“Leaps forward are often preceded by desperate, regressive leaps backward.” – Don Beck & Chris Cowan, Spiral Dynamics
We’re two weeks into 2026, and I’ve spent most of the year so far creating YouTube videos.
And honestly, they’re driving me nuts.
I’m in that awkward stage of the creative process where I know what I want to say, but I’m still figuring out how I want to say it:
That unique combination of messaging, editing, and delivery that stamps my creative fingerprint and separates my work from the rest.
And I haven’t found it yet.
This is when most creatives and founders throw in the towel, because they mistake their growing pains as a sign the process isn’t working.
But it’s the only way the process works.
Every idea begins unformed, like a block of raw stone that must be hammered and shaped until the imperfections are chipped away and the finished work reveals itself.
The creative process is comfortable for no one, and the only way through it is to create:
To make something, publish it, learn from it, and then make something else a little better than the last.
Then repeat that process until the stone is gone and a polished diamond sits in its place.
If you’re in the awkward in-between (or the even more awkward still-getting-started), remember…
It’s not:
Think → think → think → think → think → do.
It’s:
Think → do → think → do → think → do.
Here’s the latest iteration.
- T
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