Take Back Your Markers

Adrian S. Potter
2 min readFeb 23, 2019

Listening to Your Inner Voice Like Steve Jobs (The Secondhand Inspiration Project)

Photo by chuttersnap on Unsplash

The Secondhand Inspiration Project begins with a motivational quote and ventures wherever the creative path meanders.

“Don’t let the noise of other’s opinions drown out your own inner voice.” — Steve Jobs

Everyone is born creative. We all get a box of markers in pre-school and use them to develop vivid masterpieces. But as we mature, the world snatches our markers away and replaces them with credit card bills, dull hopes, and burgeoning responsibilities. Ugh.

Years later, we recall how fun creativity can be. It’s that little kid inside. They want their markers back.

Even then, we doubt because that’s what adults do. We question everything. Can I really write a screenplay? Should I start coding without lessons? My cookies aren’t good enough to sell, are they?

But asking whether you can do something or if there’s a pot of gold at the end of the creative rainbow isn’t your inner voice begging for markers. It’s your adult voice tediously analyzing the situation and trying to get your inner child to shut the hell up.

The kid inside isn’t selling you on the merits of imagination. They aren’t calculating the benefit/cost ratio of following your passions. They just want to make…

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Adrian S. Potter

Antisocial Extrovert · Writer and Poet, Engineer, Consultant, Public Speaker · Writing about self-improvement, gratitude, and creativity · www.adrianspotter.com