It’s Going To Work
Believing in Progress, Even When You Can’t See It
It’s going to work. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow. But it’s going to work.
I’ve never run a marathon. I’ve contemplated it—entertained the idea of making ”being a guy who runs marathons” my whole personality. Neon shoes, tight shorts, sick Oakley sunglasses—I’ve thought about it. I’ve also thought about the time, commitment, and shin splints it takes to run one. That’s a lot. Maybe one day.
Right now, though, I’m in a different kind of marathon—a creative one. And I’m at that stage where I can’t see the finish line, and when I look back, I can’t see where I started. I’m in no man’s land. Right in the middle. This is the hardest part.
Dreams aren’t achieved when you cross the finish line; they’re made in the middle. They’re made when you decide to keep going, find that second wind, and push through the doubt and the unknown.
It’s going to work.
You have to believe it. You have to believe in yourself. You have to believe that you’re getting closer even when it feels like you haven’t moved an inch.
Progress isn’t linear. In a strange way, as creatives, this should be easy to understand. The creative process isn’t always linear—why should progress be? The best thing we can do is to show up every day, trust our intuition, and keep moving forward. One day, you’ll look up and realize you did it.
It’s going to work.
What is “it”? You’ll find out. Set your goals and do everything you can to work toward them, but be okay with evolving those goals. One of my favorite quotes says it best:
“Be stubborn with your dream, but be flexible on how you get there.”
We don’t always know the way—we’re just along for the ride. But if you stay true to yourself and your creativity, if you keep creating and repeating, it will work. You’ll get there. You’ll find out what “it” is.
It’s going to work.
In fact, it’s already working. You’re doing it. Keep going.
Keep creating and repeating,
- Zack
Podcast
A big earthquake hit in the middle of shooting this episode—it was scary, funny, and all the things! We show it in the first minute, so why not check it out? And if you stick around for the rest of the episode, even better.
In today’s episode, I sit down with my wife and co-founder, Morgan Evans, to tackle one of the most overlooked topics in the creative world: mental health. We dive deep into the impact of burnout, the importance of giving yourself permission to rest, and strategies for staying resilient through creative setbacks.
Would love for you to give it a watch!
Create.Repeat x Happy Editing 🔁🙂
We’ve teamed up with Happy Editing to bring you a curated collection of select editing assets, including film textures, text presets, and an exclusive film-inspired LUT—everything you need to elevate your creative projects. This collection is perfect for any creator’s library, with tools to bring both videos and photos to life.
These film textures and LUTs are what we use in all our videos, and the text preset is how we achieve that cool, grungy look. Right now, Happy Editing is offering a huge early Black Friday sale on the Create.Repeat pack and all their other packs. Don’t miss it—check it out!
Create.Repeat x Creator Camp
This weekend, we posted a collab with our friends at Creator Camp! If you’re not familiar, Creator Camp’s mission is to bring together and elevate the work of top digital storytellers and artists. For the past three years, they’ve united creatives from all over the world to foster community, push the boundaries of online creativity, and guide creators toward a future where their work can hit the big screen.
They just wrapped up their latest camp in SWITZERLAND (!!), where they brought creators together for a week of collaboration and creativity. Hoping I can make it to the next one!
Links keeping us creative:
🔴 Online Archive: A history of graphic design and typography from a nonprofit center for inspiration, education, and community in the graphic arts.
🚒 The Hydrant Gallery: A collection of color palettes inspired by fire hydrants, many of which have been creatively painted by neighborhood residents.
🌲 Pketh Archive: A creative blog from designer and engineer Pirijan.
🥧 Your pie doesn't need to be original (unless you claim it so): A short essay on creative expression.
Create.Repeat is a community for creatives.
The Create.Repeat Substack is a project designed to be a weekly diary on creativity. Sharing inspiration for artists to keep creating and repeating.
Written and curated by Zack Evans & James Warren Taylor
Each week we will be sharing recent thoughts on creativity, some links helping us stay creative, and soon will be including a talent show featuring an artist from the community. Thank you for engaging with us.
History repeats. Create the future.
Some Final Links:
Check Out The Podcast - Episode #5 Out Now! 🔁
In my experience, the path to success is either built on faith in one's self or the opportunities given to us by others (luck), and only one of those we have control over. Faith is essential because it grants us permission to create success for ourself.
love this and what y’all are doing with the podcast so far! here on all fronts for the journey