My newsletter gives people a 5 minute infusion of inspiration to help them stay motivated to create.
The Creative Misogi
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Issue 192 Hello, Not my typical newsletter today. As I sat down to write the inspirational thought unit segment the idea kind of took over and I decided I just want to post it on it's own and see what you think. One of my biggest worries these days is that creative people, when faced with the threat of AI, are just going to give up on their creative dreams, or spend so much of their time pushing back against it online that they neglect to make anything of their own. One artist I follow seemed to have given up all hope in their own work, which made me so sad. I told him that I love his work and want to see more of it, not AI garbage made by someone who didn't want to take the time and care to do it themselves. This essay is kind of a rallying cry to anyone with a creative bone in their body to spend the time to make something uniquely theirs and share it with the world. I think that's probably the best response to the AI threat I can think of right now. Okay, let's get to it. Enjoy! STAYING IN THE LOOP:
The Creative Misogi From the Inspirational Thought Unit There's a Japanese Shinto practice called misogi which literally translates to "water cleansing." Misogi involves ritual purification of the mind, body, and spirit through physical and mental challenges. In practice, people do a yearly pilgrimages to frigid waterfalls, lakes, and rivers and cleanse themselves in them. The aim is to scrub yourself clean of the contamination caused by modern conveniences. In recent years there's been a growing base of people who have adopted elements of the misogi practice to give them a single memorable experience each year in nature that not just challenged them, but pushed them farther than they've ever been able to go before. These are year defining experiences like climbing a mountain, running a marathon, biking across a state, or in one wild example, a group of guys took turns carrying an 85 pound rock underwater along the coast of Santa Barbara Island. In short, when looking back over your life and someone asks what you did in 2024, you might not remember anything that happened this year, but you'll be able to recount your misogi. This got me thinking. I suggest that each year you do a creative misogi. I've been practicing this for about 30 years now, but didn't know what to call it. The idea is that every year you take on a creative challenge that pushes you harder than you've ever been pushed, something that changes you, and that defines the year for you. Examples of creative Misogis might be something like:
There's 3 rules: Rule 1: Make it creative The root word of creative is create. Not revise. Not remix. Not update, reboot, or rehash. Your creative misogi should put something into the world that hasn't been seen before. Make it unique, and special to you. It should be the kind of thing that could only come from you and no one else. Rule 2: Make it uncomfortable This has to push you to the edge and beyond your current comfort zone. There should be a chance of failure. Through the process of doing this challenge you discover new potential in yourself that was previously unlocked. Rule 3: Make it contained Your creative misogi should have a finished created thing at the end of it. Something you can hand to someone. Something you send a link to. Something a person can experience. Something that has a beginning, middle, and end. The point of all of this is that too often we push off our creative dreams until next year because we think we'll be more prepared or have more time to work on them. Too often one year turns into two, then five, then you get to the end of your life and you're haunted by the things you never accomplished when you had the strength and time to do so. By taking on a creative misogi you're washing off apathy, indecision, comfort, and complacency to come out the other side a more passionate, decisive, ambitious person who can handle hard things. Something to think about.... 1) What was the last project you finished that really pushed yourself out of your comfort zone? 2) Are there any dream projects you want to do, but have been pushing them off because you feel like you aren't ready for them yet? 3) If you were to finish a creative misogi this year, what would it be? If you have any thoughts on this, or want to share your answers you can post a comment here: LINK Also, I'm happy to receive email replies. I read them all, I just can't usually get back to everyone. That's all for this week. Thank you for reading this newsletter and hope you have a great weekend! -Jake PATREON: Get a front row seat of the ROBOTS book creation on Patreon: LINK I'm posting my process for all my art on the patreon. If you'd love getting more behind the scenes content and learn a little more how I approach creativity, project management, and business strategies I post over there at least one a week. Consider signing up!
You also get a 15% discount in my shop, and at the end of the month some patrons get all my working files to learn from and pick apart. Sign up here: LINK My sponsor for this newsletter is…me. It's me, because I'm not accepting sponsors for my email list, and don't plan to any time soon. Really, I'd just like people to buy stuff from my shop. If you like this newsletter, you can support it a few ways: Order something from the shop (Best) Back a kickstarter when I launch one (Also Best) Support me on Patreon (Second Best) Share the newsletter with a friend (Third best) Shop for art supplies using my affiliate links* (Fourth best) Mention it on social media (Fifth best) I'd appreciate any of these when you can. Thanks! *Any amazon link I post is an affiliate link Weekend Reading: Godzilla Deluxe Edition by James Stokoe |
Hi! I'm Jake
My newsletter gives people a 5 minute infusion of inspiration to help them stay motivated to create.
Issue 196 Hello, Work has been solid lately. I just delivered the first 100 pages of the graphic novel I'm working on. Can't wait to tell you about it when the publisher gives the OK. Things are also coming together for the reboot/glow up of SVSlearn.com. We are going to be taking our teaching to another level. More on that next month. Lots of great stuff to share today, so let's get to it. Here's FIVE things I thought you'd love as we roll into the weekend! Enjoy! STAYING IN THE LOOP: 3PP...
Issue 195 Hello, I've been neck deep on the big graphic novel project I'm working on with Scholastic. I can't really talk about it yet, but when the time comes you won't be able to get me to shut up about it. Haha. The rest of my time has been working on SVSlearn 2.0 which will be launching in November. I'll be sharing more about that as things start to solidify. It's going to be soooo cool! Okay, here's FIVE things I thought you'd love as we roll into the weekend! Enjoy! STAYING IN THE LOOP:...
Issue 194 Hello, My Comics Creator Head Start Workshop is next Saturday. We have over 20 people signed upI I would love to have you if you're wanting to learn how to save time in the comics process, and make work that matters. Enrollment closes next Friday night. July 20th and 27th. Mark your calendar, and enroll today: LINK COMICS WORKSHOP INFO Okay, here's FIVE things I thought you'd love as we roll into the weekend! Enjoy! STAYING IN THE LOOP: 3PP Podcast: Is My Work Ready for Market? 3PP...