Who you are -

I have a friend who’s tentatively drawing again. They’re having fun and doing wonderful work, but they worry about how ‘good’ their work is. How productive they are.

They compare themselves to other known artists who’ve created hundreds, sometimes thousands of works of art.

“I’m no Rembrandt or Yayoi Kusama or Grandma Moses,” they tell me with a sad sigh.

Another friend who’d love to illustrate children’s books laments never being as good as some top illustrators both past and present.

“I’m no Ashley Bryan or Jason Chin or Leo and Diane Dillon,” they say with regret.

And to both I say “Great, be you!”

I’m not trying to be facetious. I’m offering an honest challenge most people won’t take.

Most people will try to write or dance or draw like someone else. They’ll try to be as productive or successful as someone else. But they don’t take a moment to reflect on who they are and what they have to offer.

What is your work about?

Why do you do what you do?

The world doesn’t need more copycat artists, more me-too creators, we have plenty of people who hide their genius behind imitation or talk themselves out of ever showing their work for fear it will be judged harshly.

Don’t be afraid of judgment.

Be afraid of having nothing interesting to show.

We need people with courage to show up in a world that will try to shout you down and tell you you’re not good enough. We need people to create with a purpose.

If you’re like my friends, I’m going to free you, right now. I’m going to say something and you may not like it.

Here it goes: No, you’re not as good as whoever you’re comparing yourself to.

You don’t need to be.

Show me your work and I’ll see who you are.

And that’s good enough for me.