If I reflect on my own growth as a creator, I can see exponential growth in my own skill in certain areas, the same way a skyscraper quickly rises slowly after the foundation is set. Growth in the commensurate success, however, tends to happen in tiny explosions that are hard to e…
I’m strangely comforted by stories of other creators, such as comedians like Louis CK, who struggled for decades before suddenly growing exponentially in success and skill. This is a dangerous comfort, as for every one who made it, there are probably hundreds who drank themselves to death, or—perhaps worse—wound up teaching Level I improv classes at Second City.