Pablo Picasso Wants You To Stop Trying To Be Perfect
“The thing that is really hard, and really amazing, is giving up on being perfect and beginning the work of becoming yourself.”
Last year I went to a local art gallery for an auction. It was a mix of local and well known Canadian artists. Up in the showroom, the high-ticket pieces were on display for a gala in the evening. As I inched my way around the edge of the room, hanging in front of me was a piece from Pablo Picasso. Now this is where I need to be honest. I know as much about fine art as vegans do about a solid cheeseburger.
Even if you know next to nothing about art, you're at least familiar with the name Pablo Picasso. Thankfully he shortened his name as he was baptized Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso. No joke.
Picasso has about a hundred masterpieces that are admired around the world.
The one I was looking at was not one of them.
The man had a prolific output in his lifetime. The total number of artworks he produced has been estimated at 50,000.
Less than one per cent of Picasso's creations ever became something the world at large came to admire.
I believe Picasso would argue that it's not the outcome that matters, it’s the act of creating. Joy is an outcome of breathing life into an idea that is unique to you.
Creativity is about small, daily actions that let you create the life you want.
This drove home a beautiful little reminder as I continue to create.
Stop trying to be perfect.
Author and CEO of Creative Live, Chase Jarvis broke it down further. "It's simple: you can't stand out and fit in at the same time. If you never make anything, if you make only what you're comfortable making, or if you make but you never share, you're hiding. Once you start hiding, you stop growing. Part of you goes to sleep."
There's a good possibility that none of my writing will ever go viral. And even if it doesn't, I found something that gives my life purpose. I don't write because I have to. I write because life is about showing up, sharing and contributing to something bigger than yourself.
Transparent's Jay Duplass talks to Sam Jones about the lessons learned as a director that he's brought to his acting work. Life isn’t about being perfect.
