Make Your Mark

Write it. Shoot it. Publish it. Crochet it. Sauté it. Whatever. MAKE.
Joss Whedon

You’ve got skills.

They may not be perfected.

They may not even be obvious to you.

But somewhere in you, there is a creator, someone who has a contribution to make to this world.

You may tell people, “I don’t have a creative bone in my body.” That’s a lie.

(But you could work on being a little more original with your figures of speech.)

You are singular, one of a kind.

But you are not in this world just for decoration.

You are here to do something, to make this world of ours better — more joyful, more beautiful, more kind.

There are plenty of critics:

“You haven’t learned enough.”

“You’re not important enough.”

“You’re not smart enough.”

And this skepticism is just from the critic who wears your socks.

You don’t become a maestro instantly.

The first note Yo-Yo Ma played on the cello hurt the ears.

Michael Jordan’s first shot was an airball.

Mother Teresa, when she was young, fought with her two older siblings.

When you were just a child, you enjoyed drawing.

You also liked to sing.

If you are like most of us, you are reluctant to do either one in front of others.

The critics beat you down.

And now, you’re afraid of being embarrassed.

But you can’t be good at something unless you’ve first done it dreadfully.

Doing things badly is an essential step in becoming an expert.

This works the same with technology as it does with people.

My first computer, a “portable” Compaq, was the size of a large sewing machine and had a 9-inch monochrome screen.

It would need more than ten floppy disks to save a single photo from my current phone.

But my phone with all its amazing capabilities would not ever have been developed…