January 15th, 2024: Happy Winter ❄️ to you. Today’s topic should help tackle big new projects. Key takeaway: “It’s important to have a plan— to a point. As we create, it’s just as important to deviate from the plan as a choice. To trust our muse, our truth, and our work to flow through us, out into receptive hearts.” We’ll get into Rick Rubin, Tom Petty and Death Cab for Cutie. If you missed our launch last week, A Manifesto for More Tiny, Bold Moves…’ Check it out here.
Your heart knows stuff. Your head only thinks it does.
This screws with most of us. We may want to create something big this year. Most of us will stay ruminating on it. Which is like marinating, until our ideas feel anything but awesome.
Spending a chunk of my life in recording studios taught me both sides of this coin. Creativity flows when we trust it. This is Rick Rubin’s philosophy, and it has worked well for him. His new book, The Creative Act: A Way of Being is full of ways to get in, and stay in the creative flow. Warning: you will find this book repetitive and frustrating (like I did) if you:
Have competing priorities outside your creative life (or)
This one may sting— struggle with trusting yourself.
This topic is important for all of us who’ve been readers in Substack, and are now considering becoming creators. Except that, first you need your content strategy to be perfect. Or first, you need a logo! Womp womp. Those things are pieces of the puzzle. But we don’t want them to become obstacles to sharing our ideas. Our heads will keep adding more to the list that needs checked off, until we feel ready, or worthy, or capable. Meanwhile our hearts are saying, “put me in coach!”
For those in our community who’ve wanted the nudge toward being a creator (Wade, Josh, Rachel, everyone) this is for you. You don’t need another nudge from me, or anyone else. You need to give yourself Permission to Glow in the Dark— to do the thing, despite the ever-present fear and second-guessing.
I’m hardwired to be a deep thinker and planner. Other times, something so cool comes along and demands to be created quickly. My wife Gayle had the idea to move our newsletter to Substack. Laura McKowen is someone I’ve worked with who I respect for doing incredible work in the platform. She was kind and helpful in sharing her insight and where to focus.
My Substack launched Tuesday, on January 9th. The prior Thursday, I had only logged in once or twice. What happened between was maniacal levels of creativity. That Saturday was nine straight hours at the computer. The real work wasn’t coming up with words. It was how to organize them into something I hope people will find useful. Obviously, there are compromises we make in launching quickly. I could’ve taken the month of January to outline a content strategy or whiteboard stuff.
Sometimes, we’re just too ready for anything new. If any of this sounds like more work than you have time for, it was. The heaviest creative lifts happen outside of clock time. Anyone who has published a book knows this. Our goal today is to consider a lighter, more direct path.
First idea, best idea.
Rick Rubin is a super producer, who works like a Ouija board for most of the best songs by most of the best artists. His superpowers are best documented in the (2021) film Tom Petty— Somewhere you Feel Free, The Making of Wildflowers. You can find the doc on Youtube or Amazon streaming. Petty was at the top of his game as a songwriter during that period. Rubin is part zen master, part muse, and cheerleader.
There’s a moment in that film that completely blows my mind. In a single take, Tom Petty channeled the entire melody and lyric for the title track, Wildflowers. He rolled tape in his demo studio, and the song wrote itself, falling out of his mouth fully formed. That event spooked him, because he was used to the process being lonely, hard work. That slightly haunted, and very tender song opened what he considered to be his finest album. From an artist who’s written more huge songs than just about anyone.
Ben Gibbard is currently our family’s favorite songwriter. Last fall we caught The Postal Service and Death Cab for Cutie’s 20-year anniversary tour for the albums Give Up and Transatlanticism. My daughter Elliott has been a professional artist since her early teens. When she’s not writing songs, playing shows, or painting, she’s standing in line for more Deathcab merch.
The rest of us are all equally obsessed. As a songwriter who’s raising a songwriter, I try to help Elliott learn the creative process. Ben Gibbard has talked extensively about writing those two classic albums during the same tumultuous months in his mid-twenties.
Whether you’re a fan or not, this case study shows us both sides of the coin. Transatlanticism was Deathcab’s 4th album. They had been through a lot as a band and were either ready to break through, or break up. Ben said he wrote and demo’d around 100 songs that became the 11 tracks on the album. Transatlanticism is still ranked as their finest, both critically and commercially.
Takeaway: hone your craft. Stack ammo, and when you think you have enough material— keep writing better material.
The Postal Service was a fun escape for Ben Gibbard. His songwriting partner Jimmy Tamborello would mail him tracks, which Ben would edit as he wrote melodies and lyrics. Because he was also deep into writing Transatlanticism, he kept it light. He adopted the philosophy of “first idea, best idea”. There wasn’t time to second guess or rewrite.
Those 10 tracks became Give Up, which is the #2 selling album in the history of Sub Pop records, second only to Nirvana’s Bleach. It’s interesting to note that The Postal Service headlined the anniversary tour. Their 10 songs from the heart have sold more than twice Deathcab’s biggest album. It doesn’t make it better (unless you think it is), but it did make them the headliner.
Takeaway: keep it fun. Trust yourself, and when you find yourself working too hard to get it right— relax, and let the creativity guide you.
The big, obvious question— Which side of the coin will work for YOU in getting your work out into the world?
Regardless of how quality-control you may be, we all need more first idea, best idea in our lives. I’m a Type-AA control freak Virgo. Not my best look, but I care deeply about things being done well. Note: this has slowed me down and held me back far more than it has helped.
Then I found what was missing…
When I take a step back, I can see my creative work as a dance between both sides of the coin. It’s about knowing which side we’re working from. No actor gets hired as the lead in Hamilton for making it all up. They are thoroughly dialed in their prep, to the point where they can move beyond the script and present their role with artistic mastery. Same with a TED talk, or writing a book.
It’s important to have a plan. To a point. In creation, it’s just as important to deviate from the plan as a choice. To trust our muse, our truth, and our body of work to flow through us, out into receptive hearts.
From a coaching perspective, you can’t expect to flip a switch and start working from the other side of the coin. Humans get stuck in either/or, binary choices. We need the both/and to keep moving. If you’re a planner and technician, “first idea, best idea” may feel really uncomfortable. If you run on Pure Vibes like a Rick Rubin, it will feel harsh to start with structures and strategy.
What we’re after is the middle road. The discernment of flowing between the head the heart. So rather than forcing yourself from one end of the spectrum to the other, consider the tiny, bold move of 5% more.
Working in 1-5% adjustments keeps it tiny and manageable versus big and overwhelming. We’re not trying to become a different person. Discernment is the real superpower. It is the “wisdom to know the difference”, the ability to choose our next tiny, bold move.
Every creative project will have plenty of problems to solve. Don’t make your hardwiring another problem. First idea, best idea is trust in your intuition to know what will work. Trust in our ability to move through any creative problems what can and will arise.
Here are a 5 practices to strengthen our discernment, which moves us from the paralysis of second-guessing, into calm and cool knowing.
Practicing first idea, best idea:
Create or deepen your meditation practice. Daily meditation, even 15 minutes per day— strengthens our discernment. I’m teaching a free Masterclass to Solidify your Meditation Habit in 2024. Learn more and register right here. Our monthly workshops are usually only free to paid subscribers. Your meditation habit is big and important. So we’re opening it up to everyone.
Yes! And… The improv artist’s mantra. Catch yourself anytime you think or say “Nope. That’ll never work.” That voice sounds like Stanley on The Office. Rather than indulge the second guessing, replace it with “Yes! And…” keep the action moving. Allow the creative problem to solve itself.
Listen to Mozart, or any other masters of invention. In his short 35 years, Mozart composed lifetimes worth of music. Being a gifted prodigy helped, but his real genius was his gift for invention. Knowing in his heart that his talents were a gift from God, which made him a pure vessel to channel music through. Great music reminds us we’re always near the river where infinite ideas flow. We just need to paddle out and catch that flow. To float, swim, or paddle board?
Write your Top 3 names for your Substack publication. You know what they are. Draw a Venn Diagram. Two over-lapping concentric circles. In one, write: “What I LOVE to share and teach.” In the other, write: “What my ideal community LOVES to hear from me. What would help them thrive?” Make a star between them. That is your Substack. Case in point, I was positive the name of our Substack was “Chill + Flow”. I started writing and designing it. Our coaching team felt it was missing something. Gayle said “it needs movement. Action.” Tiny, bold moves felt right, which made it the name.
Read this mantra aloud to yourself:
“I trust my intuition as a knower of eternal truth. I trust myself to serve by sharing what I learn. Great ideas flow to me without effort. I will write them, not judge them. Publish them, not hoard them. Liberate them, not resist them.”
Any examples where you’ve used first idea, best idea? What’s been holding you back from getting started on Substack? Would love to compare notes below.
Thanks For Reading
Here are four things worth checking out
If you’d benefit from support of fellow co-creators, you can join The Tiny, Bold Moves community. If you want to hang with us too, or if you are already a subscriber, get access here.
Winter ❄️ Glow Retreat at Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health. The weekend of February 23-25th. Many outstanding humans have already registered. The perfect, cozy start to reflect on what 2024 has in store for all of us. Learn more and register here.
Grab my book, Permission to Glow. Alternative Folk icon Ani DiFranco calls it “…a deeply feminist manifesto that teaches some of us to lead, and all of us how to truly live.” Book site here. Order it on Amazon here.
1:1 coaching creates amazing stuff. Meet our team and get started with coaching here. I am also currently taking new 1:1 clients.
Wow, I really needed this this morning. Thank you for tapping into the particular kind of angst we feel when we are ready to get started on our next creative act, and we’re also perfectionists. Rick Rubin is on my shortlist of people I would invite to my last supper. His book really sparked something in me. And I trust that permission to glow in the dark will do the same. I look forward to buying it and reading it. For now, Thank you for the “permission “to launch.
I have to come back to this after work, but for now, love (and to be honest, struggle) with that Rubin flow. Heard him on Brian Koppelman’s podcast and wondered to myself, could creativity be that joyful and easy? This is more evidence in that direction.
I’m somewhere in between, not a big planner (outliner) for my writing, and yet the critic pops up and keeps pretty frequently. Rambling now, but I wrote out a first/intro post and just need to publish it already. That’s the step this week, or at least today.