch, but you really don’t have any choice, do you? If you have a dream, you must start, you must not quit, you must progress. The payoff is out there.

You can find more of my paintings here. Some of them are good. Next month they will be better.

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