Finding your creative voice.

// Grow a plant.

When I was younger, I had a challenge at school - my kids still complete this challenge now. I got sent home with a sunflower seed and the idea of the challenge is to grow that sunflower to the highest high within a specific time period. Now, I would estimate that 30-40% of my class never returned with that sunflower because they couldn’t be bothered with the challenge or they (like me) gave up when they didn’t see the immediate shoots growing from the small flimsy flower pot that you got sent home with.

I would be in awe of the people who would return to class with their sunflowers straining with the sheer size of the stem or the giant head which had sprouted - I would imagine that they had been at home for all hours, singing to their plants, drip feeding the water and just watching that bad boy grow.

The truth is, the 30-40% of us who failed to return with a sunflower probably expected that little sucker to grow immediately and when it failed to show, we gave up.

But the other 60-70% waited.

They continued to water their plants while the plants built their roots and grow their shit together and then one day, that tiny shoot broke through and thats what they saw as progress.

Now, I’m telling you this because finding your creative voice - the one which ‘sounds’ like you and means you have ‘your’ style when you’re creating doesn’t happen immediately. We have to put the work in before and during those early weeks and months..

// Understand Your Influences

There will be someone who influences you to start - whether that be a writer , a singer or someone who shows up on video - there will always be someone that gives you that buzz and makes you want to show up and consume their stuff over and over again.

It doesn’t have to be someone famous, it could be that small niche video creator that you once found on Youtube or a newsletter that you stumbled across which is opened every week because you can’t wait to read the next instalment - these people, these creators all have an influence on you which means that you want to start creating yourself.

They are your inspiration and they stimulate your creative flow to make you start.

When I look at my creative influences, there are common threads and common themes which hold them all together - if we ignore the medium for a second (I’m talking video or writing) then there are particular themes which run through every piece of content that I consume and it’s what attracts me to those pieces of content in the first place.

I like rogue, standalone and individualised content - I like content which ‘feels’ handmade and I like content which doesn't have a clean and polished feel to it.

The themes I am attracted to are those of learning from failure (I love a good rags to riches story), I love hearing how someone has done something rather than being preached to about success but I love stories of success created because someone took their own initiative, learned something for themselves and then put that into practice.

Now, I don’t think there is anything unique in that as I’m sure that some of that resonated with you but the social factors alongside those influences shape my journey in a totally unique way. My lived experiences ground me in a way that is unique to me and this leads me onto the fact that understanding your starting point is like that little sunflower seed slowly putting down those roots - over time, you will grow into something great but those first few weeks and months when you’re being fed the creative flow - you need to soak it up and allow yourself to grow into what you like.

// Experiment and Play

One of the worst things you can do when finding your creative voice is think you’ve already found it.

I don’t think I am the finished article - I am still gathering up my resources, I continue to take stock of what interests me and how that shapes what I am creating so I keep experimenting and I keep playing with what works.

I love experimenting and I love playing around with my styles, it’s why this newsletter/blog is so important to me as every week I get to create something new and I get to see how that affects people.

The tagline for The Clique is “For people who know that creativity and play ignite stronger work” and it’s that exact theme that I want you to remember when the shoots of your sunflower burst through.

When that tiny plant finally breaks the surface and your child like wonder is finally released - the tiny little sunflower doesn’t just grow in a straight line upwards - there are factors in it’s growth path.

It grows upwards towards the sun initally - it’s reaches to where it knows where the nourishment comes from and when we create, we all start doing that to some degree.

When I started this newsletter, I wrote lists and ‘My top 5’ style blog posts because thats what worked for me on Instagram - I pushed through the soil and stared creating what I knew and reached towards the sun but as I grew, the burden got heavier and I drooped a little. I gathered myself up and started growing in a different direction and I found that different styles of writing and the different ways I could communicate actually resonated with me more and I grew to enjoy writing in a particular way.

// Seek Feedback

The early adopters of this newsletter helped me out loads - the first 10 of you (who are still here now) were close friends at the time and we all do that - we jump onboard with something new because we’re friends with the creator and we do our best to support them.

There was a great swell in the first two or three weeks of me writing as I promoted it heavily (I really need to promote my newsletter more) and I got great feedback on what I was writing.

Now, I understand that the feedback was a part of the process - getting those early voices to share what they thought really helped me.

As time has gone on and the writing has remained consistent, the feedback has come in different guises - the open rates, the small comments and then there is the biggest feedback tool of all - the replies and responses. When I send a piece of content out into the world and there is nothing, it tells me something but when I send that email and I get responses back (replies to my email) then it really hits home and it drives me forwards as I know something has hit home.

When I look back at my early stuff - I see someone who was writing and trying to find their voice. I was jumping around a little from style to style and slowly, I can see myself emerge from my writing.

// Avoid Imitation

Whenever you start something and you’ve been inspired (I always reference Casey Neistat) you have to try your best to avoid imitation. Now, I know thats easier said than done because when you start something - you want to be just like the person who inspired you to get started in the first place which is why you copy some of the elements of the creator but imitation is just like a photocopy of the original and no-one goes to a museum to see the photocopies of the original.

I get it thought, you’re still experimenting and you’re still trying to find your voice - if it actually helps you get started then fine, you can go for it because starting is the hardest part.

When I created my first vlog - the biggest hurdle I jumped through was actually filming around others and the way I overcame that was to edit like Casey. When the first vlog I released opens up with a title card and a timelapse (just like Casey’s) but the remainder of the vlog is me, I’ll accept the small loss and use it as a way to create something.

Last weeks blog article was all about the way to actually get started and if you’re struggling to get moving, then in the first instance - copy.

BUT…

Don’t stay in that space forever - you can’t forever be a copycat or an imitation of something that has gone before you. No two sunflowers are alike - some are hugely successful and have a rocket ship like trajectory for growth while others (most sunflowers) remain suitably humble and their height, whilst impressive to those who haven’t started - actually is just ok.

Which is ok.

Focus more and more over time to remain authentic to you - when I started writing, there were people I admired who wrote too but I avoided trying to write like them - instead I focused on what I didn’t like to read and avoided that.

// Consistent Practice

Once you have broken through the soil and you (as the little sunflower) have started to grow - you can’t give up watering, you may have to move containers as you grow and you may need to get more sunlight but all of these things are needed to actually grow.

You have to remain consistent - you can’t water a plant once and expect to win that sunflower growing competition, I think this is where I failed because I just didn’t have the attention span at school.

The more consistent you are with your creating, the more of you will show up - what I mean by that is you’re bad habits, your imitations, your tendencies to over-elaborate, they will all fall away and your one true voice will shine through.

Whether that is video, writing or your images - the more you do it, the more you will discover a way that works for you and the more of you will come through.

As I mentioned earlier in this article, every sunflower is unique because of where it grows - the height is determined by how consistent you are with the things that allow it to grow and in this instance, it’s the water, sun and soil.

When you’re creating - you have no upper limit but finding your voice will mean you will become you more often and people resonate with that.

Just as I started this article - people are attracted to things which they like and it inspires them to create and so the circle continues - the reason you need to find your voice is to help those who don’t yet have one, to guide them on the right path and show them how to be themselves.

You do that by showing up consistently and using your style to guide them,

Now read this again.