Do What You Love.

Both love and entrepreneurship are messy and imperfect. Here's what being a creative founder really looks like.

Recently, there’s an image going around online of Steve Jobs and his messy desk. The image was compared side-by-side with Tim Cook’s corporate desk, and it sparked quite the controversy. Here are the two images below:

The “Founder’s” Desk

The Ultra Sanitized CEO

The caption read “Office of a Founder VS Office of a CEO”.

Messy desks have been a staple of the most creative people in history, and here’s what it tells us about being an entrepreneur.

1. It’s a lot messier than you think.
   We often think of entrepreneurs as mavericks. And this 100% true. Being independent minded means exploring thew things you yourself like, without really being affected by the overall zeitgeist of the time. It means keeping magazine clippings, articles, books, and artwork that moved you, and surrounding your workspace with these things. It translates into constantly exploring the things you are curious about. Came across an article online that you like? Spend time researching who wrote it, or dig deeper into the topic. See a craft you enjoy? Learn more, dig deeper, spend time feeding that curiosity and see where it takes you.
   By default, walking into the office and spending time exploring isnt the most structured work day, but every artist, creative, and entrepreneur knows that inspiration comes from experiences. Being too corporate at the early stages never works, because you lose that element that keeps you in touch with your own creativity and intuition. Needless to say, life gets a little messy when you spend time splashing around topics you enjoy - but its exactly what jumpstarts your creativity and soul.

   

   Einsteins desk the day he died.

2. There is no plan.
   The most beautiful thing about creation is the lack of a blueprint for what you’re creating. It can only be fully formed through exploration. This is a recipe for anxiety attacks for most people - what do you mean there’s no place to start and end??
   You read that right - you start from inspiration, you work hard to turn that into something you can see, touch, feel… then from there, you complete it. The beautiful part is, you don’t see the end, because once you create a new invention - a new way to sue software, a new tool - it sets its own course. It can be edited, changed, and morphed over the years. Just think of the iPhone, and how we use the product of Steve’s work everyday in our lives (I mean, I’m typing this on a Macbook). Then key here is to explore your intuition, and get building, things only get clearer when you’re more than halfway to completion.

3. There are no guarantees.
   What if the iPhone flopped? What if the project you’re working on makes zero money? What if - what if.
   Most people never get started because they look for guarantees, then nothing happens. The truth is there are none, and you can only learn moving forward. So get started, see where you make those mistakes that are inevitable, and simply learn and iterate. There is nothing to protect you from the world, we are all vulnerable to life’s circumstances - so what’s there to fear?

   

   Bill Gates’ desk in the early days of Microsoft in the 80’s.

4. It’s a deep sense of gratitude that brings creatives joy.
   How can one stay sane over the years when creating and building things from scratch? Often times it takes a persons life to complete a dream project - and the key here is gratitude. How amazing is it to be doing this particular thing during your time on earth? How wonderful is it to meet all these amazing people? Grow something youre passionate about? How beautiful is it to be connected to something greater than us - one thing the refugee in Gaza and the fisherman in Montana have in common is that we all walk under the same bright white moon. We tend to forget how we’re all connected, and it’s a connection that cannot be severed. How beautiful is that? Anything we build we can share with all the other humans on earth.

5. What makes you come alive? That’s what you love.
   I’m always reminded of this quote: “Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.”
   The only thing you need to be is honest with yourself. Am I really happy doing this? If not, try out many different crafts - writing, pottery, canvas art, intern at a museum, stitching, online newsletters, TikTok content, coding, the list is endless. There’s so much to do in our short lives on earth, and so many ways we can find fulfillment. Maybe its both writing books and teaching yoga, or programming and working as a ski instructor - there’s so much variety in the world, and theres no wrong way to do it.

   

   “We’re all boys and girls in a crazy world.” Here’s another one of Steve Jobs at 25 years old. Whatever your’e building, have a blast, show it to people, and do it with love.

6. Do it for others.
   A study conducted by Harvard on happiness found that the happiest people often surrounded themselves with other people. In work, it simply means doing something for the enjoyment of others - without compromising on who you are.
   The smile on peoples faces, the laughter of children, the connection thats built - there are no substitutes for this. This is why we’re here. If there wasn’t anyone around, most of our work would be meaningless.
   To do what you love, is to do what helps others in some way - even the smallest ways.
   
   Whatever you do, remember that the process is messy. It never was supposed to be done any other way. You can do it. ❤️