i do hereby give you permission to have fun today.
to do the brave thing.
to try and fail and to try again.
i give you permission to put effort toward something that may not pay off.
i encourage you to make a fool of yourself.
i endow you with determination to invest in a creative endeavor that somebody somewhere could probably
do better.
i implore you to just. keep. going.
because it isn’t the money, or the fame, or the praise, or the attention that matters;
it isn’t about being the best,
or making the biggest impact,
or even helping the most people.
it’s about bravely facing a world that isn’t looking for your gift,
and giving it anyway;
it’s putting yourself out there even when, already, you can hear the words of rejection and ridicule.
it’s trying, and practicing, and learning and being wrong and being right and trying to understand the difference.
it’s putting it out there before your contribution is worthy of its potential.
you dig and you give what feels true, and right, and sincere.
even though what you give isn’t what you had in mind.
there is no success without failure.
you’re already good enough.
you have permission to live the creative life.
make a spectacular mess.