Why not you?

Yesterday, my hometown team, the Seattle Seahawks won Super Bowl XLVIII thrashing the Denver Broncos and leaving a final score of 43-8. Before the game I watched an interview with the Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson and one of the comments I heard from him really resonated with me as a creative:

“I remember my dad asking me one time, and it’s something that has always stuck with me: ‘Why not you, Russ?’ You know, why not me? Why not me in the Super Bowl? So in speaking to our football team earlier in the year, I said, ‘Why not us? Why can’t we be there?’”

I thought that was a fantastic outlook and something every creative should try and emulate. Why not you? Why can’t you be a successful musician? Why can’t you teach yourself to program? Why can’t you sell your book to a publisher? Why can’t you become a singer?

Usually we make excuses. We try and talk ourselves out of achieving our goals. Fear plays into it, instead of throwing ourselves into the challenge, we fear failure. Sometimes we fear it so much that we never go for it. Our dreams remain in a desk drawer, or folded up and tucked away in storage, or hidden in a home office. You know what: failures and mistakes can be overcome.

There are people proving it every day. Wilson was the 12th pick in the third round of the draft and he just helped his team win a Super Bowl. Macklemore and Ryan Lewis turned down offers from major label and forged their own path and recently won the grammy for best rap album.

It can be done. It takes hard work and perseverance but it can be done.

So why not you? Why not now?