If you want to do something, the best advice might be: Don’t wait to get hired for it.
- Imagine if a musician never picked up an instrument until someone wanted them to play a show.
- An artist never got out the paint until someone wanted to buy something.
- Or, a writer never put words to paper until somebody wanted to pay them an advance.
We would all be worse off.
In the end, it turns out, you have to do the work – just do it.
Seems like common sense to me.
The actress, writer, and comedian Sarah Silverman is often approached by aspiring writers asking for career advice. “I want to be a writer,” they tell her. Her response isn’t to encourage them or tell them how great they are or to ask to see their work. Silverman doesn’t say “You can do it!” or “How can I help?” Instead, she’s blunt. “Well, write!” she says. “Writers write. You don’t wait to get hired on something to write.”
-Ryan Holiday, Perennial Seller
