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Justine Musk on Creativity and Finding Your Inner Freak

by | Process

One of my favorite things in the world is chatting with creatives who are “in the trenches” every day to talk about how they approach their craft. I recently had the chance to connect with Justine Musk to talk about her process, art, fear, and the pursuit of brilliant work. Justine is a novelist, and she blogs regularly at JustineMusk.com.

Here are a few key takeaways from the conversation:

Fear can either be a motivator or an inhibitor of the creative process. If we learn to recognize fear and use it to our advantage, it can become a powerful ally. (Julien Smith also discussed this in our recent interview.)

The imperative is on each individual to find their voice. As Justine says in the interview, we need to focus on “finding our inner freak.” (Love that phrase.)

Dedication to craft is supreme. We must be willing to devote ourselves to doing the work each day regardless of how we feel about it. Persistent progress makes for long-arc results. What are you doing today that you’ll be glad about tomorrow?

Self-esteem is a fruitless pursuit. If we want to be artists – to make something truly great – we are signing up for a life of frustration and disappointment punctuated by moments of thrill and satisfaction. Feeling good about yourself is secondary to doing the work. You may not recognize what’s truly great until much later. Do the work, and worry about it later.

I really enjoyed my conversation with Justine! You can listen to the full (14 minute) conversation below.

[audio:Justine-Musk.mp3]
Todd Henry

Todd Henry

Positioning himself as an “arms dealer for the creative revolution”, Todd Henry teaches leaders and organizations how to establish practices that lead to everyday brilliance. He is the author of five books (The Accidental Creative, Die Empty, Louder Than Words, Herding Tigers, The Motivation Code) which have been translated into more than a dozen languages, and he speaks and consults across dozens of industries on creativity, leadership, and passion for work.

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3 Comments

  1. Josh Hogg

    I think many artists forget that self-doubt doesn’t simply go away as soon as you ‘go pro’. It persists, as its part of the creative process. As you say, there will be highs and lows in the artists life, and it’s simply something we must all accept as an occupational hazard. I recently wrote about controlling self-doubt, and realized that if we learn to trust our self-doubt, we can use it to our advantage, like you recommend for fear.

     Good interview!

    • Todd Henry

      Agreed, Josh. Fear, self-doubt, disappointment are all wrapped up in the creative process, as are exploration, possibility, hope, and joy. We can’t have one without the other, because they are a part of the risk/reward equation of making things.

  2. brasshammerdesigns

    Great blog! I quoted it a bit in ours (A.D.D. Art) in our quest for our “voice”! Thanks!

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