Since art is never possession, and always possibility, nothing possessed can have the status of art.
— James Carse, Finite and Infinite Games
Everyday, when you get up, you have the choice to be remarkable or not.
I’m not talking about the kind of remarkable that is validated by someone else, certified by an outside entity or stamped “approved.”
I’m talking about the kind of remarkable that you can’t help but create.
It rises up, swells and practically bursts out of you.
The kind of remarkable that forces you to make the choice. If you listen.
And though it comes from you, this kind of remarkable isn’t you.
You create it. You release it. And then it’s no longer yours.
You are not this remarkable new thing.
You continue to read, learn, listen and do. And you make the choice to move on to the next remarkable thing that is inside of you.
Of course, this new thing may come into the world flawed. In fact, it almost certainly will.
You will release it and it will be gnawed upon, clawed at, smashed!
Releasing it can be brutal.
It might hurt you if you let it. But, remember, that this thing is not you. Your creation now belongs to the world.
And it’s no less remarkable.
You may discover that this thing has little value to anyone. Even to you. Many will never see or hear or touch this thing. Most won’t care. And even if a lot of people do care, it’s no longer yours.
It’s theirs.
But by releasing this thing and understanding that it’s no longer yours, it will give you the confidence to release another thing.
And another.
What matters is that you made the choice to be remarkable. To let this new thing rise up from inside of you. And to give it what it needed.
To be written. Said. Drawn. Created.
And to be released.
You made something. But it did not make you.
You created something. But it is not you.
Now, after you release something, you may discover upon further reflection that something else needs to be said about that very thing. That thing that is no longer yours. Perhaps what you said or did or drew or created needs to be amended, adjusted or replaced entirely.
So do it.
Reclaim it for a moment. Amend it. Adjust it. Replace it.
And then release it.
Remember that you’ll get to choose again tomorrow.
— John
Thank you to Seth Godin, James Carse and Austin Kleon for releasing your work. It inspires my own.