39 Lessons about Creative Life I've Learned in 39 Years
Mike through the ages.
(Ages Left to Right) Adorable, Child, College, Burnout, Half Marathon
September 11th.
Today means a great deal to a great many people.
But for me, it’s my birthday.
It’s a day of reflection.
Today, I turn 39.
Not quite over the hill.
But not quite young anymore either.
I’m not mad about it.
Time has been great to me.
As a practicing architect, a writer, a husband, a brother, a pet dad, a creator, a mentor, and a long-distance runner, I’ve learned a lot about myself and my creative life.
Today, I thought I’d share some of the lessons I’ve learned along the way. Maybe they’ll help you in your own journey.
39 Lessons from 39 Years of a Creative Life
Here’s the deal.
I started writing a list.
Then a pattern started to emerge.
In turn, I’ve organized 39 lessons into 4 Categories:
Creative Life
Career
Burnout
Work / Life Balance
Let’s get started.
Creative Life
Take it one day at a time.
Time accelerates as we get older.
There isn't one way of doing things.
Choose what you say “yes” to wisely.
Fail fast and fail often. That’s how you grow.
Everyone is at different places in the journey.
Self-improvement requires knowledge AND action.
Dream for the future and reflect on the past, but live in the present.
You are in control of more than you know and of less than you think.
Look for the things that light you up. Remove what takes that light away.
If you’re reading this, you have a 100% success rate of making it through your life. Keep going.
Career
Stay curious and be a sponge.
We are what we choose to do.
Fast, good, cheap — Pick two.
Develop skills to make yourself invaluable.
Work on your own projects outside the office.
No one will tell you how to shape your career.
School experience isn’t the same as job experience.
You don’t know what you don’t know. If you don’t know, ask.
Get involved. Networking is the most important career skill to nurture.
Always take responsibility for your actions and your mistakes. Equally, accept praise when it’s earned.
Burnout
Burnout can happen to anyone.
You’re not alone in the fight against burnout.
It’s okay to slow down, change your mind, and rest.
Only you can make the changes to get out of burnout.
Stress is not the same as burnout, but it is what leads to it.
Make stronger boundaries around how and when you work.
Creative pros burn out most often because of how they connect to the work.
The three most common paths to burnout are overwhelm, neglect, and stagnation.
Burnout recovery can take weeks or years depending on the types of changes required.
Work/Life Balance
Work isn’t everything.
Surround yourself with people who get you.
If it’s important to you, shape your life around it.
Work and life aren’t two pieces in balance. It’s all life.
It’s okay to pivot, start over, and change who you want to be.
Don’t let others dictate your life for you. They will if you let them.
Making health your highest priority will let you do all the other things in your life better.
The importance you place on things will change from one season of your life to the next.
Find something that makes you money, something that makes you healthy, and something that makes you love.
Final Thoughts
This is certainly not an exhaustive list of all I’ve learned in this creative life.
But it should give you a good idea of what you might encounter on your own journey.
Time is precious and finite.
The reason people say “do what you’re passionate about” is because time is so laughably limited that it would be madness to live life any other way.
If I could spend my birthday wish on something, it would be this…
Reflect deeply on who you are today and who you want to be tomorrow.
Recognize how well you’re doing already.
Invest in yourself and your future.
Spend your time wisely.
We’re all aboard a giant space rock making its way through infinite space.
Make sure you enjoy the ride.
TL; DR
Time is finite
Reflect on who you are and who you want to be
Pass on lessons you’ve learned
Take control of your life
Quote of the Week
Motivation for the days ahead of you.
“Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”
— Ferris Bueller
That's all for now.
Stay creative, my friends—and have a great week!
