There was once a man who knew all things. No joke. All things.

After a serendipitous meeting at a baseball game, Keith explained his creative blocks to me. I knew exactly what he was going through. I explained the Creative Sprint to him, a process that helped me publish a blog for over 300 days in a row. Keith and Em put it into practice, and finished lyrics for their band’s next Ep that same week.

If someone is sitting down to hear your ideas, they’re extending a lot of generosity to you. They’re going to an imaginary place with you, which takes a lot of emotional energy. You need to understand this, because if your audience isn’t in the right frame of mind to go there with you, your idea will die.

The year is 2017. I just signed up for my third stint of washing dishes at a coffee shop because I’m not making enough money freelancing. I’m stumped as to why clients keep dropping me, and why I can’t maintain a steady monthly income. I feel like I’ve tried everything. But I’m determined to figure it out.

Being a freelancer is tough. For every sip of freedom and flexibility, there are two gulps of inconsistency and anxiety. Meanwhile, we see freelancers online who make a solid living working on projects that they love. How do they do that?

As creators, we get shy. We get self-conscious. We compare ourselves to capitalistic rating systems of art. Of course we don’t sing or cook or write as well as acclaimed professionals.

Most companies feel guilty about the purposeful exclusivity and pushy sales tactics, so they fall somewhere in the middle. Most companies are willing to give up a few dollars every year to make sure their customers have good things to say. They’re also willing to let go of a perfect brand feel to make sure they’re driving sales every month.

As I continued in my career into social media management, then content producing, I always had this picture of Travis in the back of my mind. One day, I would be like Travis. I would be working with cool brands. I wouldn’t be stressed out. I would be able to afford new Nikes.

When I watched the last episode of the show Parks and Recreation, I cried. When I watched the movie Avengers Endgame, I cried.