#84 On The Act of Creating

This week I’ve been deep in music production. Haven’t shared any of it yet, but the act of creating is happening daily. I'm building tracks on Logic Pro X, layering sounds from scratch, learning new tools, and letting my ears guide the creation. No vocals from me (yet) just instrumentals that I’d want to create to, bop my head to, work to. That’s what I’m making. Something evergreen.

I’m learning that not all dreams are for me. I’m not trying to be a singer or a rapper. That’s not the dream with the music production. Producing ambient tracks that can sit in the background as someone else is creating, that feels like mine. But it’s easy to get boxed in by yourself or by others. People see you in one role and struggle to see you in another... he's just his profession or he's just my relative (brother, cousin, son). Like Christ said, a prophet has no honor in his hometown. People who’ve known you too long don’t always see the shift when it’s happening. They see who you were, not who you’re becoming.

That brings me to a scene from the movie Blow. There’s this moment where Diego (NOT Pedro... I said Pedro on the pod) tells Johnny Depp’s character, “You didn’t fail because you got caught. You failed because you had the wrong dream.” That hit. Sometimes it’s not that you weren’t good enough... it’s that the dream wasn’t yours. But once you find the right dream, that’s when you start building. And you have to be willing to start over. Even if you’ve already poured time, money, energy into the wrong thing. That’s the sunk cost fallacy talking. Let it go. Reset. Build again.

In this episode of Happy Human, I talk about choosing the right dream. Not the one that looks impressive or gets applause. The one that feels aligned. The one you’d make even if no one clapped. I tie that into my Happy Human sweater too... how it was always meant to be a crewneck, not a tee. Something you throw on at night, after a workout, while watching a movie. The top layer. The original one I made in 2018 still holds up. Simple. Intentional. Evergreen.

I also talk about this scene from the Jeen-Yuhs documentary... episode 2. Kanye’s in the studio with Jay-Z and asks if he can rap. He wasn’t seen as a rapper at the time. Just a producer. But he asked. He stepped up. Jay-Z let him jump in and the track made the album. Afterwards, Jay-Z tells him, “I’m glad you said something. A closed mouth don’t get fed.” That’s a line I’ve that got my attention... I've heard it in spanish... El que no Habla, Dios no lo escucha. You’ve got to speak up. Share the work. No one can feed a dream they don’t know exists.

But sharing isn’t about dumping your struggle on people. I’ve been thinking a lot about that. There’s a difference between showing the behind-the-scenes of the build and making pity posts about how hard it is. I don’t want to lead with “look how tired I am.” I’d rather show the process, the approach, the tools. Because not everyone watching is cheering. Some are competing. And if you share too much of the struggle, someone else might use it to outrun you. That’s just real.

So I’m focused on sharing what I am doing... like these episodes, the blog posts, the music, the app. I want the app to feel intuitive, easy to use, like any age can use it. You download it, you see the blog, the podcast, the art, the product... all in one place. And if you become a member, you can message me directly. That’s intentional design. Just like the music. Just like the sweater.

Creating something from nothing is hard. But that’s what makes it worth doing. Like Diego also says in Blow: “El mágico.” The one who turns nothing into something. That’s what creators do. That’s what I’m doing. That’s the act.

Check out the latest art and tees at happyhuman.studio, or download the Happy Human app on the App Store or Google Play. Tap the top left profile icon to become a member and I’ll give you a digital Happy Human badge when you do.

If you’re listening on Spotify, hit follow, leave a comment, and send this to someone building their own version of the right dream.

Being happy makes you have a good day. Words by Bella.