An important theme to my art and website is the idea that there is no box. What I mean by that in this context is that when it comes to creating, we don’t have to hold ourselves to all the rules and limitations other people around us say to.

Take, for example, this blog. When I began writing on here long ago, I never really wrote in this manner before. I didn’t have years of special training or schooling(besides normal classes you take through high school). But I was never especially astute as a writer. And yet, the day came when God compelled me to start this blog years ago. You could say I went into it blindly, with complete disregard to many rules and formulas and it’s one of the best decisions I ever made(it’s also been my approach to screenwriting).

Now don’t get me wrong. I don’t claim to be the best writer in the world and there is still so much for me to learn. But I think it’s silly to view those things as disqualifiers to creating. The road to mastery requires you to always hold on to the student’s mindset and not be overcome with pride. So knowing that, why not start creating now? Why not write that first book now? That first film? Whatever that first project is?

What I’ve learned the most down this road is how to really approach creating as childlike as possible, which is to approach things as fearlessly and openly as possible. It means forgoing the checklist of rules and going into uncharted territory; being willing to go in each day not knowing exactly what you’re doing. I know this sounds contrary to many schools of thought out there. It may even sound foolish. But in my experience, I’ve found that it means you’re letting God in the room each time and taking the steering wheel.

I honestly don’t know if this is going anywhere ahaha, but it’s what’s on my heart and mind today, and has been for quite some time. Maybe it’s just more to do with how I’m wired up, wanting to be hands on and learn things for myself instead of just reading an instruction manual. It may mean that I’ll make some mistakes, but God’s grace is big enough for that. But it also means that I get to write and create with my own voice, not the voice the world is trying to give to me.

God never runs out of new, brilliant ideas. I’ve learned it’s best to listen and tap into that. Seek out wisdom and what makes great art but don’t become a slave to rules and how things are “supposed to be”. Those things may be safe, but they’ll ultimately hold you back from your own voice and actually going to new places. The old way has worked, but that’s exactly it: the “old way”. Discover a new way. Figure out your destination and throw away the map. You may not always know where you’re going, but I know that when you finally get there, you’ll have taken a path that no one knew about before.