At least once a week, someone sends a message—sometimes via email, sometimes direct message, something in the comments—that boils down to the same pointless, tired sentiment: “Anybody could do what you do.”
I rarely bother to reply.
Giving negative ninnies attention isn't my idea of fun or creative fulfillment. But if I were to reply, it’d be something along the lines of: “But you don’t, do ya, Blanche?!”
Seriously—there’s nothing worse than a bitter, blocked creative in my book. I truly wish everyone would go make stuff instead of wasting so much time and energy bitching and moaning on the internet. If you coulda, then you shoulda….
The truth is, of course, anybody can create and curate to our heart’s content these days. For me, that’s one of the most wonderful things about living in the 21st century.
Most of us have the talent, time, and tools to make so much more than we’ve ever been able to before. Most of us can build our virtual empires with a mobile phone and a Wi-Fi connection. If we have enough conviction and courage.
What the “I could do that” crowd misses is that doing it is the point. Not thinking about doing it. Not criticizing and scoffing at others who are doing it.
“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”
Theodore Roosevelt
The point is to roll up our sleeves and get to work. Again. And again. And again.
Even when no one’s watching. Especially when no one’s watching.
What I do—what we do, those of us who make and share and risk putting our taste and time on the line—isn’t some secret club of genius. It's not about being “better” than anyone. It’s about choosing to do the thing instead of standing on the sidelines. It’s about curating joy, shaping narratives, holding space for overlooked beauty, and sometimes just making something weird and wonderful because we can.
So, yes, you could do what I do.
And if that voice inside is nudging you?
Then please…do you, boo!
And if you're already doing it? Keep going. Keep sharing.
Clint 🌈✌️
P.S. I’d love to see more of YOUR work. And what brings YOU joy. Share in this thread.
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FOR YOUR (SUBSTACK) CONSIDERATION
ON THIS DAY = MAY 23
BIRTHDAYS
1875 = Alfred P. Sloan = American businessman and philanthropist
1883 = Douglas Fairbanks = American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
1890 = Lotte Hahm = German activist 🌈
1908 = Annemarie Schwarzenbach = Swiss writer and journalist 🌈
1910 = Artie Shaw = American clarinet player, composer, and bandleader
1910 = Franz Kline = American painter and academic
1910 = Scatman Crothers = American actor and comedian
1928 = Rosemary Clooney = American singer and actor
1933 = Joan Collins = English actor
1934 = Robert Moog = American engineer and Moog Music co-founder
1941 = Zalman King = American filmmaker
1958 = Drew Carey = American actor and game show host
1958 = Lea DeLaria = American comedian, actor, and singer 🌈
1958 = Mitch Albom = American journalist, author, and screenwriter
1968 = Guinevere Turner = American actor and screenwriter 🌈
1973 = Maxwell = American singer-songwriter and producer
1974 = Jewel = American singer-songwriter, guitarist, actor, and poet
1985 = Maya Keyes = American social and political activist 🌈
1986 = Ryan Coogler = American filmmaker
EVENTS
1785 = Benjamin Franklin announces his invention of bifocals.
1791 = France creates a new law system where rape is the only punishable sex crime. Sodomy, a former capital offense, is not included, leading France to be the first country to decriminalize sex between men.
1829 = Accordion patent granted to Cyrill Demian in Vienna, Austrian Empire.
1911 = The New York Public Library is dedicated.
1980 = The Shining is released in theaters.
1984 = Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom is released in theaters.
1995 = The first version of the Java programming language is released.
HOLIDAYS + OBSERVANCES
PORTRAIT + QUOTES OF THE DAY
“The man who is gloomy, taciturn and lives in a world of doubt seldom achieves more than a bare living. There have been a few who have groaned their way through to a competence, but in proportion to that overwhelming number of souls who carry cheer through life, they are as nothing - mere drops in the bucket.”
Douglas Fairbanks
“Happiness is fundamentally a state of mind—not a state of body.”
Douglas Fairbanks
Thanks again Clint. Currently reading Without You (2006) by Anthony Rapp.
DO THINGS BECAUSE YOU ENJOY DOING THEM AND OTHERS ENJOY THEM. The anonymity of the internet seems to make people think that they can be nasty without any penalty or recourse. They write things that they would be hesitant to say face to face. Maybe they envy our manifest spirituality.