Some ideas take years to find you working
What I'm working on and why
I spent a decade avoiding creative projects. I was an idea machine, but I rarely took action or stuck with it just to see what happens. Many ideas, little action.
Ideas recorded in old word docs, sprinkled across multiple laptops and notebooks, lingering in my past. I like to think the work I'm focused on now is all this bubbling up to the surface. Only this time, I give the ideas a helping hand with some effort.
Ideas sitting in the back of my mind for years eventually sprout, but they turn up in twisted forms. In the incubator, slowly evolving. Now they're here, but they hardly resemble what they once were.
If who I am today is a collection of my past experiences, do ideas grow and change in the same way? Are current ideas a blend of past ideas plus time?
Maybe my current work is a mix of the old and new brewed into a strange drink I'm now unafraid to share. It tastes good to me, but not to everyone. And that's ok.
How I got here
In 2017, I left my job as a reporter to travel for a summer. I had no job lined up for my return home, with about $3,000 saved. Back then, my rent was only $500, so I wasn't too stressed about it. My plan for work was freelance photographer and drummer. I imagined myself balancing both jobs.
I connected with musicians in town, "Hire me as your next drummer." I found a Sunday church gig, and I was playing a few times a week with my band and others.
I built a website with my best photos and writings. I went to shows every night, shooting photos for bands that came through town. I'd spend hours editing, and share them with bands for free. Sometimes I'd receive a tip, but I never asked for payment unless a band offered it pre-show. A brilliant business model, hoping for handouts from broke bands!
I shot portraits and engagements, and got paid for those. I avoided weddings, knowing I wasn't interested in that or capable of doing quality work. Wedding photography is a serious game, and I was a little fish with little discipline.
Then I fell into television production work when a suggestion from a friend got me in the door. I quickly dropped the camera, and stopped pursuing music for the bulk of my income.
I locked into a groove of production jobs with the occasional drumming gig. This has been my work for the past seven years. TV & drums.
I wasn't able to separate my creative work from income. I viewed creative projects through the lens of "How can I earn money from this thing I enjoy?"
But the truth is I didn't really enjoy the photography. And I only liked playing music with friends, not the hustle and endless practice of the musician's life.
I was a full-time reporter for two years, writing a dozen stories every week. I didn't think to continue writing in a creative way, because I didn't see how I could profit from it. I let go of something I liked because of money.
This mindset changed for me last year when I started writing for myself. I'd forgotten how much I loved to write, and I love it despite its zero dollar paycheck. Lost for six years, I found an old hobby.
What I'm doing now
Logan Lets Go is my creative experimental space, Logan's Laboratory. But unlike Dexter, nothing I make is a secret anymore.
I built an online presence to be a reflection of my thoughts and ideas and interests, an honest representation of me. Everything here is a test, just like my life experiments.
Would I enjoy a month-long solo road trip to Colorado?
Would I survive a 10-week trip to Europe by myself with only a small backpack?
Would a cyclist and gym guy like running too?
I didn't have the answers for these before I tried them. Only one way to find out.
Creative projects are my effort to find where my skills meet my interests. What am I already doing for free and for fun, and how can I turn that into a personal project to share?
The challenge is to figure out how this meets this. It ain't easy!
Attempts > motivation > a plan revealed
Sometimes I ask myself questions like:
What do you want to do right now more than anything?
What would you regret not doing when you're an old man?
Both answers have to be the same. Now go do that thing.
Right now, that thing is testing my creative limits to discover which niche or outlet works best for me, but I'm not focused on what could make me money.
There's potential to turn this work into income, and I'm side-eyeing that, no question. But I'm careful to avoid a path that's not aligned with my strengths and interests in the pursuit of profit.
Because that's how I'll end up dropping the work, just like I did with my weak attempt at photography.
Failures are inevitable, but I won't allow them to crush me, because I know opportunity lurks within the unknown. In order to fail, I have to have a plan. Right now it's only partially visible, but I trust a plan will reveal itself as I continue to create and share.
With my music and travels, I've become comfortable with not knowing.
With my future projects, I'll become comfortable with not quitting.
The next big trip
My trip to Europe in 2023 was all about being present. I followed my curiosity from beginning to end. I kept a private travel journal, but I didn't turn that trip into "work." I didn't post a single photo from my trip online until I got home. I took thousands of photos, and I've only shared a few.
I think my next international trip will be more intentional. I might document the many conversations I'll have. This could take the form of writings, audio or video.
Doing what I'd normally do, with the added effort of sharing stories worth telling.
What interests me most is how other people live their lives, how they travel, how they work, how they see themselves and their little corner of the world. These stories could come from a fellow traveler, a street vendor, bartender or a grandmother.
Going forward, this is what I hope to share more of. I'm not sure what to call this project. What is a journalist who hunts for stories that he doesn't know exist? He doesn't know where to find them, but he trusts his ability to know when he's found a good one. He operates on intuition and faith.
That uncertainty, flexibility and trust are core components of the pursuit, because they're so central to how I live my life.
Maybe it's like gonzo journalism meets jam band, but instead of drugs I'm dosed up on curiosity, spontaneous adventure and drunken noodles. Is that the dumbest sentence I've ever written?
People who know me best, doesn't that sound like a dream job for me?
That's because it probably is.
It finally bubbled up to the surface.
An old idea that's been brewing for half my life.
Maybe it's time.
I can self-fund this.
Set aside a budget, go until the money runs out.
Give my next trip more purpose.
Be patient, and see what happens.
Is this a crazy idea, or is this an idea that Logan sits on for 15 years until he's finally become the man capable of the challenge? Or is it both?
What do you think?
(this took me 12 hours to write)
Everything I make is here — loganletsgo.com
buy me a coffee :)
“Maybe it's like gonzo journalism meets jam band, but instead of drugs I'm dosed up on curiosity, spontaneous adventure and drunken noodles. Is that the dumbest sentence I've ever written?” 😂.
Loved this one, my guy.