Youngman Brown is angry.  Angry enough to go solo in this episode to try to get you to forget those negative comments you received about your creative outlet that have kept you from really pursuing it with confidence.  This episode is all about remembering your unique taste and forgetting any harsh criticisms that you might still be holding onto.

In this episode:

-We hear Ronnie Allen (from Episode 29) tell us about a teacher who publicly ridiculed her writing abilities and how it stuck with her throughout her entire career.

-JT Ellison (from Episode 53) recounts her thesis advisor telling her that she will never make it as a writer, which caused her to not write for eight years.

-Christina Bothwell (from Episode 131) shares how her parents told her that she was not good enough to make it as an artist.

-Youngman Brown shares what gave him the confidence to start to take writing seriously.

-Laura Baumeister (from Episode 129) offers her opinion that you have to be your own motivation if you don’t have a supportive teacher or mentor.

-We discuss the idea of feeling what is right and wrong with your art and how that intuition is your signal that you have a unique voice.

-We discover that your unique style is correct for you, so it doesn’t matter if one of your teachers, parents, or peers deems it to be “incorrect” — it simply doesn’t match their style.

-We remember that it is important to still determine the areas in which you genuinely need to improve, while making sure to never let go of your unique voice and style.

Quotes:

“Progress comes from practice.”

“You need to keep grinding.  You need to keep practicing.  You need to keep fucking up.  But you always need to stay true to yourself, and what feels right to you.”

“Pursuing your creative passion is what life is all about.”