Start Valuing Your Mess

On rough edges, connection and building without having it all figured out

I’ve been in a pretty confused state lately.

I want to do more with No Set Path but haven’t really been sure what the next step is.

The newsletter feels like one thing. The podcast feels like another. How do I make them work together in a way that feels natural instead of forced?

I expressed this to a friend of mine over coffee and he came back with this:

“I think IT knows what it is, but you’re trying to find it.”

I sat with that for a second.

Actually, (spoiler alert) I’m still sitting with it.

I’ve been trying to nail down something that maybe needs to stay loose and slightly unrefined. Trying to figure out the right way to present myself, the right way to connect these pieces, the exact formula to build this thing.

But what if there isn’t a right way?

What if the mess is the way?

People Crave Messy

I’ve been noticing something lately, both in my own work and in conversations with creators trying to build something of their own:

People want the unfiltered stuff.

Not polished. Not perfect. Not the “I’ve got it all figured out” content that’s everywhere.

They want MESSY.

AI can make things perfect now. Maybe too perfect. Sterile. Impersonal. Optimized to death.

Video content used to be all about high-production quality and cinematic storytelling. Now, it’s seemingly quantity over quality. Vertical iPhone videos are winning the attention race.

But take a moment to think about what’s actually valuable in the creative economy right now. High quality output and expertise used to be everything. Now, those feel like commodities.

When tools and knowledge are everywhere and accessible to everyone, when anyone can generate “good enough” content with the right prompt, what matters?

Your unique perspective. Your real experience. Your willingness to show the stumbles.

The mess isn’t a bug. It’s a feature.

It’s what people are actually searching for.

My Own Messy Experiment

I say all this while finding it incredibly hard to practice myself.

I’m going to get really honest for a moment here…

The last six months have been professionally messy in ways I didn’t expect.

• Revenue’s been inconsistent.

• My identity as a cinematographer feels like it’s shifting under my feet.

• I’m not entirely sure where the film work ends and this new thing begins.

Some days I wake up clear on the direction. Other days I’m questioning everything with no idea where I’m heading next.

But something interesting happened when I started to put that raw material out there.

I posted one of my first solo talking-head videos on Instagram. Just me, thinking out loud about creative transitions.

Nothing refined. No script. Just thoughts I was working through as I went.

I figured, “why not?”

A buddy from the film business texted me afterward:

“You popped into my mind and it might sound cheesy but please keep going with what you’re building.”

Then, an old friend from my music days emailed to say he loved reading my newsletter.

These weren’t responses to my best work. They were responses to my most real work.

Every time I’ve put pieces of myself out there publicly, people notice. Not because it’s perfect, but because it’s present.

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The Fear vs. The Reality

Everyone’s afraid of the same thing…

If you show the rough edges, you’ll lose whatever credibility you’ve built.

When you scroll through your feed, everyone seems to have answers:

They’re “crushing it”. They’re ten steps ahead with a framework to sell you, morning routines that changed everything, or the exact blueprint for success.

So we curate ourselves into perfection. We hide the behind-the-scenes struggle. We wait until we’ve “figured it all out” before we share anything.

(Ask me how I know.)

But I keep running into this paradox:

The fear is losing credibility by showing mess. The reality is gaining connection by embracing it.

Yes, credibility might get someone to click. But connection? That’s what gets someone to stay, to engage, to actually care about what you’re building.

There’s this gap between what we’re afraid will happen and what actually happens. And that gap is where the opportunity lives.

Where This Is All Going

Well, my friend was right. “IT” does know what it is.

No Set Path isn’t meant to be perfectly curated. It’s meant to be exactly what the name suggests:

An exploration of building a creative life without a predetermined route. Done in public to build community and connection.

The stumbles aren’t mistakes or missteps. They’re proof the journey is real.

So I’m choosing more of the imperfect.

• More real-time figuring out.

• More vulnerability about the professional uncertainty, the revenue gaps, the identity shifts that come with building something new in your forties.

• More unrefined discovery with community.

Not because “messy” is a strategy (though apparently it might be), but because it’s the only honest way to do this.

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So here’s my challenge to you:

What are you hiding because you think it’ll cost you credibility?

What stumble, struggle, or half-baked idea are you sitting on because it’s not “ready” yet?

What if the very thing you’re afraid to show the world is exactly what someone else needs to see?

The works-in-progress are more valuable than you think. They certainly have been for me.

Now, go do something with it.

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🚨 If this resonated, hit reply and tell me about your mess. I read every response, and honestly, knowing I’m not alone in this makes the whole thing worth it.

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P.S. - I’d love to hear from you to know what’s on your mind and what you’re curious about. If you have 1-minute (literally) to fill out THIS FORM, it would be much appreciated! 🙏

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