Self-Expression Is Not About You

A Rick Rubin-ism:

Self-expression is not about you.

Everything we are comes from outside of us first.

We’re a container, storing up the stuff we’re surrounded by. Making the connections between each piece we take in.

Externally, we take the collections. Internally, we make the connections.

Self-expression doesn’t start with you – it always starts with external ideas, shuffled internally, and then re-presented to the world.

Maybe this takes the pressure off of somebody trying to be creative and feeling stumped. Share it and see what happens.