My greatest project.
I see creatives every day going from one project to another, one job to the next, freelancing for different agencies, working hospitality or jobs they hate — and doing their creating on the side — when in reality, there is one project that, if they ever thought of working on, would absolutely change their lives.
I know this because that’s what happened to me.
For those who don’t know me, my name is Clayton, and for over a decade I’ve run — and continue to run — very successful production agencies that have employed hundreds of creatives across all different mediums.
And I’ve met wildly talented people. Incredible shooters, amazing designers, mind-blowing musicians — and it always struck me how much they were struggling, or just making do in life.
Now, there’s a larger conversation about the dwindling arts and creativity, and the adage of being a struggling, starving artist. We could go on about the saturation, accessibility, and lowering entry point to being a creative, as a reason nothing’s working out.
But that’s complete victim mentality — and we’re not entertaining that shit here.
If you’re good, you get paid.
If you’re smart, you get the life you want.
Now I’ll tell you what the project was that completely changed my career and life.
Me.
I am the project.
My life is the art. My life is the work.
How do I make it the best thing I’ve ever created?
Because as creatives, we spend so much time on other people’s projects. We might — if we’re lucky — spend a little bit of time on our personal projects, things that interest us. But it always feels like finishing up one, then onto the next.
So that was the shift for me, and I asked myself:
What if your life was the project?
How would you approach it?
How do you approach your projects now?
I’ll use a making-a-movie format, but again, it could be applied to writing a song, painting a portrait, designing a website — whatever you put your skills into externally, start using those skills to apply internally.
Think about any creative project you’ve done, and apply the process to your life.
Generally you’ll need:
A vision/goal
A timeline
Action steps
A place or setting
Resources
A crew or team or people you need to contact
Revision or editing process
Quality control
Delivery/marketing
They might not all be applicable — but think about it.
If that project was your life, how would those operations apply?
What’s your vision or goal in life?
What checkpoints or timeline do you want to achieve stuff by?
What are your actionable steps to get there?
What the fuck do you have to do?
Where do you want to do these things?
Are you in the right environment or setting?
What tools do you need to achieve what you want?
Physical tools? Character traits? Skill sets?
What kind of people do you need around you?
What do your clients look like? Your team? Your partner?
Are you auditing your actions?
Are you editing and changing your routine to optimise your time and the work you put out?
How are you reaching your audience and the world with your gifts?
All these things are super important.
When I wasn’t thinking of my life this way — like this project — I felt lost. Like I was just floating through life, void of purpose or direction. Going through the motions.
But when I put these guide rails on — man, everything changed.
Do I fall off the tracks occasionally? Of course.
Do I try and rush certain parts of the project while neglecting others? Yep.
But I’m still working on the project while working on other things.
And it means the work I do for others fits into my vision — as opposed to sacrificing it.
Yes, it means you have to think strategically.
Yes, you might have to research and upskill.
And no, you’ll likely not get it all right straight away — I know I didn’t.
But fuck just going through the motions. I’m done with that.
I’d rather fail at going hard on a purpose than be successful at floating through life and winging it.
I’ve done that. I’m not going back.
I’ll tell you this now: when I started working on me as my main project…
I made more money.
I got healthier.
I became a better leader.
I became a better father.
I became a better creative.
And I enjoyed my life a shitload more than I had prior.
This is your life.
You’ve been given a gift.
A connection to creativity.
A weapon against mediocrity and the average existence.
The vision to see the beauty and pain and complexity and simplicity that makes this life special.
The greatest thing I will create in this life is me.
And the impact that has on others.
I’m not going to leave the creation of that to chance.
I hope you don’t either.
Go work on that project, motherfucker.
Keep creating.
