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 I’ve  spent over a year now doing something I’ve never done before. I knew  what I wanted to create, but didn’t really have a solid roadmap to  create it. I didn’t even know how long it would take me to do it.  Everything was a blank slate.

Rather,  I figuratively had a giant, perfect, clay sphere: unblemished in any  way. To flesh out the metaphor, my computer was my potter’s wheel. I  purchased this clay on credit with an idea, and the sense that at the  end, I should have it paid in full with something to share with the  world.

I knew I could fashion this metaphorical clay into anything at all.  Years and years of programming experience convinced me I could mold it  into some fitful response to the idea, even if the  type of application I wanted to build was something I’d never tried.  That’s faith, in one sense. Faith in oneself. 

Most of the challenges in shaping this clay were delicious in the sense  they challenged me to learn something new, or think about things in new  ways; but there were — there are — some I just  wasn’t yet ready to handle at the moment, and for those, I just had to  rely on another kind of faith — a faith I’m poorly equipped to describe,  save for this movie quote: “Faith that the universe will unfold as it  should.” (Name the movie in the comments!) In this context: the confidence I’ll be able to overcome the obstacle in time, which will require me to accept that that I’m just not ready to resolve it yet. Confidence. Acceptance. Patience. 

Having  that patience at times seemed as difficult as the problem itself. The  more often I would retry and fail, the more my faith — and the comfort  it gave — would be replaced by anxiety. Anxiety about the task, and  anxiety about the entire endeavor. My confidence would temporarily  erode.

This  was especially true for one task in particular. I was hoping to use a  particular service in my solution, and the service had loads of example  code for calling its interface… just none of it was in the programming  language I’m using. My challenge wasn’t just to implement it — I had to  convert their examples into something I could use, THEN implement it. So  I’d chip away at it, steadily including blocks of converted code and  correcting problems enough to allow the solution to compile. Each time I  reached my limit, I’d soothe myself with reassurances I’d “get” the  rest of it, just not now; that I’d tackle it when the time was right.

Yesterday was my lucky day: I reattempted that task, and came out on top. It was a huge breakthrough — I got my code to call their interface. For the very first time, data was returned.

 I  tried to explain the euphoric feeling to my wife, using puzzle games  (which she loves): the feeling of accomplishment when you get everything  aligned and fit all the pieces in their proper place, and you place the  key into the lock— having failed so many times before — and FINALLY  hear the the chest unlock and see rays of light beaming from inside.

It really was a lot like that.

I  had trouble finding restful sleep last night, even having taken melatonin in advance. I was just too excited from my victory hours  earlier.

Before  diving back in with a renewed sense of direction, I thought I’d share  that breakthrough moment with you, and remind you of the importance of  faith: of faith in yourself, faith in your vision, faith that problems  will resolve when the time is right. I ask you try to be open to  accepting these notions and applying them in whatever form your art may  take.

 My  work is not done, but I’m thrilled to say I got a lot closer yesterday  evening than I would have imagined had I been asked in the morning; I  continue to work my clay, and my hopes are higher than ever I can share  it with the world soon…

… and buy more clay.

I thought I'd share with you an excerpt from a recent interview with Gwinneth Paltrow in VANITY FAIR. She was commenting on Brad Pitt's new line of skincare products when she said:

"I think for any entrepreneur, and Brad included, you have to be committed to the integrity and the authenticity in what you make," Paltrow said. "You have to know that you are making something  because you believe in it so much. That you have to make it because you believe the world needs to have it as opposed to creating a business for business' sake."

I believe  Gwinneth deserves a standing ovation for that statement! 

ONWARD!

"Hi Tony,

I’m pleased to inform you that your solution has advanced to the semifinalist round of Solve’s 2022 Global Challenges! Congratulations! Your solution was impressive, and we can tell you put a lot of thought and effort into your application.

We received over 1,100 applications this year, which makes your advancement incredibly notable."