Phetasy News - Be In The Process
Phetasy News - Be In The Process
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Greetings from the Phetaverse
I’ve been a freelance writer turned independent creator for a long, long time now. Twenty years ago I decided to take the path less traveled when I dropped out of college. I knew I wanted to be a writer—but I also wanted to be an actress, a photographer, a director, a web designer. Back in 1999, someone would think you were crazy to want to do all of those things. Today, this is what we would call an “influencer” or a “creator.” I know 12-year-olds capable of writing, directing and editing their own TikToks—and they’re also selling NFTs and managing wealth.
Despite the fact that I still have no idea what blockchain is—I’ve learned a lot along the way. About business. About discipline. About motivation and consistency. About failure and patience. I’ve been humbled, reminded that I’m not that big of a deal, despite what my delusions of grandeur might have told me in my early 20s. And I’ve learned an even harder lesson: I’m valuable.
It’s hard to remember that when you’re bumbling around trying to find your way in the dark. It’s hard to remember why you started your business or left that great job or began a new venture or, in my case, decided to pursue a career in the arts. You must befriend endless rejection. You must love the process so passionately, you’ll stick with it even when you are tempted to quit everything and become a general manager at Denny’s just for the job security.
Choosing this path meant choosing insecurity. It meant taking odds jobs and waiting tables and working as an aide to autistic kids. It meant working on farms. It meant hustling, constantly. It meant second-guessing myself. And as the business has grown and taken me in new directions, it’s meant letting go of any attachment to results.
When I’m focusing on metrics and downloads and subscribers and even money, I’m not in the process. I’m not the girl with big dreams in a studio apartment and $7 in her bank account, writing for no reason other than needing to get those words out on paper. I’m out of the moment, out of the pure joy in the act of creation—that place where time doesn’t exist.
This is the sweet spot. The only thing I can control. My attitude and my effort. When I stay in that space, I’m reminded I’m already living my dreams. Everything else—is gravy.
Thumbnail artwork by Lara Cullen.
Email laracullenstudio@gmail.com to inquire or contact her.