Tag: writing

Who will I say sent me?

Do you remember what people say when you want to do something great? What do they say when you mess up?

They say “can you do it?” who sent you in the first place?” “who asked you to do it?”

Moses knew that so well: he wanted to do something great. But he had messed up and was told “who made you a judge over us?” So he ran away. For 40 years!

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Wanna know something?

God sent you.

Now if your dreams are selfish and ego-driven, you will be up against a brick wall. Real hard brick wall. If you follow self-conjured imaginations or ambitions, you will meet a dead end. You will fail miserably or succeed more miserably.

But, if God has placed a vision in your heart and nudged you to make a difference —maybe He prompted you to start writing, pursue a particular career, start that project or join that mission trip — you will be unstoppable. If He’s saying “speak to Mica about this,” don’t be afraid. Even if you messed up the first time. Or second, or… however many times, you can pick yourself up.

People and situations will ask you “Who sent you?” and it will be more of mocking than questioning.

But you can confidently say to them, “God sent me.”

God is “I AM.” That means He’s ever present: He’s not an outdated God. He’s not in the past. He’s with you, leading you every step of the way into your great future!

He sent you!

MISTAKES X FAILURE

What do you do when you make a mistake? What should you? This nifty post gives you an idea.

What do you do when you make a mistake or fail?

If you were me, you would hate yourself, wish it never happened and try so hard not to talk about it. Sometimes, that will prevent you from doing something great again.

If you are nodding your head right now, I have a word for you.

Do not beat yourself…

The microwave was a sizzling accidental discovery during a radar test. Sticky notes came out of a failed strong-adhesive project. The potato chips was an attempt to annoy an extremely fussy customer. The penicillin was a result of an accidental culture inoculation, and the x-ray and corn flakes were also accidental discoveries.

Do not take yourself too seriously. Seriously. Okay, I meant, do not beat yourself too much.

Rather, take a second look at your mistakes or failures. You may learn something phenomenal.

Take a second look.

You may learn something phenomenal.

Check out the Instagram info-graphic here.

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Little lights

Big light, little light, we should all shine.

In retrospect, I think the childhood chorus “this little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine. Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine,” was curated to tell the child that there is a light within, a light of passion, of purpose, fueled by the intrinsic gifts the maker has deposited in all of us, it’s a reminder to let that light out regardless of how small he or she may feel.

Somehow, on the journey to adulthood, we tend to forget this.

As we all reach to attain the perfectionism our institutions have created in our hearts, the words, “You’re not good enough, you can’t do it, you don’t have what it takes.” burn their way into our minds and threaten to eat up what is left of our childhood wonder, faith and sense of adventure.

Like a little light, we consistently belittle the progress and the victuals we’ve earned in the journey so far in life, work and relationships. The weight of unrealistic expectations and our half-empty appraisal of ourselves makes us think we are never going to be prepared enough to offer much, and we think we need to have it all figured out before we can take a step in the direction of our dreams, or be a blessing to others. Often times, the feeling of inadequacy that comes with this perfectionism prevents us from believing in the process that has gotten us to where we are and venturing in faith into the things we are supposed to do. We doubt Gods ability to work in and through us.

We fail to remember that “in the dark world of doubt and mediocrity, even the smallest lamp and faintest light will illuminate hope.”

So I will not hide my light under a bushel anymore. I am a light. My source is divine. A light burns in me. It may be little or big, but I would shine. As I shine, I grow and then shine some more.

Will you join me?

A C R Y L I C on Primed Canvas | 8 X 10 inches | 08-14-2019

MY INSPIRATION

“Here’s another way to put it: You’re here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We’re going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you don’t think I’m going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I’m putting you on a light stand. Now that I’ve put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand—shine! Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you’ll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven.”
~‭‭Matthew‬ ‭5:14-16‬ ‭MSG‬‬

P.S. Check out my latest project here.
Thank you!

Run your own race

The pressure to perform can be as helpful as it is disastrous.

As a writer, I am torn between do it now and wait until it is perfect. For a long time, I was confused about what school of thought to pattern myself after because I didn’t want to offend the wisdom of either, as I respected and admired the work of people who swore by both.

I grew up in a time where the seven year old who makes 3.1 million dollars in first year of business and the seventy-five year old who wins a marathon got the spotlight shone on them while the thirty-five year old doing either gets a mere shrug. As a result, I have tried both – I produced work too quickly in a bid to rush up to spotlight but then realizing it wasn’t ready. Frustrated and guilt-ridden, I resorted to endlessly waiting for my work to be perfect or until I am ready.

Problem is, I never feel ready.

My perspective is broadening as I meet people everyday. The journey to purpose and significant work as creatives is often a path of undulating slopes and we grow through the process of a balance of learning and creating.

Don’t birth into the world a poorly written first draft at sixteen just because you will look cool doing it. I’d rather you give us an irresistible bestseller at twenty-two or thirty-five! You must remember that it is okay, yes, it is perfectly okay if you do not get there first or as early as you think you should. But it’s really terrible if you get there first or early and have nothing significant to offer, because you will be asked to stand aside.

There is an interesting story in the Bible (2 Samuel 18:30) where Kind David’s army commander, Joab, needed to get a message across to him. Ahimaaz thought he could run faster so off he went. He got to the king before the Cushite, who had the message, but because he had nothing to deliver, he was asked to stand aside. You see, the king will wait for the one who has something to offer, even if he arrives later.

It’s great if you do create masterpieces as early as you can, but if you can’t, it’s okay too. Do not let your performance be fraught with undue pressure to perform. The experience and maturity that comes with the diligence of mastery (or age as the case may be) is nothing to be ashamed of. Sometimes, you may have brilliant ideas, but your character is not formed – it is important not to rush the process because the wisdom you gain from the experiences on the journey is as important as the destination.

Listen. Pay attention. Learn. Fine tune. Release. Then rinse and repeat.

You don’t have to get there early because no one is observing the time. Really. No one is.

It doesn’t matter who is there right now, they will step aside when someone with something significant arrives. You don’t have to get there first because it’s not a competition. You don’t have to wait till you feel you are ready, because what you need to do is to prepare and then share it when opportunity comes.

It’s often not about when you get there, it’s about what you have to offer.

If you fall short at an attempt, shake yourself up and do it again. My advise right now is to be a life long student. Take on opportunities as they come
Do it one at a time. Do not compare yourself to other’s journey. One of the reasons why I just pay attention to doing good work rather than fussing over when and where I am published is that I am on a unique race.

Imagine you’re an athlete. You’ve trained for so long. You are ready for the meet, then when you squat on the track, the marksman announces, “hey, everyone, today, you won’t be competing against the people on the other lanes. The’re a personal creative best you’ve been equipped to achieve at this time. Today’s race will be about how much you have applied yourself to your personal best or how much you have improved since your last record…”

That’s pretty much the life we live. You’re on the same track as everyone else in the word. But you’re not running the same race. Each person has a unique set of gifts and abilities and paths of purpose to benefit the world. It is your duty to find your purpose and pursue it’s achievement.

As long as you are alive, what matters is the impact you make on other people with your work and the peace and joy you experience through the process of growth on purpose.

The creative life is a long-distance, not a sprint. And if there is one thing to take out of this article, it is this –

run your own race with diligence.

P.S. Check out my latest project here. Thank you!

Creativity tips for a productive 2018 (II)

Read part 2 of my two-part series on productivity in 2018.

Hello readers,

I’m sure you’re excited about the new year 2018!

Did you see yesterday’s post? Okay, it was not yesterday and I apologize for that. However, it’s great that we are here today. I’m excited to share this productivity tips with you and this part will be plastered with infographics you can download and share. The previous post of this two-part series can be viewed here.

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Today, I’ll continue by debunking the myth of the “Once in a Lifetime Opportunity.” Heard that one?

I think a “once in a lifetime opportunity” happens more often than we are told to believe.

Imagine a world where you are banned to a life of misery if you do not take a once in a lifetime opportunity at 23 or 15 (because I heard that when I was 15). I guess whoever coined that term was just trying to get his kids to be serious and not play away their lives. He wanted to say “do not waste your life!” with a bit of drama.

There are many opportunities to do deep work, share your passion and create masterpieces so do not be rushed. However, there’s no better time to prepare and hone your craft than now!

And if you missed today’s opportunity, start tomorrow.

I perceive that the reason why the idea of a once in a lifetime opportunity seems widely accepted is that, while opportunities abound in life, you may not always be prepared to walk into them. Often, when the so-called door of opportunity opens, many writers do not always have the assurance of mastery and a box (or hard drive) full of first drafts but are full of mere intentions.

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Start today. then repeat tomorrow.

Stop thinking that “consistently and “daily” are two separate words.

Why do you think most people bathe and brush every day? The simple but elusive answer is that most people have been doing it for most of their lives. I am one of the hundreds of millions of people who find it difficult to hold my brush and hit the showers the second time (at night.) Why? Is it because I have unhealthy practices? No, I do! I think it’s because this is something most people try to learn after they are formed. Give that same person some motivation and time – and it will promptly become practice.

You surely remember a drill that you had to undergo while in elementary school – the multiplication table. Why do you think we were able to all memorize up till 12 X 12 by the time we graduated from primary school? Were we all smart? No!

Well, yes – because we did it every day! Smart move!

I  discovered that unlike 1 to 12, we were not required to learn 13 X 13 onwards and as a result, only a few people do know the multiplication table from 13. We were not required to read and learn it every day but introduced to calculators! So mastery is curated in the furnace of consistent practice.

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Consistency is a great virtue to help 2018 be a productive year. However, I must be quick to point out that writing consistency is not the same as publishing frequency.

Stop feeling like you need to get out your message right now!

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Write consistently, but you do not have to publish what you write a few minutes after you do. A few cases may differ, but for 99.99% of writers including me, we can wait a few hours to edit, scratch that – and rewrite; show our peers for critique before sharing if we choose to. While publishing frequency depends on your purpose, writing consistency should always go on.

Take copious notes.

Most of my completed works started as paper clippings, ideas scribbled into sheets, several journal posts and in recent years Google Keep, Apple Note, and Evernote entries. Sitting down to write or create is what you must do, but the short insights that come to you on the go as you practice daily life often become the spice that infuses realness into your work. They will seem sketchy at times, but only until you sit down to flesh them up.

Keep a notepad handy or download a note-taking app!

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Stop giving people permission to gauge your dreams

I met more people that did not believe that Donut could be produced and distributed free without debt than those who cheered me on. But it didn’t matter to me because, at that point, the passion that prompted me was too strong to be checked by expectations or peer pressure. I wish I have that pump every day!

Not everyone will understand or agree with the magnitude of your dreams, and surely not everyone will encourage you to take the steps to achieve them. In fact, in my experience, more often than not, you will find you are surrounded by well-meaning loving but complacent family and friends, who would rather play it safe. Often these people have put out discouragement not from a place of contempt but a place of fear  – they have dreamed but have not been courageous enough to pursue or stay on track.  They dropped out of the race and their misery only loves company. Do not join the band!

Step out of the judgment zone. Step out of the pressure. Let the expectation that compels you to be internally generated. Do or Do not. There is no try.

Record your voice and try writing prompts.

This is one huge productivity hack I have found useful. Sometimes, when ideas for work in progress hit me while engaging in an activity that makes it difficult to put a pen to paper, I simply pick out my voice recorder app and pour my mind. Then I can transcript later. Hearing your own voice boosts your morale and gives you hope for what’s possible. If you hit a block of ideas, try writing prompts. You can find great ones over the internet.

Unplug.

You cannot create masterpieces in front of the world. Trust me, distractions were present in the creative life before technology, and internet only makes it worse. Remember that for every one of the planned writing time you spend on the internet (except for research), you are shortchanging yourself. You are basking in the transient delights of internet communication, wallowing in self-pity when you view the plastic pictures of your fake virtual friends and making zero progress. Only deep work becomes a masterpiece and I have learned from experience that the greatest secret to creating deep work is to completely engage your mind in the process – this made possible when you unplug.

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Create a community

I have found creative communities help boost motivation. While I can’t always reach my mentors I have creative friends who are always available to add stokes to my fire. By their critique, my work becomes better. This year, find friends who you can learn from, bounce your ideas off of, share insights with and enjoy mutual edification. Sometimes, they are all you got, and all you need to supercharge!

The next step

While life is a continuum and the yearly demarcation of time merely serves to give us a framework to structure life, there’s so much to look forward to in 2018 – Yes, YOU can start fresh and intentional!

Happy New year!

Toluwanimi

 

Creativity tips for a productive 2018: Part 1

Want to make 2018 a productive year? Read my selected Creativity Tips before 2017 ends.

Hello Writer and Creative,

If you live in the real world, you will agree with me that great feats are hardly achieved accidentally. Historical and current examples of men and women who have done great things with their lives show us that more often than we realize, excellence requires intentional diligence and consistency.

A few days ago, I posted the image below on my Instagram:

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As we pack shop out of 2017, I felt everyone needed a reminder to introspectively evaluate 2017 and plan to maximize the opportunities of 2018 (because there will be lots of them). If you still think that opportunity comes once in a lifetime, you need to read my last post here.

“2018 is going to be a great year for the intentional creative.”

In 2018, I want to be a better writer, an intentional creative and an enthusiastic learner. I have been researching tips on how this can be possible and I felt to share with you what I found proven and practical. In this post, I will be sharing a trait I observed is present in all successful writers and creatives, called Consistency.

Consistency.

You probably know that one of the secrets to staying fresh and energetic is to write on a regular schedule (and the most consistent example is daily), and though every good book on writing maintains this as crème de la crème of writing advice, most writers find it difficult to practice. Yet, I can with near certainty, say that more than half of wannabe and accomplished authors will add any form of this golden word to their new year resolutions as 2018 draws near.

So what can we do about this?

They say, it all starts in the mind. I agree.

Start by agreeing with the fact that you will not find the time to write. The time to write will not show up like a lost toy you found inside the sofa while spring cleaning the house nor will you find it like a digger in a gold mine. You will have to create the time. Understanding this is the beginning of successful hustle. Though it feels good to bask in the delights of the few and far between child prodigy stories that have not gotten us anywhere than make us dreamers and wishers without any fire in our bones, I’d say that in 2018, start working on your craft. Whether you are talented or not, you need to put in the work.

I was not known to be the coolest guy in elementary, or high school (at least I didn’t think so), but I was known to be the guy that was very gifted in the arts. Anyone who wanted something drawn in school, or painted at church came to me. Friends who needed essays written, re-written or edited came to me. I have worked on many books, magazines, design projects for individuals and organizations since high school and I am a published author. Some have called me a naturally talented creative.

Guess what? It doesn’t matter.

It does not matter because I have met people who are not “naturally talented” but are now well-respected experts in the career they chose, simply because they put in the work! Interestingly, I also discovered that many people who are considered ungifted are just lost. Wait until they find their path and realize the power consistency.

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While you cannot overemphasize the importance of a consistent practice of craft, your writing does not need to be perfect. What prospective medical student thinks he can perform open heart surgeries while still taking pre-med biology?

It’s… wait for it... the stupid one.

Sounds harsh, but it’s true! And I’m not saying the writer who thinks he can produce a masterpiece fresh off the start is stupid. I am just saying it’s okay if your first few compositions are not perfect. So, step one – Decide to consistently practice your craft – every day in 2018. How?

Just do it.

I know it sounds cliche, but the moment you remember you have to write, just write. The world will not end, and surely that episode of Stranger Things you are watching will wait.

Sometimes this writing practice will not always have a purpose other than to hone your craft.

We often wish every stroke of our pen or clang of the keyboard results in a masterpiece that will be adored by millions. Writers who consider themselves missionaries – who favor a specific sub-genre or theme – more often than others fall prey to this mindset. That is why we stare at the blank screen or paper and wait – for the muse – but end up writing nothing. You do not always have to write according to your selected theme. Your writing practice today may merely be to fathom the world sanctimonious – by finding ten synonyms or antonyms and using it in different ways within a conversation. On other days, it may be putting a backstory into your lead character’s life. Sometimes, it may be reading a prose written by someone you respect or writing the draft of the story you aren’t sure how it’s going to end. Sometimes, its using computer-generated writing prompts!

Quality is often extracted from quantity.

I secretly wish everything I create becomes a masterpiece, but I know that nothing in life works like that. We celebrate the great artists, composers, and writers of old but do you realize that for every famous work of Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simon, there are hundreds of paintings that weren’t so famous? Have you seen how many sketchbooks accomplished artists keep? Ever heard of rough drafts? No one sees those, yet they form the foundation for masterpieces and bestsellers.

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The thought that the world has to see everything you write is the beginning of frustration, because, truthfully, we usually start with nonsense. Get used to it. One of the most celebrated American writers of the last two centuries, Ray Bradbury reportedly said “every writer has a million bad words in them.  The sooner you get through that first million, the faster you get to the words worth sharing.” Another writer, Malcolm Gladwell proposed that 10,000 hours of deliberate practice are needed to become world-class in any field. While I do not necessarily fix an arbitrary number to it, I agree with the attitude of consistent deliberate practice behind those words. The sooner you can get beyond 10,000 words or 10,000 hours, the earlier you can start creating enthralling masterpieces.

The movie Starwars was not shot a few hours after the scriptwriter came up with the story – it surely took months and years of work! An accomplished athlete is not one who stumbles onto the Olympics but spends hours practicing for the games.

So why should your writing be different?

I will pause here so you can digest the words above. Tomorrow, we will dive deep into the nitty-gritty of Consistency. Stay creative!

Cheers!

Toluwanimi

Take your work seriously! (The principle of Creative Diligence)

Hi dear readers!

I’m especially excited to be sharing this post today. It has sat in my blog drafts for months because the post wasn’t ripe yet, but the recent turn of events in my life has spurred me to reopen this muse.

I am so passionate about this principle I am learning every day and I think you need to see this, especially if you consider yourself to be a creative. This article is a little lengthy but I assure you – it’s worth reading to the end.

My post is not an attack on the wonderful professions of medicine, law, engineering, economics and many more which have immensely contributed to the progress in our world today – and professionals will continue to break grounds. So, if you are very passionate about your professional or conventional path, this post is not for you. However, you are welcome to glean the principle for application in any area of your life.

My post is tailored to the innate creative who is stuck in the stereotype.

If you consider yourself to be a creative in thought or in practice – if wonderful ideas daily tug your mind seams and threaten to burst forth, if your hands are tremulous until you have penned down those lines of prose or those sketches, if you have been misunderstood by family and friends and repeatedly accused of daydreaming or being unserious, this post is for you.

You don’t have to think long or hard before you realize that every aspect of daily living thrives on creativity. We all have, time and again, benefited immensely from the imagination of creatives – from writers, artists, broadcasters, podcasters, musicians, movie producers, photographers, publishers, writers, audiovisual content creators to app developers/programmers, video game creators, animators, scientific innovators and tech gurus. Yet, the age-old conventional stereotypes have classified these pursuits in many people’s hearts as mere hobbies or at best side-gigs.

Growing up in Nigeria, I can authoritatively say that one of the surest point of parent-teen tension is when the JAMB* forms are about to be filled. Chances are higher that the typical parent will be more delighted to hear the child has chosen to be a doctor rather than a creative designer, and a few teens have, sadly, had guardians stand over their shoulder as they filled the forms so they would pick their parents unfulfilled dreams.

Very little has changed over the years, as many people feel that the professional careers, while difficult, promises financial security upon graduation. I agree. The admission requirements into college for “professional” disciplines are stringent and the competition remains record high. I also agree – I went to Medical School! The discipline exerted by the professors, the structure of the discipline, the rigors of the long years of study and the importance of the subject of the discipline (human life in Medicine for example) makes the professions very noble. I agree.

On the flip side, many perceive the creative path to be flippant, not requiring diligence and surely not noble enough to be a career path or a full-time thing. For parents who fear for their children, you will have a hard time convincing them that art is more than a childhood hobby, possibly because it is usually associated with beauty, intrigue, exhilaration, its results appeal to the soul and seems to be mostly enjoyable to the consumer, and the creators seems to be having a fun time creating, they conclude that the process should not require diligence.

Somehow, I think this mindset has slowly crept into the minds of creatives and non-conventional people like me that we seem to be complacent and submit ourselves to the cage of stereotype. We are not taking our creative crafts as seriously as we should and we feel very ashamed about it among family and friends.

We believe the lie that it’s just a hobby. Come off it, creative one!

Statistics show that the creative industry is a major driver for economic growth. In America for example, the creative industry contributed $698 billion to the nation’s economy and 4.7 million jobs (a 2015 report of the the Bureau of Economic Analysis and the National Endowment for the Arts). I can only assume that many other countries have similar data.

Think about an area of your daily life where the creative industry is not relevant? A “special” area that creativity cannot help? I’d like to see your findings in the comments below.

The myth of the starving artist is over (thank you Jeff Goins for that!) Certainly, the myth of the “unserious” is past due too. Now is time to wake up, hone your craft, launch your dream and bring beauty and impact to our world with the power of your trans-formative creativity. The potential of your creativity is only limited to the extent of your imagination and tenacity of your diligence.

The creative industry wields so much power and it requires diligence! The creative path is more self-directed as opposed to the profession, but it doesn’t take away an ounce of diligence required to thrive and create beautiful work. In fact, it should inform it.

A doctor, lawyer or any other professional will always be respected and at least be able to pay the bills but I will dare say that what makes these career paths prestigious is the thoroughness that is constructed within the fabric of training and the impact these professions have on the world.

And Creativity has that! SURELY.

I have heard of families torn apart by a promising child’s revelation that he wants to go into some form of creative industry. I feel the pain writers go through to conceptualize the many ideas that brims into overflow in their wild minds. I see the disappointment in the faces of parents when their children take on a paintbrush rather than a scalpel, and the colicky pain that surges though the hearts of a misunderstood creative.

Do you say that a writer, artist or musician (or whatever kind of creative you are) has no impact or is less important in our world?

I don’t think so.

Rather, I opine that not many unconventional people have given due diligence to pursue their paths with dignity so the society does not see it. We do not take ourselves seriously so the world emulates us!

Here, I speak to you, creative one. Gone are the days of waiting for inspiration and complacency on talent. Tim Notke is spot-on when he says that “hard work beats talent when talent does not work hard.”

Take your creative work as seriously as a physician would take his procedures and patients or an attorney will take her depositions or court hearings…

If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep streets even as a Michelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, ‘Here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well.

You may not be a street sweeper but Martin Luther King Jnr has you covered when he says that “No work is insignificant. All labor that uplifts humanity has dignity and importance and should be undertaken with painstaking excellence.”

If you’re called to be a writer, painter, artist, musician, or minister (yes, this applies to spiritual ministers too) in any aspect, you must realize that your generation needs you as much as it needs the doctors, engineers, lawyers and other professionals. So, the least you can do is to dignify your strategic societal position by pursuing your path not like a hobby but with much diligence and thoroughness as a conventional professional would.

Even though there are fewer formal options of training, take your calling serious, study and learn all you can from the best mentors you can find. Spend un-clocked hours honing your craft and chart paths for posterity. Show up to work even when you aren’t inspired and Sit under the Muse till wonderful ideas drop in your spirit.

Creativity is tagged unconventional for a reason – Learn to chart the trail and set your milestones as you go.

When you become an authority in this, doctors will pay to view your exhibitions. Your books will touch millions and cross more borders than you will. Lawyers will use your words as anecdotes. Engineers will pay to listen to you. Intelligent Business school graduates will queue to apply for positions at your successful start-up. Professionals will sit under your voice and listen to you deliver counsel and your compositions will sanitize the most insane minds.

“Do you see a man who excels in his work? He will stand before kings; He will not stand before unknown men.” Proverbs 22:29

If you give due diligence in your work, you will stand tall among peers and kings and command confidence.

Please, carry your calling with dignity and you will see what fulfillment lies in a job well done!

You are important. The world needs you!

Cheers,

Toluwanimi

P.S. If this post does not make sense to you, then you are conventional, but it’s okay! But at least, you can be diligent in whatever path your life will take and you MUST respect the unconventional people in your life.

*JAMB – former name of the University entry exam in my home country, Nigeria.

Finished: Nifty completion tips for the creative.

 

Whew!
I cannot believe that a whole year is wrapping up. 2017 gradually bows out. At the beginning of the year, when I was going to make one of the most difficult decisions of my life (more on that later), I wondered how I could make it through the year in one piece.
Well, here I am, in one piece… I think. The not so cold winter of 2016 gave in to a refreshing spring. Then my bland job-hunting summer and it’s challenges. Now the leaves are fallen – the penultimate month of 2017 is here. How did I make it here? What have I learnt? What am I looking forward to? I made it here by God’s grace. I’m looking forward to better everyday.
So what have I learnt?
I have learnt that the lofty dreams of my heart will be tackled bit by bit.
Sounds too elemental? Well, I find it difficult to retain.
I used to pride myself (like most creatives do) in the fact that I have a lot of ideas flying about in my head, waiting to be plucked and implemented. My mind is always active and reaching out, imagining and thinking of beautiful things to create and how to make the world a better place, but I realize that this gift can easily lead to frustration that is proportional to the size of my ideas. Each idea quickly seems like a huge task with an endless to-do list that judges me with each passing day of doing nothing.
I have this other gift- perfectionism. I just want to create the perfect work and when I do not get the perfect time, conditions or resources to create this perfect masterpiece, NOTHING gets done. I’d rather not do than to do imperfectly. Sadly, the last time I checked, there’s no such thing as a perfect creative environment. And I think this lofty unrealistic expectation has been my undoing.
I want to know the huge plan of God for my life, as in with the 4K kind of details. I want to have a perfect view of my life and purpose. “Haha,” I can imagine God laughing at me and saying, “don’t you know son, that doing this would defeat the purpose of faith?” God merely gives us manageable glimpses of him and as we grow deeper and mature in faith, we build a capacity to experience more.
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Day one of the rest of my life.
So, from now on, I’m tackling life one day at a time. 30 minutes of writing 100 words each night will lead to a short story in a month. Planning a 2 hour routine without starting will lead to – you got it right – nothing! The short story might not win awards or become a bestseller, but you would have finished and added 3000 words to your experience and hopefully, the mastery of your craft. You want to podcast, make YouTube videos, learn photography, speak in public, code computer software, start an NGO, finish a course with an A?

My nifty tip – Finished is what matters at first.

Aim for finished, not perfect. Here’s a very hard to come by wisdom – You can edit finished. You can make “finished” perfect. You cannot edit “nothing.” You cannot perfect nothing!
Get it? So here’s what I suggest you and I begin to do-
De-congest your brilliant mind unto paper.
You probably don’t know how restful your mind will be when you write down those ideas. You get to see it solidify in text blocks (on paper or on the screen) – this is the first step to getting any project done. Your story plot ideas or prototype drawing are safer on paper than in your mind especially when you don’t intend to start off the next minute. It all feels good in your head, but when you write it down, you can cut out the nonsense as you type the recesses of your mind. You will find that your mind may think you have fifty ideas when in fact, writing shows you that you only have five workable ideas. Trust me, you mind doesn’t need more junk.
Categorize your ideas or project into manageable milestones.
Yes, this is where it gets really hard. If you’re like me, you feel that the weight of the world’s problems lies squarely on your shoulders and you have to solve it fast! All at once! Dear friend, this is not usually true. At best, the pressure is called passion welling up within you waiting to be channeled into manageable milestones. Like my example above, a good milestone is 30 minutes or 100 words per day. You can always scale up those days you have much inspiration but keep a basic structure.
In graphic design, I find that telling my clients I need three weeks to work on a design is better than telling them I need a week because I have this wonderful design concept that will fit their purposes in my head. Most time, that idea falls apart as I put it on paper and I find out I need a new one. Three weeks would have worked better. I remember when I did write Donut (you can get a copy here), I had high and lofty dreams for it, but I made a plan. And Yes! It worked. When things became slow at the middle, I was able to adjust and stretch out the financing aspect of the project till we made it through. Bit by bit.
Take one task at a time.
Ideas come in cohorts, and they all seem great and ready to fly, but one action after another results in more doing. Pick one of the three hundred story ideas and start. Finish it before you pick the next one. It’s wiser to have two finished stories at the end of two months (and two hindered and ninety eight written ideas) than to have five hundred disjointed ideas but you’re too overwhelmed to start any.
Do it everyday
The wisdom behind many of the creative challenges like NaNoWriMo, Inktober and Writathon (by my friend, Samuel Osho) is to hope that your intent to finish a novel, master illustration or write consistently will be greatly helped by a daily practice which builds consistency. Do it every day. Nothing can be mastered any other way. And watch this – Even if you don’t (and you don’t have to!) share what you produce with the world daily, still produce daily.

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Reward your progress.
Yes, reward that one task you finished. Decide what the reward will be and attach it to completion of a task.
Share the process with fellow creatives.
Yes, we all need accountability and this is one area where I still need a lot of work, so I’d not say so much here. I know that constructive criticism helps a lot!
The next step.
Since I released Donut, Life has happened to me (more on this later). The most important thing is, right now, I am picking up from where I stopped. But I will not take on my ideas all at once.  My journal is full and my mind is at peace and focused on a single task ahead. One step at a time, I will gain mastery of one and then the other, until I am able to realize the most. Why not join me?
Cheers,
Toluwanimi
Do you ever experience times of overwhelming frustration because you have this so many ideas but cannot seem to get things done? Sometimes, you start, but you find it difficult to finish? I’ve been there! Have you? Can we share ideas in the comments below? Thank you!

What I want

I will go straight to the point.

Jesus lived his whole life in God’s will, which included living exclusively in Israel, but his message travelled round and into the whole world. He wasn’t a noisemaker, but when he spoke, it was with the authority of a life well-lived.

As a creative person, or a person of purpose, you may or may not be able to travel around the world, but if you live your daily life within the confines of God’s will, your creation/message/ influence of your purpose will make it to places you cannot go!

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When God laid the burden of Donut on my heart, I wanted nothing than to write and bless lives with my words. While it took many years to publish my first book, seeing that I first picked up the pen to write in Elementary school, I can clearly see that my life is closely wrapped into my work.

I essentially bleed, else, my work would not be relevant. Even short pieces I post on social media or the longer pieces on my blog receive different reactions. While I check the stats, I pay close attention to which stats receive deeper responses from readers, and more often than not, those particular works have been dear to my heart in experience. They are usually what God has thought me in life, an offshoot lesson from a personal challenge, mistake or triumph.

Okay, straight to the point.

What do I want?

That my work will be more traveled than I. Actually, I pray that I have to struggle to catch up with its life-transforming tracks.

And the way to go about it is this: I have signed up for unrushed publication. I will pay attention to the quality of my life; explore the richness of faith, work, community, and relationships. I will simply submit to be a part of that big dream God has for mankind. I will learn wisdom in the daily details and find genuine fulfillment every step of the way – so that when it’s time to publish the next best thing, my words may carry much weight and authority like was said of Jesus’ words.

This is my calling.

– Joshua

The in-between

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Hello.

I wrote this article a long time ago, but it didn’t just seem right to post yet. Until yesterday.

I remember the excitement and immense feeling of fulfillment that overwhelmed me when I got my MB;BS from the foremost Nigerian Medical School at Ibadan.

It was just like yesterday.

 

I also remember the day “Donut” was released. Great gratitude that my words finally came to print before the whole world.

On those days, amidst the fanfare, I got a moment to consider the words scribbled behind the medical anatomy atlas my aunt gave to me in Pre-clinical school:

“The secret to my future lies in my daily activities.”

I don’t know where she got those words from, and where the textbook is at present, but those words have resonated ever since…

…that each day leading to the “big days” matter. A whole lot.

Everyone longs for the pay day – the day you finally acquire that degree. The day you tie the knots with the lady of your dreams. The day you release your book. And so on.

As good as that is, we must remember that the journey to the big day is twice as fulfilling and more important as the destination. Setting sight on the goal, but living one day at a time, on purpose, ensures that you enjoy the details.

Each day you scribble the words for that novel in progress, each lecture in that college, each day you pray – all lead to the big days of reward. Those are the days of learning diligence, of building capacity in the dark so that you can fare well when the spotlight comes.

I discovered that, most of people that fall on their faces after they become famous stumbled upon greatness. The journey wasn’t intentional.

When you look for the reward at the end and pay undue attention to it, every day in-between might be boring. Knowing your paycheck is arriving at the next weekend can be demoralizing to your daily tasks at your job. If care isn’t taken, you tend to mentally skip fourteen days, busy dreaming about the pay day rather than putting the best into your work. Enjoy your work and a paycheck is a given.

Setting inordinate affection on the publisher’s royalty might stifle the novelist creativity because it makes you lose the art of work. Hence, work becomes boring, and your creative bank is a shutdown because you are not intentional with each day. Enjoy where the story takes you and you can be sure your royalty is paid.

Lamenting about your spiritual targets can make you depressed. Fellowship daily and you’ll soar beyond your expectations.

Remember that the future (whatever it is you set sight upon) is a result of your daily activities. And while setting your sights on the end is good, you will learn a lot each day leading to the end.

When you immerse yourself joyfully into your work (academics, business, job, art, that book you’re writing etc.), the good days, and the not too good days will become ingredients in the pot, which spices up your life, rather than obstacles in your way.

Having failed at preventing you from discovering purpose, camping unrealistically at the endpoint is another strategy of the enemy to make you a mediocre.

Now, Psalms 90:12 makes more sense to me:

“Oh! Teach us to live well! Teach us to live wisely and well!” MSG

It is sufficient to know and believe that the end is good. But the in-between days, leading up to the end, makes for the journey that will become a story later, and, honestly, that is what makes life beautiful.

Learn the wisdom of process because that is the legacy you will leave behind for posterity. Enjoy your work and apply this to every area of your life.

Count each day, because Each day counts.

Cheers,

Toluwanimi