“There are no shortcuts. Patience is required for crafting a work that resonates and contains all that we have to offer.” - Rick Rubin

I’m currently listening to The Creative Act. 

Rick’s words rang true as I remembered sparring with my email platform yesterday.

I grew up practicing Tae Kwon Do.

One of the key skills you learn when sparring is to observe energy. 

How can you use your opponent’s energy to your advantage?
How can you transfer yours at the perfect timing?
How can you keep your resolve when the match is locked?

I patiently sat with ChatGPT, sharing screenshots of my email tags and automation logic…wondering why my triggers weren’t firing.

Instead of succumbing to frustration, I approached it like a martial artist. 

Observing what worked and why.
Writing down my learnings so I don’t waste energy there again.
It reminded me of three principles I’ve learned running marketing teams.

If you’re building something new this year, take these to heart: 

Give Yourself Margin

There’s nothing more stressful to me than sparring with tech in a time crunch.

If you’re launching a new offer on your website, leave plenty of margin for troubleshooting. 

ChatGPT is your in house IT team.

When you don’t know how something works, ask it to teach you. It’s like apprenticing.

Then test your UI on desktop and mobile.

Nothing erodes your patience like a broken link right after you send it out.

On that note…

Start a Learning Log

I write a debrief after every marketing campaign and link it to the top of the next brief.

It’s a way to get the team aligned on learnings before starting anew.

Similarly, I keep a learning log of tech issues.

This way I know how something works so I can make better build decisions.

And if I need to tap a human for IT support, there’s documentation.

I got this idea from Ray Dalio’s Principles.

By writing down our mistakes, we learn from them.

Launch an MVP

Last fall, I launched a book club.

For 12 weeks, I sent out a letter in Google Doc guiding readers through The Artist’s Way.

Now I’ve taken that content and turned it into a free email course.

Instead of having to write the content and learn the tech at the same time…

I proved the concept first.

Then added a layer of tech sophistication when demand was there. 

So if you’re starting something new this year, ask yourself:

What does the Minimum Viable Product look like?

Start with that.

Be patient.

Let your idea refine over time so you can apply your energy in the right places.

-Annabel

P.S. If there’s a creative project you’re starting in Q1, The Artist’s Way will help you.

Or if you simply want to live more creatively, it will help you form new habits to live as an artist every day. Sign up here.

We start next week!