"Gotta live by example. Come take a sample of this mindset that say, 'Ain't nothing I can't handle.' //" - Call Me Ace, WORK ART BALANCE

My first boss out of college used to always repeat the phrase: "There's no try. There's only do."

I didn't know it was a variant of the Yoda Star Wars quote. All I know is she's one of the most intelligent, diligent, and innovative people I've ever worked with.

Much of who I am professionally today, she helped to mold that foundation. One of those key principles she taught me was: true effort.

Not to play semantics, but she had me realize that when I say, "I'll try to work on it" or "I'll try to get this done," what I'm really saying is:

"I already don't believe I can do it [or that this will work], so I'm not going to fully commit to doing it. I'll give a little effort – not my true effort, so that if it doesn't work then hey it's okay because I didn't think it could from the beginning."

What happens when the sentence shifts to "I will work on it" or "I will do this"? Well...now you gotta commit to locking in and doing it. Because you will.

Self-commitment is key to creative success

"It's been 7 years – graduated from 'emerging.' // Still in the gym tho 'cause practice makes perfect. //" - Call Me Ace, JUICE!

If you're an independent artist, one of the worst habits you could build yourself is one of breaking your own commitments. Missing your own deadlines. Being unreliable to achieve your own creative assignments.

I say this with empathy, because I know intimately what that's like.

It's easy to fantasize being creative – whether it's making a new song or developing a new product – as free-flowing, unrestricted, boundless chaos being tossed around without regard for order, timelines, and "the suits."

And honestly, sometimes it is like that. And it's great. And it's heaven. And I love it ugh Lord let me stay in that cocoon in perpetuity pleaseee.

However, the reality is that true creative effort thrives best under real constraints, costs, and a pressure to commit to bringing something to life – or else.

Without a real deadline, there would never be finished work. There's a famous quote you may have heard: "A work of art is never finished, only abandoned."

For us thorough-bred creatives, at some point we gotta let the art go. Or we won't.

We'll be like the mythical Detox album. The urban lore is: Dr. Dre announced this album in 2002 as his final studio album – which was nuts because he made The Chronic (1992) and 2001 (1999), both instant classics while still in his prime.

Fast forward, 24 years later, and the album still hasn't come out. Legend has it, he has literal terabytes worth of straight unadulterated gas just sitting on an external hard drive with no release date in sight.

I wonder if he thinks we're no longer waiting? I still am. 😔

Now, am I saying Dr. Dre isn't creatively successful because he has yet to fulfill his commitment to us for Detox? Well, last week Forbes just announced Dr. Dre as the 2nd billionaire in hip-hop after Jay-Z.

So, no I'm not saying that and maybe I could've used a different example, but there's still a lesson in there somewhere and I'm not deleting what I've written.

Perfection is a myth. Accountability is a skill.

"I ain't perfect, but I'm gettin' perfected. // Rarely I'm ever losing. I'm only collecting lessons. //" - Call Me Ace, CONVICTION

What if you looked at your creative journey less as "I need to make one big thing great" and more like building blocks of creative work towards a larger goal?

From a music perspective, while I love releasing 1 album (especially concept albums) with multiple tracks, I prefer releasing multiple tracks spread out consistently over time. Something more realistic about that type of release strategy.

The fact that every day is a creative exercise. Showing up and fulfilling the commitment to yourself to do the work – and then quickly releasing it afterwards. Not holding on and letting it grow stale. Instead, releasing it for others to hold.

And then back at it again. The very cyclical nature of the grind upward.

The process is what develops the perfection. Not "the release" itself.

With this philosophy, doing and appreciating the daily work also removes so much of the pressure of "trying to aim" for the perfect release.

So, don't spend so much of your time in silence trying to perfect a "great v1.0" release.

Instead, get scrappy, get messy, and release v1.0 now. Then v1.1 tomorrow. v2.0 one week from now.

And in the time you would've still been waiting, who knows – you might end up with a bonafide great v57.3 that may change your life.

Don't try it. Do it.