You Have Everything You Need To Create Anything You Want - For The Interested

You Have Everything You Need To Create Anything You Want

The mindset every successful creator shares.

There are two types of creators in the world: Those who create things and those who find reasons why they can’t.

The single biggest difference between the two is a mindset.

Creators who consistently put things into the world do so by ignoring the reasons why they “can’t” — they believe they have everything they need to create anything they want.

You will become this kind of creator too once you realize a few things…

You Don’t Need Permission

In 2011, a high school senior got a 10-day suspension for marijuana possession. An aspiring musician, he decided to put the time to good use.

With no connection to a record label or anyone in the industry — and despite his own teachers mocking his musical ambition — he recorded and uploaded a free mixtape to the internet.

He titled it “10 Day” and it went on to be streamed more than a million times and launch his career.

Chance the Rapper didn’t wait for permission to create his thing and neither should you.

Before the internet existed, creators needed the approval of gatekeepers to reach an audience. But that’s no longer the case.

You can reach the entire world for free and without anyone’s permission — you just have to stop waiting for someone to “allow” you to do so.

You Don’t Need Money

In 2013, filmmaker Sean Baker wanted to make a movie called Tangerine, but had virtually no money to fund the production.

So he got creative and shot the entire film on an iPhone.

Doing so enabled him to bring the movie to life and it went on to premiere at the Sundance Film Festival, be acquired by Magnolia Pictures, and attain a 96% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes.

Sean Baker didn’t need money to create his thing and neither do you.

Will resources help you create? Yes. Are they necessary in order to create? No.

Don’t let a lack of money be an excuse for why you can’t create something. Constraints can breed creativity and turn your theoretical weakness into a strength.

Just because you can’t afford to make The Avengers doesn’t mean you can’t afford to make a movie.

You Don’t Need A Piece Of Paper

In 1868, a 24-year-old toll collector in Paris wandered into an art museum.

He taught himself to paint by copying the paintings he saw in museums and went on to sketch the gardens around the city.

Since he had no formal art education or any supervision from a teacher, he developed a highly personal, unique style with a dreamlike quality to it. His uniqueness was looked down upon at first, but ultimately drew him acclaim and led his work to become incredibly influential on future artists.

Henri Rousseau didn’t need a credential to create his thing and neither do you.

I’m a college graduate and believe despite our educational system’s flaws, college is far from a waste of time.

But you don’t need a college degree to create your thing and you don’t need any certificate, credential, course, or other piece of paper to certify you as “good enough” to create something.

All you need to create something is the desire to do so.

You Don’t Need Experience

In 2003, two law school students decided to start a t-shirt company, despite not having any idea how that business worked.

Bobby Kim and Ben Shenassafar launched The Hundreds without a store, without ever having sold a piece of clothing before, and without any experience or connections in the fashion industry.

But they figured it out and built The Hundreds into a multi-million dollar brand and one of the most successful streetwear companies of all time.

The Hundreds didn’t need experience to create their thing and neither do you.

Experience is valuable and the more you have, the easier it becomes to create things.

But it’s also a chicken-egg conundrum because the only way to get experience is to actually make something.

Don’t ever allow a lack of experience to hold you back from creating.

You Don’t Need Anyone To Believe In You

In 1993, a divorced mother on welfare didn’t have a lot of people rooting for her or her writing.

Despite a steady stream of rejections, she continued to work on her book and submit it to publishers until one of them finally offered her a tiny bit of money for it along with a suggestion that she get a teaching job because she was unlikely to ever earn a living from children’s books.

But it turned out Harry Potter was no typical children’s book.

J.K. Rowling didn’t need anyone to believe in her to create her thing and neither do you.

It’s wonderful to have people root for you and encourage your dreams, but you don’t need anyone’s support to create something.

Nobody has to think it’s a good idea but you.

Nobody has to want to do it but you.

And nobody can hold you back from creating it but you.

The Only Three Things You Need

While none of the above things can stop you from creating something, it’s important to acknowledge there are three things you will need in order to bring something to life.

Luckily, you’ve got them all in your if you’re willing to use them.

You need effort.

Creating something from nothing will never be easy.

You need courage.

Creation is a scary process with an unknown outcome so it takes guts to pursue.

You need commitment.

You will fail, struggle, and want to quit often, so the only way to bring something to life is to ride out the waves.

None of these qualities are easy, but you have them in you.

Remember: You’ve got everything you need to create anything you want.

Good luck. I can’t wait to see what you come up with.