Mentor Note:

“The work is not only what you make. It is the part of yourself you learn to see while making it.”- Sally Polihronas

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Hello Reader,

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Okay lets get to this week's note.

This week, I kept coming back to how a creative vision is valued.

Creative work is often measured by productivity: the hours, the minutes, the finished product. But the time it takes to make something does not tell the whole story.

There is also the idea that came before it, the feeling underneath it and the way a person sees the world. It’s all of their personal experiences, stories, memories and insights that are expressed through their vision.

That vision can be easy to overlook, especially when ideas come to you often. You may have grown so used to seeing them that you assume they are ordinary.

You might move quickly from one thought to the next without pausing and recognising that the accumulation of all you are and have observed and experienced has created them.

When you are used to looking elsewhere for the idea, the feeling or the direction, you can lose touch with the part of creativity that asks you to look inward. You might learn to make something polished, follow a style or build a brand, but still feel strangely absent from the work.

There is nothing wrong with seeking help or collaborating with others. But the process can become soulless when you hand over the part that is asking you to express something true.

Creativity is more than output. It is a collection of what you have noticed, felt, questioned and have come to understand which you bring into the world in a form others can experience.T
hat is why your ideas and mine will never be exactly the same. We each bring a different part of ourselves to what we create.
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The making matters, too. When we stay present to our own vision, creativity can deepen our self-awareness. It can show us what we care about, what we are ready to say and what we might not have known about ourselves until we began.

I experienced this in a big way, especially being a person with a lot of different experience and skills. Sure you can execute on a lot of it but it has to actually connect to you to work.

The Takeaway

Your ideas are not less valuable because they come easily or often. Their value may be in the particular way you see, feel and connect things.

This is your essence and when working with clients, I like to call this your Unique Magic Proposition. It doesn’t have to be a product or a piece of art. It's what you bring to your role at work, as a parent or friend etc. It's what sets you a part from others and other brands.

You have an essence you may have not even realised you have. If you ask a few friends you may be surprised at their responses and they may all have the same thoughts on what your essence is.

Something to Try

Before you move on from an idea, give it a moment of attention. Write down what you see in it, what feeling it carries and what part of you might be asking to express itself.

You do not need to know where it will lead. Start by noticing what is already yours.

Something to think about this week.

What might change if you valued the vision inside your work as much as the final product.

I appreciate you!

Until next week,

Much love,

Sally xx

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