Do Your Own Thing
It's a beautiful thing that God created each and every one of us so differently. We all have different strengths, interests and are fueled by different passions. As someone who chooses to put her life online for the world to see, I try to fully embrace the things that make me different. Like the fact that I love graphic design, photography and blogging ... Or that I love writing about my personal style, creating bright + cheeky downloads, but I also really love the deep + sometimes messy stuff, too. Who says I have to focus on just one thing? Those are the pieces that make me who I am, and bring so much authenticity to this space I've created. I strive to set myself apart from the rest ... Which is surprisingly an easy thing to do when your number one goal is to just be yourself!
I see it all the time, whether it be in the blogging world or a classic case of middle school frienemies, there is a vicious cycle of people doing, saying or writing the same things over and over and over again. For example, a popular blogger that I follow posted about her experience with using a certain online tool, and shared her advice on how to get started ... I kid you not, over the next few days my Pinterest feed EXPLODED with blog posts from other people talking about the same thing, written in the original poster's voice and they were giving out the exact same advice. My question for you is ... What good is that doing? What does that say about what those people think about themselves and their own ideas?
I mentioned the book "Steal Like An Artist" recently in this post, and I always find myself going back to it. If you're a blogger, small business owner or artist yourself, there is so much value to be had by reading Austin's advice. Heck, I might even do a giveaway for it soon! It's that good.
My favorite part is when he states that true originality does not exist. At first, this idea shocked me. What do you mean originality doesn't exist? Isn't that what we're all trying to achieve? But the more I read, the more I started to understand exactly where the author was coming from. Everyone is recycling ideas from everyone else, but it's how you go about recycling those ideas ... Instead of going out and making a carbon copy of someone else's work, try to figure out their thought process behind creating that piece. Take that inspiration, what you've discovered, stick it in a file for another day, and when it comes to create something out of that inspiration, put your own spin on it. At that point, you're taking something that was once someone else's, fusing your personality + knowledge into it, and creating some completely new. That's originality.
This is a subject that's obviously really close to my heart since creating, writing and producing fresh content is what I'm working towards doing for a living ... My point in sharing all of this with you today is to remind you to do your own thing! It's so easy to get caught up in what's popular, or what someone that you admire is doing. Remember that your ideas are good enough to be shared, and honestly, you're doing yourself a huge injustice if you're not sharing them! No one thinks, writes or speaks exactly like you do. Share what you know, what you've learned and what lights you up! What do you think about doing your own thing? Do you see a lot of people making noise rather than contributing what they have to offer to the world? I'd love to get the conversation going! Drop a comment below!