Shownotes
In the final episode of Create Anyway: You’re Allowed to Make Art, we explore a powerful question that many artists avoid: What if what you’ve done is already enough?
Throughout this series, we’ve talked about fear, identity, time, responsibility, and creative pressure. But at the center of all of it is a deeper tension — the belief that we are always behind, always lacking, always needing more before our work “counts.”
This episode challenges that belief.
If you’ve ever felt like:
- You’re not good enough yet
- You started too late
- You should be further along
- Your work doesn’t measure up
This conversation will help you reframe success and reconnect with why you started creating in the first place.
In this episode, we discuss:
- Why artists constantly chase “more” and rarely feel satisfied
- How to redefine success without external validation
- The importance of recognizing progress and effort
- Letting go of comparison and unrealistic expectations
- Creating from a place of fulfillment instead of pressure
This episode is for:
- New artists starting later in life
- Creatives balancing art with full-time careers
- Anyone feeling behind or discouraged in their creative journey
- Artists struggling with perfectionism and comparison
1. The Endless Chase for “More”
- Many artists believe fulfillment is always one step ahead
- More skill, more time, more recognition, more output
- The danger: never feeling like what you’ve done is enough
2. Redefining Success on Your Terms
- Success doesn’t have to mean monetization, audience, or scale
- For many, success is simply: you didn’t quit
- Finishing something, showing up, and continuing counts
3. The Quiet Value of Showing Up
- Most growth isn’t dramatic — it’s subtle and cumulative
- The act of returning to your art matters more than outcomes
- You’ve already done something most people never do: you started
4. Letting Go of Comparison
- There will always be someone ahead, faster, more visible
- Comparison keeps moving the goalpost
- Peace comes from focusing on your relationship with your work
5. Enough Doesn’t Mean Done
- Accepting “enough” doesn’t mean you stop growing
- It means you stop withholding satisfaction until some future version of yourself
- You can continue creating from a place of fulfillment instead of lack
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Transcripts
What if this is enough?
Speaker A:Not perfect, not finished, not where you thought you'd be, but enough.
Speaker A:Enough to be proud of, enough to keep going, enough to matter.
Speaker A:Because if you've made it this far, if you're creating anything, if you've shown up at all, if you've even considered taking your creativity seriously, you've already done something that most people never do.
Speaker A:We spend so much time chasing what's next?
Speaker A:More skill, more time, more recognition.
Speaker A:But we really stop and ask, what if this version of me, this work, this effort, is already enough to begin from?
Speaker A:Now, in this final episode of this series, we're talking about what it means to let go of the constant chase, finally recognize the value of where you are.
Speaker A:Because maybe the goal was never to become something else.
Speaker A:Maybe it was just to create anyways.
Speaker A:Foreign.
Speaker A:Welcome back for the final episode in the Create Anyways series made this into 15 episodes.
Speaker A: started way back in March of: Speaker A:I'm your host, Timothy Kimo.
Speaker A:Brian, head instigator here at Create Art Podcast, where I bring my over 30, 30 years of experience in arts and education to help you tame your inner critic and create more than you consume.
Speaker A:Now, I've been going through this series and really enjoying talking with you about just creating anyways, and how you can put creativity into your life and not replace your life with, you know, your creative pursuits.
Speaker A:So today we're going to talk about when is it enough?
Speaker A:And for me, it's never enough.
Speaker A:Honestly, it's never enough.
Speaker A:But I am satisfied where I am at.
Speaker A:I am satisfied with my journey because it's a continuing journey for me.
Speaker A:So let's dive into this.
Speaker A:All right, let's start off with my first point here, and that's the endless chase for more.
Speaker A:You know, in our society, in our day and age, we're always looking for more.
Speaker A:More this, more that, more money, more fame, more recognition.
Speaker A:And many artists believe that that fulfillment is always just one step ahead of them.
Speaker A:You know, if they get more skill, more time, more recognition, they put out more stuff.
Speaker A:They want more, more, more, more.
Speaker A:Now, here's the danger.
Speaker A:You may never feel like what you've done is enough.
Speaker A:And I would argue that first and foremost, you're listening to a podcast about creating art, and that may be enough for you.
Speaker A:You may just need to hear this and feel good about yourself and what you're doing.
Speaker A:And for that, I'm happy to do that for you.
Speaker A:But if that continual thing of more, more this more that is not satisfying you, then you need to look elsewhere.
Speaker A:You need to reframe that.
Speaker A:Because I'm satisfied with the output that I've had with the skill level I have reached.
Speaker A: st started podcasting back in: Speaker A:I was doing it on a phone instead of a microphone.
Speaker A:And I've gotten to meet some really wonderful people while I have been putting in the reps, while I've been practicing this.
Speaker A:And right now, am I at the pinnacle of it?
Speaker A:No.
Speaker A:But I am enjoying the process, enjoying the journey, and it's given me plenty of stories to tell.
Speaker A:So, yes, we want to always get better, but at some point, you got to say to yourself, enough is enough.
Speaker A:I'm good.
Speaker A:If I do nothing else, I am good.
Speaker A:And I can say that with honesty here.
Speaker A:If I never record another podcast, I'm good because of the journey that I've already been on.
Speaker A:All right, so if we're, you know, kind of happy where we're at and we're in our happy little place, that's great, but maybe you're not there yet.
Speaker A:And for that, I would say you probably need to redefine success on your terms, not anybody else's.
Speaker A:You know, success doesn't mean that you have to make a million dollars or have a million likes or, you know, turn out a million paintings in a year.
Speaker A:Success.
Speaker A:You determine what that is, what is successful for you, what is enough for you.
Speaker A:You get to decide that nobody else.
Speaker A:And for many, success is simply, you didn't quit.
Speaker A:You kept on going.
Speaker A:That's perfectly fine.
Speaker A:You can call that success, because I'll tell you this, A lot of people aren't doing what you're doing.
Speaker A:A lot of people aren't doing what I'm doing either, and that's fine with me.
Speaker A:But people aren't doing what you're doing.
Speaker A:You're doing it.
Speaker A:And that can be enough.
Speaker A:Just that in and of itself.
Speaker A:You know, success could be that you always finish a project or that you always show up for a project, or you're always continuing to evolve your skills and educate yourself.
Speaker A:That could be your success as well.
Speaker A:You get to decide it.
Speaker A:Not me, not anybody else, not your teachers in school, not your parents, not your spouse, not your kids.
Speaker A:Nobody decides that but you.
Speaker A:That's a big responsibility.
Speaker A:Let that think in.
Speaker A:You define the success.
Speaker A:Nobody else does, so define it for yourself.
Speaker A:So the next thing I'd like to bring up is, you know, just the quiet value of showing up just Being there and showing up and trying.
Speaker A:Even if you don't finish the project, you at least showed up, put in an effort.
Speaker A:You know, most growth isn't dramatic.
Speaker A:It comes over time.
Speaker A:And it comes over you showing up again and again and again.
Speaker A:And that act of returning to your art matters more than the outcomes.
Speaker A:It matters more than if you sell a million copies of a book or of a piece of art or a print or whatever, or, you know, a million downloads on a podcast.
Speaker A:What matters is that you kept on trying, kept on coming back.
Speaker A:And I'm going to come back to this point again and again.
Speaker A:You've already done something most people never do.
Speaker A:You had the bravery to start, and maybe that's success, but you started, and that should be good enough for you now.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:What I challenge you to, you know, keep on evolving and getting better and better by showing up every day.
Speaker A:Absolutely.
Speaker A:I would challenge you to do that.
Speaker A:But if you need that simple win of, hey, I showed up today, that's my win for the day, take it.
Speaker A:By all means, take it, because it'll make tomorrow even easier.
Speaker A:Because you showed up yesterday, you can show up today.
Speaker A:And you know what?
Speaker A:I think I get time to show up tomorrow.
Speaker A:All right, so something that really impacts a lot of artists is that comparison thing.
Speaker A:You know, we're looking at the great masters that have painted or, you know, I look at my record collection, I've got a lot of John Coltrane, and I'm never going to play saxophone like John Coltrane.
Speaker A:Nobody can play saxophone like him.
Speaker A:But you know what?
Speaker A:There's always going to be somebody that's ahead of you, that's faster, more visible.
Speaker A:There's always going to be that person.
Speaker A:Even the people that are at the top of their game.
Speaker A:If you look at the NBA and whoever the top player is, I haven't watched them forever in a week.
Speaker A:But whoever the top player is, we always go back to, well, who's the greatest of all time?
Speaker A:Who's the goat?
Speaker A:Michael Jordan.
Speaker A:You know, that immediately comes to mind.
Speaker A:That's fighting words for some people, Walt Chamberlain.
Speaker A:Other people think because of, you know, how many points he could score in a game, or, you know, Shaquille or Neal or who was ever out there right now, that tells you how long I've been out of that game.
Speaker A:But there's always going to be somebody better, and they're going to keep on getting better because they're putting in the reps.
Speaker A:They may have started before you.
Speaker A:Maybe they've had some advantages that you haven't had.
Speaker A:And when you compare and they keep on going and you keep on going, they're always going to lead.
Speaker A:So don't look at that person in front of you.
Speaker A:Learn from them.
Speaker A:I'm sure they have something to teach you.
Speaker A:But don't compare yourself to them because you're not in their shoes.
Speaker A:And if you are in their shoes, why are you in their shoes?
Speaker A:Get out of their shoes.
Speaker A:Get in your own shoes.
Speaker A:That comparison is going to eat you alive.
Speaker A:Look at what you're doing.
Speaker A:You know that peace comes from focusing on your relationship with your work, not with anybody else and with what other people are doing.
Speaker A:Compare yourself to yourself.
Speaker A:That's the only person you're in this journey with.
Speaker A:Okay, so my last point for the last episode in this series is enough doesn't mean done.
Speaker A:Now, if you get to that, you know that that wonderful mountain of I'm happy with my stuff, great.
Speaker A:And you know, when you accept, hey, I am enough.
Speaker A:I am doing good enough, great.
Speaker A:But that doesn't mean you stop growing.
Speaker A:Something got to got you to the point where you are, and it'll keep on getting you to a higher point.
Speaker A:So when you have reached enough, don't stop.
Speaker A:Keep on going.
Speaker A:Because if you stop, then that's going to withhold satisfaction until some future version of yourself pops up, you know, and that future version of yourself is not going to pop up if you don't keep on going and growing.
Speaker A:You know, you can continue creating from a place of fulfillment instead of a place of lack.
Speaker A:I don't have this.
Speaker A:I don't have that.
Speaker A:If you've got everything that you need, if you have enough of what you need, enough recognition, enough output that you're satisfied, then why not keep going, keep learning, and get to a higher place?
Speaker A:You know, being fulfilled really helps you with that whole.
Speaker A:I'm not, you know, I'm not quite there yet.
Speaker A:Hey, I am there.
Speaker A:And you can take the I'm not there yet out of the picture.
Speaker A:You take that worry out of you and you'd be surprised at how far you can go.
Speaker A:All right, that's all I got for you here today.
Speaker A:I want to thank you so much for joining me here.
Speaker A:It really means a lot that you have come through this series with me.
Speaker A:Create.
Speaker A:Anyways, it's.
Speaker A:It's really opened up my eyes, too.
Speaker A:It's.
Speaker A:Yeah, I don't do this just for you.
Speaker A:I do it for me, too.
Speaker A:I get a lot out of it.
Speaker A:So at this time, I want to thank you again for listening.
Speaker A:If you'd like to reach out to me.
Speaker A:You can reach out to me, Timothy createartpodcast.com and let me know what you think, what's going on, where you're at, any issues that you're having.
Speaker A:You.
Speaker A:You want to critique the show, by all means, let me know what I'm doing right, let me know what I'm doing wrong.
Speaker A:I would love to hear from you.
Speaker A:So don't be shy.
Speaker A:Go ahead and shoot me an email.
Speaker A:Heck, just let me know that you're listening and enjoying it or hating it.
Speaker A:You know, especially if you're hating it, let me know.
Speaker A:But definitely reach out and if you can share this with a friend, you know, you may have a friend that is going through that.
Speaker A:The whole, you know, living in lack instead of living in enough.
Speaker A:Shoot this on over to them.
Speaker A:If it helped you out, great.
Speaker A:I'm sure it's going to help them out too.
Speaker A:Speaking about sharing podcasts, I run another one called Find a Podcast about.
Speaker A:You can find it at findapodcast about dot X, Y Z.
Speaker A:And that's where I help my listeners over there.
Speaker A:Find the next binge worthy podcast and outsmart the algorithm.
Speaker A:I've also started a business, it's called TKB Podcast Studio.
Speaker A:You can find [email protected] and there I help my clients lead to the noise through quiet professionalism.
Speaker A:So that way they can get their message out into the world through podcasting.
Speaker A:You can check it out and see all the projects I've been working on.
Speaker A:All right, that's all I have for you today.
Speaker A:I do want to thank you for your time and I hope honestly that you got something out of it.
Speaker A:I know I did.
Speaker A:So now go out there, tame that inner critic.
Speaker A:Create more than you consume.
Speaker A:You are enough.
Speaker A:You are enough and you can keep on going.
Speaker A:Go out there, make smart for somebody.
Speaker A:You love yourself.
Speaker A:Until next time, Sam.
