moosiclovers

In a world that won’t quit growing, it is sometimes hard to find your niche and see where you can contribute? You may feel that you are bound and limited, either because you truly are due to political reasons, or you feel like you cannot compete. For most people in America it is competition that is the limiting factor. Many of us are too nervous to share our ideas/art/expression…we worry about facing harsh judgement and/or failure.

The goal of this post is to help you realize why you should share your art, your ideas, and put yourself out there…regardless of competition, failure or criticism. I hate rambling on, so I am going to attempt to do it in one phrase….

If there was room for Zappa…there is room for you.

Frank Zappa was undoubtedly talented…but man what a weirdo!

Don’t get me wrong, I am a huge fan of Zappa, and I am only picking on him because he was a well known weirdo and he stood for the very idea that I am trying to get at.

Zappa, with his wierd-ass music, inspired free expression and nonconformist attitudes. The man was willing to take a risk and became known as most ambitious rock music composer of his time. I think understanding Zappa’s attitude toward life can help us all.

Here are two Zappa quotes that help define the attitude that led him to success….

“Without deviation from the norm, progress is not possible.”

“There is more stupidity than hydrogen in the universe, and it has a longer shelf life.”

Zappa knew that progress comes from people trying things differently. Zappa also knew that there is a lot of stupid shit in the world.

When you realize these two things, you a) understand that the only way to make an impact or change things is to try something different…to push on one end and see what comes out the other, and b) you won’t be scared to do it yourself because you have the perspective to realize that the world is full of stupidity…so whatever you want to try will probably not be the stupidest thing in the world…and if it is… then at least your stupid thing has a limitless supply of other stupid things to make friends with.

The most important factor in “success” is not necessarily being a genius or a master at your skill, although it sure helps…but having the confidence, the balls, to take the gamble and put yourself out there in the first place.

The best defense I can offer you, when deciding to act upon/share your crazy idea, dream, or weird ass artistic expression, is ego-less confidence.

What do I mean by ego-less confidence?…

I mean you should have all the confidence to put your expression forth and stand by it…but…not consider your idea/art/expression to be a part of you…to be forever bound and limited by your desire to permanently attach to it. No you should not do that to yourself or your work.

Instead you should realize that your composition/idea came about by the forces of the universe working together on you…in those moments of time where you decided to create or dream up something.

You, in every waking moment, are a repercussion of the birth of the universe and everything that came after it…so your expression…your art…is also a repercussion of that and everything going on around you. So don’t let it define you, because it quite literally doesn’t….don’t attach to it, free it and let it go. Share it with the world.

Understanding this will give you the ability to look at your work and yourself objectively, even in the face of criticism.

In one of the greatest countries in the world, many of us have the liberty to have a little fun and not take life too seriously. Think of it as a game, a gamble, an experiment, whatever….its all a simulation anyway ;).

Take the risk and put your shit out there and never worry about failing. Your detached openness will help us all to be more open…allowing us to relate more readily…and become more accepting of one another.

If there is room for me and my garbage writing, there is definitely room for you and whatever you do. We are now living in a world where a talking orange with golden hair is the U.S. President Elect, so please don’t hold back. Cheers.

– A

I wanted to share some of my horrible, weird ass art that may help you feel better about yourself and your art…haha enjoy…