My New Rule on "Getting Ahead"
Whether it’s in the spirit of “getting ahead” at the day job or in the after-hours pursuit of “making it” as an artist, it’s easy to give and give and give until the personal fuel tank is completely empty. As creative people, we’re hardwired to keep plugging along and giving all of ourselves. Afterall, we’re building something, right? It could be a portfolio of artwork. Or a collection of short stories. Or an album on soundcloud just waiting for the right producer to somehow stumble onto it.
In the pursuit of “gaining exposure” or expressing our “usefulness,” we take on new assignments, join new social media platforms, create “content” for organizations that we share interests with, interact with like-minded individuals — all in hope that somehow, we’ll break through and finally reach the top of that mountain we’ve been struggling to climb.
Especially in the pursuit of getting noticed, it’s easy to lose time and energy. All those minutes on social media rack up into hours, and all of those hours, night-after-night, eat away at that next great idea that’s desperately trying to claw its way out of our heads. If given enough time, those great ideas wither on the vine while we’re still stuck in the same place near the bottom of the mountain.
In the early days of the Internet, social media was a great way to build one’s “brand” or “presence” and siphon clicks back to a personal website, blog, or portfolio. That’s not really the case anymore (this Sparktoro blog goes into why). In 2024, the world is a much different landscape, and every website we spend time on, whether it’s a social media site or a news site, is incentivized to keep eyeballs on their platform and dissuade traffic away (including the one you’re reading this newsletter on). It’s one of the biggest reasons why you may have noticed trickling visits to your portfolio, website, blog, etc. It’s also why you might feel like you can’t get a “break.”
This is a long-winded way of arriving at the two things I want to tell you:
You’re not crazy; “getting ahead” is harder than it was several years ago.
It’s not you, it’s the way of the world right now.
Whether it’s a boss encouraging you to take on extra work or a new Internet platform promising attention in exchange for your unique voice, we’re constantly asked to give more and more of ourselves. With little to no reward.
This can take time away from family and friends, as well as personal opportunities to learn, grow, and explore. These time vampires can also lower our sense of satisfaction and happiness, leaving us wondering what we’re doing with ourselves and if we’re having any impact at all.
It’s hard to see it when working without personal reward, but you are having an impact. Just ask your friends and family. Ask your coworkers or that barista you see everyday whose name you might not know yet. Or your dog. You make the world go ‘round — I’m dead serious! You’ve touched more lives than you realize.
There’s a song I love to listen to when I’m feeling burned out. It’s quite the catchy ‘80s jam, but more importantly, it plays between the dueling sensations of hope and doubt, of fighting against the current and stepping outside of one’s role. It’s empowering, and one of the chorus lines that resonates with me is, “You can't be what you wanna be / But you can change the course of your destiny.”
For those who’ve seen Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure a handful of times, you might recognize “Breakaway” by Big Pig as the film’s opening number.
It’s not a particularly deep song, but played at the right moment, it’s a refreshing reminder that we have a choice, that we have a stake in this, despite feeling otherwise.
We could say “no” to all of that extra busy work, but that might leave us feeling just as adrift and lost as if we really went the extra mile. And then what do we do with our time?
I’ve been thinking about this lately, and I keep coming back to that same spark that fuels imagination and creativity. Much of what we do, whether it’s painting, writing, drawing, etc., is driven by a desire to recontextualize something we’re thinking about, working through, or recently learned. Those sparks of inspiration floating around didn’t just come from nowhere — the whole concept of “inspiration” means something compelled us to dream them up. How?
This means that, while we may not have realized it, we took advantage of an opportunity to learn, grow, or explore. And our imaginations rewarded us in turn.
What if we set a new rule for ourselves?
Instead of saying yes or no, what if we looked at all of these “extra tasks” or errands as opportunities for growth. What if we put ourselves first, and chose to “get ahead” on the basis that we’ll learn a new skill, discover a new idea, improve our health, or somehow feed our creativity?
All learning is good, and we never know when a skill will come in handy. If we can’t get paid for going the extra mile, it’s fair to show ourselves the same value we’re offering up to others and seek out activities that provide enrichment and nourishment. Afterall, we need to keep that creative spark burning, and we need to closely guard our time, so that we can keep making our beautiful works of art.
It might be hard to pass on tasks or avenues that come up short on offering personal growth, but your time is worth it. Remember when I said that you make the world go ‘round? Sooner or later, if you keep plugging along, a connection you made or a skill you learned is going to open up a new opportunity, propelling you down a path that, while it may not make you what you want to be, it can change the course of your destiny.
Keep on making the world a better place. I believe in you, and if you ever want to share your projects, feel free to plug them in the comments below. I love hearing about the works fueling your passion.
We’re all in this together,
Scott
P.S. Over on The Batman Universe Podcast, I had the pleasure of interviewing a comic artist named Ian Miller who has turned his Batman fandom into a fun passion project. You can listen to my interview here.
P.P.S. On my personal website, I wrote about five movies that get my creative juices flowing.