Andy has stood me up several times. There is only so many times you can brush it off as the other person just being busy before you start to take it personally. The first few times it was meeting about a podcast that never ended up happening. Then about his new book co-authored with his wife Sophie Miller, called Invisible Things. I waited for half an hour on Zoom (a common thing these days, people rarely stand me up in person, this might just be because I personally rarely go out anymore…) and got an email the following day apologizing. I dropped it, but then he reached out again. I think there is a weird star-crossed relationship I have with him. And I feel it even more so after talking with him about his work for an hour.
Andy has kids. He’s a podcast host, writes books, speaks at conferences, and illustrates concepts for folks like the New York Times and YouTube. Chances are you have seen his work. You just don’t know you have.
He deals with making his daydreams a reality. Invisible Things (the book) was in part inspired by his love of The Little Prince. I know Invisible Things is in the format of a children’s book but it’s really not (it’s a book for all humans, in all moods). I mean, it shouldn’t be limited to kids. It is about understanding and naming emotions. Raise your hand if you are able to identify your emotions. I mean, I thought I could. Then I had a kid and the world shut down and then out of nowhere, emotions started to bleed into each other, there were often 5 at a time. Everything constantly changing, shapeshifting into something I didn’t have a name for. A complexity of experience that I didn’t have the emotional skills to withstand or even describe.
Creativity is complicated, and yet endlessly fascinating. For Andy, it is to dive into the things you are interested in. Embrace the growth mindset and accept that things will be hard. Nothing in life is easy, but if you are having fun, life is better.
Why do some people make it (in creative worlds) and others don’t? A question I think about often when some people are successful and others are not. I went to school with so many talented people who no longer do their passions for their professions (if that is their goal…). It feels weird to say that I get to do what I do, even tho I am not artistically talented.
Andy’s answer surprised me. He first and foremost acknowledged that he had luck and privilege. He is a cis white male in America. So did I. This is where I end. In my head, my story has a full stop there. There is nothing else to say. But Andy’s doesn’t. He frames this answer, the one where you say that you were just privileged as a response to how you made your art a living is in itself a form of gatekeeping. Of closing the door for people. And I agree.
For Andy, hard and bad are not the same thing. If things are hard, that is a sign that they are worth doing. When asked how to know what you should do, and which things you should stick with, we talk about commitment and always asking why.
At the end of the day, Andy is a storyteller. And I believe him. That in a thousand years, people will remember the stories we have told that reflect our current values more than any one thing we do. Our minds are just billions of neurons telling a story. Andy wants to tell a good one.
For a copy of Andy’s book, comment here. (USA ONLY).
Loved this.what’s the link to the podcast or the 10 creative rules? Need to get my creative practice back going.
I'd love a copy of Andy's book. Thank you for your post.