How to Value What You Make

This month I spent a lot of time in my car, driving back and forth to San Antonio, listening to podcasts.

My current favorite podcast is Esther Perel's Where Should We Begin? If you haven't heard it, each episode features a different couples counseling session with psychotherapist and general wonder-woman, Esther Perel. The show is like a mix of Krista Tippet's On Being and a really good soap opera. I love it.

In one of her sessions, Esther uses a relationship metaphor that I thought applied astonishingly well to art-making. To paraphrase:

Imagine your creative life is like a car. You've got 'the gas' (your passion / drive) and 'the brakes' (your inhibitions / inner critic). Often times we think that successful creative people use a lot of 'the gas' - they can go-go-go and are prolific producers. In reality, they just use less of 'the brakes.' They let their ideas develop and don't judge them too early. They sit with the mess. In fact, I would say they're strategic about how they use their brakes. They understand when criticism will ignite rather than hinder curiosity and momentum.

So July's got me listening to Esther, sipping smoothies, watching Fleabag on Amazon Prime, and coasting all brake-free like in the studio with my crayons. Hope y'all do the same.

P.S. If you want to talk more about making/value, come to my workshop, The Creative Mindset: How to Value What You Make.