I talk about art, design, and creativity
I’d draw late into the night and dream about dresses all day.
Suddenly, my life changed.
No longer was I able to draw pretty girls in pretty dresses.
Instead, I now serve Hong Kong fast food to people in my city.
When I get off work, I pour the rest of my energy into helping creators understand how they can use social media for their business.
You’re allowed to change and explore your interests and passions.
I promised myself I’d write every day and post it online.
And I’ve been doing just that for the past 3 years.
But I’d be lying if I said there weren’t days I wish I didn’t have to.
Because it’s 2AM and I just finished spending an hour on Tiktok (oops).
And I have to get up early for work tomorrow (again, oops).
I know it’s in this moment that I wish I could just sleep.
However, I also know future me will be grateful that I never stopped practicing my passions.
Everyone has the potential to be creative.
What sets creative people apart from the non-creative is the fact that creative people use their creative skills on a daily basis.
In other words, they practice it.
Intentionally.
Regularly.
Because it’s a part of their routine.
If you want to become a better writer, a better leader, a better business owner, then you’ve got to start practicing.
Are you going to wait till you’re ready before you start reaching towards your goals?
Here’s the thing.
The lie about being ready is that,
you’ll never feel ready.
That’s the tricky part.
It’s hard to convince your own mind that you’re ready to take a leap, because there’s fear involved.
It’s part of the process to feel that fear.
The best thing you can do is to do it anyway.
This is how I felt when preparing for an entirely new workshop on a topic I was passionate about.
(I’m actually still feeling this way because that workshop is happening next Monday and I’m in the midst of finalizing it’s content).
But I’m going to do it.
I’m going to launch the event anyways and see what happens.
Want to join? Here’s the link
If you want something to happen, you have to work for it.
Hustle culture works, but only for a short period of time.
It’s becoming more and more evident that working till you can’t anymore is not a sustainable way to make a living.
Most people can’t work 7 days a week, 14 hours a day, 365 days a year.
Most people don’t like to be on a soulless grind.
The alternative is to be a professional, as per Steven Pressfield’s definition.
Being a professional means you show up to work every day and do what needs to be done.
Being a professional means you create work that fulfills a promise you’ve made to your target audience, because you care.
It’s not about doing as much as you can in the shortest period of time you can afford.
A professional does their work out of passion for the process.
A professional is in it for the long haul.
Hustle culture isn’t going anywhere, but if you want to pursue creative goals I recommend you commit. Turn into a pro.
Creativity is a muscle.
It’s common to hear the phrase, “I’m not feeling inspired”
However, creativity must not be treated as a spontaneous thing that comes and goes.
Instead, you must believe your creative muscle is as tangible as your biceps or abs.
To build your creative muscle, don’t let creativity control you.
It has to be the other way around.
The only way to grow your creativity is to make it part of your everyday routine.
Make it a habit to practice your creativity.
It’s the only way you’ll become a more creative person.
Here are 25 bite-sized lessons I’ve learned in my 25 years.
1. You will stop using time to second-guess yourself.
Being in the creative industry is a game of doing and action. If I spent my last 2 years in second-guessing mode, I would not have been able to build up my parents’ business for them.
2. You’ll know that your work is good enough and worth sharing.
This was one of the biggest hurdles for me, because I used to think that the “bar” for sharing my work was when I thought it was good enough for my own standards. Turns out that’s not how the pros do it.
3. You’ll be able to see the true value of your work (and not sell yourself short).
Listen.
Trying to make it as a creative is hard.
The journey to self-confidence is hard.
Luckily, you don’t have to do it alone.
Self-confidence is one of the core assets we try to build up with everyone who joins us at The Habit Factory (which you can check out here).
Start intentionally building on your self-confidence, and you’ll make a positive impact on many facets of your life.
He made fun of my drawing.
And that was my turning point.
Yeah, I’m a sensitive kid.
Fast forward 12 years, I was 22.
Tired from holding myself back, I found a relatively safe space to share my art.
It was unbelievably liberating.
I realized, sharing my work was not to be feared.
I can’t believe it took me so long, but I guess that’s life.
Now I try to do the same for others with the work we do at Habit Factory.
Most people just need a safe space where they could be themselves and create whatever they want without feeling weird about it.
Why?
I guess I was self conscious.
I was scared to hear what others would think of me.
Worried that others would think I’m stupid for my ideas.
I knew my drawings were good because that’s what everyone around me said, but I was just excruciatingly shy.
Fast forward 3 years ago (in my early 20s), I wanted to break away from that kind of behaviour.
No more hiding.
Because I realized hiding away wasn’t going to get me anywhere.
And so I started to share my work on my corner of the internet.
Frankly, it felt liberating.
I learned that nobody actually thinks in the ways of how I imagine them to.
All that fear was inside my head.
Now, I’m the type of person who will eagerly encourage you to share your work with others (cue Habit Factory).
Sharing your progress offers an entirely different experience from keeping it to yourself. That is, if you’re with a community that makes you feel safe of course.
The switch to sharing work out loud was easy, but it took me a lot of mental work to be okay with it.
If you’re ready to jump into a safe space where you’re encouraged to do creative work differently, I hope you’ll sign up for our Habit Factory newsletter.
We’ll only send out emails when we launch new workshops.
See you there!
Anna's Blog 