Don’t slay your dragon; share it with someone else
Two people sit looking at a pool. One says “I think a dragon lives down there” and felt silly saying so.
The other leans forward. “Yes. But not a normal dragon.”
So they dream one up together.1
Just like them, you see things nobody else does. Weird gaps that call at you. Strange problems that only you seem to understand. Obsessions that won’t let go.
You may think it’s too small to care about. Too immaterial. But that’s exactly the point. You cared because that’s your dragon.
Slaying it will be trying to be like others. Trying to be normal. Instead, sit with it to understand it. Share it someone who gets it. Then, make it real. Put yourself on the line and fill that weird gap with what you make. Make it in ways that those you made it for can feel what you felt.
Maybe that’s the secret all along. We were all born weird so we can spot gaps visible to just us, and a few people like us. The best gift is to share that weirdness with others - through the things we make, the stories we tell, and the problems we help solve.
From a book I’m currently loving. I’ll talk more about it in the next post.