Stop Building Alone

In this solo episode, I’m talking about why your environment matters so much when you’re trying to build a creative career. Being surrounded by people who understand the vision, challenge your thinking, and remind you what’s possible can completely change the way you create and the way you see yourself.

I get into why creativity is contagious, how the wrong environment can make you question your path, and why building alone for too long can leave even the most talented people feeling stuck.

This episode is for the creatives who feel misunderstood, uninspired, or like nobody around them truly gets what they’re trying to build.

Resources for Creatives

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

It might sound crazy, but you have to be delusional enough to believe that that's possible. You you are, you listening to this right now, are one conversation or one connection away from a completely different life. Creativity is contagious when you spend time around people who are building, who are filming, writing, designing, or creating anything. It makes you want to create too. And welcome back to the Creatively Connected Podcast. Today is a solo episode. It's just me here with you guys. Gonna be a quick episode today, just popping in, touching on a topic that has been near and dear on my heart lately, and that is that creatives need to be surrounded by other creatives. And I think there's too much competition, I think there's too much ego involved in this industry as creatives, whether you're an artist, a photographer, videographer, content creator. Um I think there's too much ego going on and floating around this industry. And I think if we could do a little bit more collaboration, have a little bit more creatives around us that are like-minded, similar to us, that are on similar paths, I think we'll be in a much better place. So that's what today's episode's all about is why creatives need to be surrounded by other creatives. Most people do not fully understand the way creatives think. The random ideas, the obsession, the inconsistent income, the late nights, the urge to make something out of nothing. Most people don't get that. They are programmed to operate on a normal schedule or routine, a Monday through Friday work week and two days off at the end, and then when Monday rolls around, they're dreading it and not ready for the week. Creatives don't live that way. We live a completely different lifestyle than that. Being around other creatives gives you people who understand the highs and lows without needing a long explanation of what it is you're building or working on. And, you know, just the normal person doesn't quite comprehend that. Sometimes you don't need advice from people, you just need to be around someone who understands why this matters so much to you. I know a lot of times my non-creative friends, I'll be so hyped up on a project or a shoot that I just did, and I'll be, you know, overly amped up about it, explaining this idea, how we executed it, and they just kind of brush it off, or I'll show them a video I've been working on, and it's just like, oh, okay, whatever. Like, no, I want to be around people that are fired up about this, that have, you know, opinions on it, that have uh views on it, that that have you know that that want to critique it, that that want to say, oh, this is good, maybe you could do this a little bit different. I want to be surrounded by those types of people because creativity breeds more creativity. That's how more creative things are done, that's how songs are made, that's how projects are amplified, that's how opportunities are created, is by creation, is by being around other people who have creative minds that that think like this, that think similarly to you. Creativity is contagious when you spend time around people who are building, who are filming, who are writing, designing, or creating anything, it makes you want to create too. It makes your dreams not seem so unrealistic. It makes your projects, the things that you are building seem a little bit less unrealistic and doable. The ideas that other creatives have, they might spark your ideas. They might help you come up with something that you would have never thought of being by yourself. You know, there's so many talented creatives in this world, probably listening right now, that are in their bedroom or in their living room that are thinking, Oh, I have so much creativity, I just don't know how to turn this into anything that's profitable or how to get this in front of eyeballs. Well, if you surrounded yourself with a few more creatives in your life, I'm sure someone could point you in the right direction. Being around people will open up doors, put you in rooms, introduce you to people. It's not just for the ideas, it's not just to breed new ideas and to collaborate. It's for doors to open. It's for you to have opportunities to be a part of dinners, networking events, go in rooms that you never would have gone in if you were just going at this solo. Your environment can either feed your creativity or it'll slowly drain it, and you are the whole deciding factor for that. Also, too, other creatives they expose you to possibilities that you know you just never could see alone. Like I just said rooms that you go in. One creative knows about a client opportunity that you never even knew existed prior. Another one knows of a better workflow or how to maneuver through your editing software a little bit more efficiently than how you're currently doing it. Someone else introduces you to a person, a new platform, or an idea that changes your direction. This guys, you gotta get out of your own way. You gotta get out of your own house, your own room, and get out into the world and make connections. Use these platforms that a lot of you are meeting me on, like threads and Instagram and uh TikTok, you know, network on those too, but but go out into your local coffee shops. If you're a photographer or videographer, go out to these coffee shops or go out to grab lunch and just carry your camera with you. That eliminates barriers already. That's a conversation starter. If someone's even close to being in the market for a photographer or videographer, just having your camera alone can spark a conversation that can make you be introduced to a new friend. Eliminate these barriers, you guys. We put up so many barriers that make it hard for us to make connection and and and and make human connection. We have so many barriers. I was just talking about this uh earlier today with somebody that you know, our phones being the biggest one of all, when we're out and about in public, we distract ourselves with our phones so we don't have to talk to people. Next is like wearing headphones that eliminates almost any chance of someone approaching you and being able to build a genuine connection. Remove these barriers, make genuine connection with people. You don't know if they're gonna be a creative or not, but you know, seven times out of ten, they have some sort of creativity up in their mind that you both can benefit from. Eliminate the barriers and make more connections. You don't know who's out there. You you don't know that one what one conversation or one connection could do, and what one connection or conversation away you are from having a completely different life and career. It might sound crazy, but you have to be delusional enough to believe that that's possible. You you are, you listening to this right now, are one conversation or one connection away from a completely different life. You're just sitting there and you're not having it, and you're not putting yourself out there to have that conversation or to or to make that connection. My next point would be that community helps you survive the slow seasons because as a creative, we all know that there are slow seasons. That's inevitable. There's gonna be slow seasons, there's gonna be times when when your work is just not popping and booming. Creative careers are full of moments where nothing seems to be working. A post flops, clients disappear, a project that you thought was gonna go happen, falls through. You start questioning whether you're actually even good enough to do this, and having creative people, having other people that are doing what it is that you do around you during these seasons can help up with uplift you, can prevent you from burning out, can prevent you from giving in and going and getting a traditional job just because of one slow season. Being around other creatives reminds you that those seasons are normal and that you're not good at what you're doing. It's just a part of the journey. Those types of people can challenge you, they can encourage you during those seasons, they can keep you from quitting during a temporary low point that every single creative, no matter what realm of creativity you're in, goes through. The right creative circle will challenge you, not just support you. You don't need a bunch of yes men or a bunch of cheerleaders around you that that just say yes to everything and say everything is great. You need people around you that that will challenge you, that will critique your work, that will hold you accountable, uh, and tell you when the work is weak, or when you're playing small and not thinking big enough, or maybe when you're making excuses. You know, you need those types of people around you. And oftentimes in my life, I found it that those people are on similar paths, they're creating something they're building. It's not and no disrespect to people working traditional jobs, they're just as important, but it's not those types of people that are gonna challenge you as a creative because to them, you're already doing something that's extraordinary and that most people would never even get to do or never even take the risk to do. You're already doing it at a huge scale to them, but to you it might be a small scale. So maybe those aren't the type of people that you need around you to ask and to be supporting you and uplifting you. It goes back to being around people that are crazy enough and delusional enough to create a life for themselves and that turn their creativity into a legitimate thing, into a full-time business that are going to be the ones that hold you the most accountable and and that are you know just the most honest with you. The people around you should make your vision feel more possible, and they should make your excuses feel less acceptable. Get more of those types of people around you, and I promise you, you will go far as a creative. I hope you enjoyed today's solo episode. I'll be bringing more of these to you guys every single week. Be sure you're liking and following, subscribing, all of that jazz to the podcast. That way you're notified every time there's a new episode. If you're a creative and you're feeling like you're going at this alone, you have a community, you have a family now with creatively connected. This is one big ecosystem for the creative entrepreneur that is going at this. You're not going at this alone. And yeah, this is what we're here for. Surround yourself with more creatives. I promise you'll be in a better place. I don't care how independent you think you are, creative people need other creative people around them. Not because you can can't build it alone, but because you will build it faster, think bigger, stay inspired longer, and survive the hard seasons with people who understand the journey. Guys, surround yourself with more creatives. If you need a creative friend, if you're sitting there listening saying no one wants to be my friend, you have a creative friend in me. Be sure to follow me on Instagram at Chris Rippy, shoot me a message. I would love to connect with you. Um, your next idea, your next opportunity, client or breakthrough could be sitting in a conversation that you have not had yet that is waiting to be had. Ladies and gentlemen, thank you so much for tuning in to today's solo episode of the Creatively Connected Podcast. Be sure to subscribe so you don't miss next week's episode. I'll see you guys in the next one. Peace.