You don’t really think about what makes an artist unique until you see the tools of their creation up close. Recently, I visited the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio and while looking at artifact after artifact I started to see a pattern: intense customization. Most artists memorialized in this shrine to music didn’t buy their greatness off the rack, they shaped it through their own hands and creative collaborations. There were wires sticking out of guitar bodies, unique shapes with multiple finishes, endless knobs and faders, and costumes adorned with everything from spikes and patches to mirrors and leather. While most of us will never be inducted into any hall of fame, we can learn from our heroes. Fast forward 30 years into your career, will you be remembered for the way you shaped your tools to bring your vision to life? Or will you be as forgettable as the prompts you used to generate acceptance in a world filled with conformists?

How do you discover necessary patterns of change in your life? For me, I journal, writing down emotions, successes, and failures throughout moments in time. For decades, I lacked consistency, but in late 2023, inspired by a video on my friend Jack’s YouTube channel, I started a daily log of thoughts and ideas. Yesterday, I came across a notebook from 2019–2020, so I traveled back in time to see what was going on six years ago. What did I find? An entry that could have been written today. I honestly felt discouraged. What’s the point of keeping a journal if it doesn’t help you identify recurring patterns before they become problems? Yes, journals can help us find patterns, but you actually have to do something with them. You have to make the decision to change, then actually do it.