Creatives, Stop Making this Mistake

 One of the biggest mistakes  that I see people making in the arts, creative industries, and community organizations is this:

They are waiting for permission. They are waiting for an invitation.

They are waiting for someone else to come along and offer them an opportunity to demonstrate and apply their value. 

As a recent example: When we released our groundbreaking resource,  "Arts on Prescription: A Field Guide for U.S. Communities,” I expected to hear from arts and culture organizations all over the country saying, “Come help us partner with the health sector! We’re ready to build this kind of program!”

I did hear this from many leaders (I’m glad to work with them!)… But far more often, I heard statements like this:

“Finally, people in health and medicine are realizing how valuable the arts  are.”

And I get it. After all, it is encouraging to see that other sectors are increasingly recognizing art’s value!

But left on its own, the statement suggests something troubling:

That the onus is on someone else to recognize art’s value and do something about it.

When creatives wait for validation from other people, they’re NOT acting on their own ideas, their own opportunities. 

They’re NOT thinking about how they could launch an initiative, or how they could create new partnerships and connections.

Instead, they’re hoping someone else will notice them and value them enough to reach out with an invitation.

And so, they wait.

This is one of the worst mistakes creatives make.

And it’s so common.
Many of us have spent precious hours, months, years waiting for someone else to come along and say, “Wow, your work is so relevant and beneficial to mine. Come partner with me!”

We’d all love for that to happen!

But: If you are a creative, if you are imaginative, if you consider yourself a visionary who cultivates visions for your work  and for your community…

…then surely you can appreciate the irony of waiting for someone else—someone who's not in  your line of work, who likely doesn’t identify as creative, who's mainly familiar with their own industry or sector—to  suddenly be the imaginative person on the scene, the one creating a new way of doing things, and inviting you into it.

 That's bananas. We can't  be doing that.

If you have a vision for where your work can go, then you get to pursue that vision by figuring out why and how your work is relevant, beneficial, valuable to other people—including people in other sectors, like health.

Then, from there, you get to figure out how to make your value clear and plain to those would-be partners, in terms that they can clearly understand. In terms that fit their background, knowledge, and needs.

 In other words, when you have a vision, the key move is NOT hoping that someone else notices and values you. It’s NOT waiting for permission and an invitation.

The key moves ARE:
1) recognizing who your would-be partners are, and then
2) communicating what you do in a way that lines up with what they can understand and value. 

In fact, these are two of the pillars of partnership! (Get step-by-step guidance through all four pillars when you take my course Think Bigger.)

In short, you are the creative. You are the visionary, the imaginer.
And if you can imagine the opportunity, you can initiate it.

You’re not just a passive invitee. Throw the party.

I Get It: A Musician Story

 I sympathize with creatives who are living in a kind of Waiting Room,  because that’s very much where I started out in the music industry. 

In the early days, we imagined that someday, a record executive would show up at one of our concerts and think, “Wow, this band has potential! I'm going to sign them right now, and launch their amazing career!"  🚀

We really wanted that to happen. 

And to be honest, we thought that's what HAD to happen. We thought we were passive invitees.

We were fully relying on someone to magically appear where we were, imagine a future for our music, AND decide that they wanted to help us create that future.

That's a LOT of relying on someone who may or may not even exist. Right? 

And all the while, WE were the creatives in that situation! WE were the ones who had our vision for our work, for the way our music could influence people's lives. 

We didn't need someone else to have that vision for us. 

We thought we had to passively wait. 

The good news is, we were mistaken.

Lived and Learned

Fast forward ten years, when I founded Project Uncaged—a trauma informed  creative writing program for girls in the justice system. By the time I was launching this work, I had none of the Waiting Room mentality left. 

By that time, I knew that I was the one who had a vision for the program, who realized what it could be and do for young people. 

I had also developed knowledge about how to make partnerships and connections, how to generate interest, how to work with the media, etc. 

As a result, I could envision  how to work  step by step to get from  where  I was to where I imagined being. 

So I simply started taking those steps. 

I created one partnership, then another, and another.

This isn’t a massive, revelatory success  story. 

It’s just a personal story of a mental shift from waiting around for someone to discover me, to thinking like an entrepreneur who had a vision, tactical skills, and some ‘know-how’ to get started.

In short: when I was starting out in music, I didn’t know what my next steps were. As a result, I thought I needed someone else to create those steps and hand them to me. 

But I didn’t. I just needed to learn the steps, and then “do the next thing.”

Do the Next Thing.

The mistake is waiting for someone else to "allow" you to do the work you dream of doing. 

And the best news I can give you is that  you don't have to make this mistake.  

I'm not saying that you have to grind and hustle, or that any opportunities you get will be the opportunities you make for yourself. ( I mean, if that concept is motivating to you, go for it!)

Rather, what I’m sharing is just hopeful: You don't actually have to wait. For anybody.

What kind of work can you do now? 

What kind of  tools, resources, and advice can you get?  

What kind of  collective can you gather together to make something possible?  

As one of my mentors said, "Do the next thing." So let me ask you:

How can you do the next thing? 

How can you not be waiting for someone else to do all the imagining for  the world, and for your potential work in it? 

ok, but how?

If you're not sure  how to move from what you're doing now to what you imagine  doing, you’re not alone. Every day I help creatives, leaders, and organizations figure out how to make partnerships, identify the “next thing,” and take their next steps. 

Want to dig in with me? 
Here are a couple options:

Course: I created an online course called “Think Bigger,”  where I share my research-backed framework for thinking bigger about what we do, imagining partnerships, and then creating them. It’s a goldmine of practical info, templates, and inspiring ideas… And my proven process takes you step by step toward growth. Join me inside at this link!

Events: I’ve been honored to speak around the world, helping thousands of leaders and teams generate new ideas and take action. Contact me about  workshops or speaking events to help your organization envision new steps… and then take them. I’d love to work with you.

Meanwhile, I want you to hear this: 

Don’t wait. 

Simply changing the premise that someone else has to come along and give you permission, or give you an invitation…

...just changing that will change a  lot for you.

How will you do the next thing?