Monday memo #96

Do it wrong.

The Monday memo is food for thought to fuel your week.

Hi everyone,

Here’s a secret I’ve learned about getting things right: The first step to getting things right is getting them wrong.

The first attempt is always wrong. Get wrong out of the way early, and you’ll be on a faster track to figuring out what right looks like.

When you create something, even badly, even wrong, even poorly, you are transforming your idea into a material fact. That thing, whatever it is, and no matter how bad it is — a blog post, a workshop, a presentation, a prototype — gives people something to react to, to rally around, even to hate! Or ignore. Whatever they do, that’s information.

One thing I’ve learned about creative work is that you are usually not the best judge of how good your own work is, or how marketable it is, or what it’s worth to others. Creative work is an inherently social act. It’s a relationship between the artist, the art, and the audience.

As long as your art is in your mind, or in your studio, you will lack a crucial bit of information that can only come from others. You’re not really learning until you put your art out into the world.

That first “wrong” version isn’t failure. It’s a signal beacon. It says: Here’s something to push against. It creates a conversation between you and the world.

No reaction is information.
Hate is information.
Love is information.

Each response tells you something. It shows you where the energy is. What’s alive.

Waiting gets you nothing. Thinking gets you nothing. Only action opens the door.

Wrong is the seed that beauty grows around.

Exercise.

Here’s your exercise for the week. Don’t wait for inspiration. Don’t wait until it’s ready. Put your messy, half-baked, too-early version into the world. Let the world push back. Let the feedback swirl around it. Pay attention. It’s all information.

This week:
Do it wrong.
Do it badly.
Get it out of your head and into the world.

See what happens.

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Project Kairos is ended.

Last Wednesday we closed out Project Kairos with a big party and celebration. Seventy-eight people joined us to learn more about what we are doing and celebrate our journey. Many of the sessions were recorded, and I will be sharing them as soon as I’ve collected them all.

Michelle, Mike K and Mel, your sessions were in the lobby and automatically recorded. I have received recordings from Nate, Stefan, Lorne, Mara, Brad, and Anthony. If you have a recording and haven’t shared it with me, please get it to me by Wednesday and I will include it in the recap.

Members can review the Kairos archive here.

Wouldn’t you like to join this group? I’d love to see your face in our next group photo. You belong here. We’d love to have you. What are you waiting for?

Our next Project Studio session kicks off in two weeks, on October 29th. Will you join us? If you’d like to join the next cohort, you can join us by clicking this button:

I look forward to seeing you soon,