Use obscurity to your advantage.

In Steal Like an Artist by Austin Kleon, there was one line that stuck out to me. On the bottom of page 78 you will find the phrase:

Enjoy obscurity while it lasts. Use it.

Similar to the thoughts and writings of author Steven Pressfield, Steal Like an Artist promotes the idea of creating and shipping as much as possible. Push past the discomfort of imperfection and negative feedback and get your work out there. The idea of using obscurity to aid this process is simple and profound.

While working in obscurity we have no expectations to live up to, no others to impress. It is just us and our work. Sure it’s out there for the world to see, but at this point few others are likely to see it. This takes an immense pressure off of the fledgling artist’s nubile ego.

With no critical audience to impress, we are free to create for the sake of creation. It is in this form of creation that we are fully able to explore and discover our own unique voice, pallet, and style. It is with this freedom that we can truly grow into ourselves and our work. As we become more real, a following begins to form.

By utilizing obscurity to our advantage we can attract followers and friends who support our unique vision, instead of fighting for a piece of an already crowded spotlight. And the best part is that we can have a lot of fun in the process. No rules except the ones we place upon ourselves.

Using obscurity to my advantage is yet another tool in my tool chest for increasing motivation and creative output. I have been writing more and more lately, but mostly in the form of hand written words on paper out of sight from the public eye.

I realize now that I have used obscurity to my advantage in the past, and for some reason fell short of the practice recently. Perhaps I began comparing myself, or maybe an article or two were well received and I began comparing to myself.

In any case, I feel refreshed and motivated to share ideas more openly on this platform. Shouting loudly into the abyss of obscurity as I build upon my own unique voice and skill set.

Similar to The War of Art by Steven Pressfield, Steal Like an Artist is a fun, quick, and potent kick in the ass for any budding creative, designer, entrepreneur, or human being. If you haven’t yet, pick up a copy, read it, and then send it to a friend.

Thanks for reading, here’s to the power of obscurity!