Stay New But Don’t Forget Your Old Accomplishments

6 days ago3 min read

Updated: 2 days ago

The Sleeping Babysitter by Walter Von Egidy

Be in the moment and stay new but don’t forget your old accomplishments. Recently, helping people organize projects, I’ve seen friends dismissing exceptional work because they did it long ago. I get it, but watch what you leave in storage.

I’m not talking about raising a family, degrees, or a life of service, as those are incalculable. I refer to artistic creations; painting, music, clothing design, custom carpentry, anything. What you created in the past matters. We all change, but not that much.

I Enjoy New Things, But…

If I spent my time with nothing but new artistic creations, I’d be lost. Regrettably, I suspect everything new is created with some form of AI until proven otherwise. Thanks to scammers, politicians and steroid users, the presumption of authenticity has become an unfortunate casualty.

Contrastingly, I consume lots of new material, searching for the next great song or book. It’s out there, but everything new is a mystery until it becomes legend, which is why it deserves a chance.

Nothing Ages Like Art

Many of you created something. Extraordinary effort went into it. Artists are critical of their work, and most are desperate to maintain an edge. They are usually perfectionists and go to extremes to live their visions.

I think of friends like Elise Belew, Doug Branson, Eileen Gogan and Mike Walsh as songwriters/musicians, for instance. Each has recordings from decades ago but still ply their craft, timeless in their pursuits, and their material is readily available. I have no idea what they think of their work, but I still listen to their recordings and they sound fresh.

I hear background songs on streaming channels that could easily be by dB+1 (Doug), Future Tense (Mike), Eileen Gogan or The Mary Dream (Elise), recorded in the 90s, 2000s or later. Conversely, much of the music used in new TV commercials is 50 years old or older.

When I think of art, I think John Coutinho, Deanne Dixon, and Walter Von Egidy, to name a few friends. Each has been drawing, painting and illustrating since they were kids, and you can see it online.

It’s In a Box With Old Concert Tickets and Floppy Disks?

I know more than a few who shun their old recordings, films or artwork. Their negative associations arise from frustration rather than lack of talent. Then again, maybe their subjects revolved around mushrooms, weed and tequila. Sometimes it’s better to move on.

As dated as your old creations may be, even by months, you'll find seeds of brilliance that you never fleshed out. It may have been a chore then, but you have the patience for it now.

Why Would Anyone Read This?

The most viewed story I’ve ever written is an album review of North of a Miracle by British singer Nick Heyward. I wrote it in 20 minutes 15 years ago, and I’ve seen it on more sites than I can count. It’s been posted as an Amazon review twice, and not by me. No one’s ever heard of it, I thought, but you never know. Maybe it’s one dude who took it and ran with it. Thanks dude!

FYI I’ve yet to collect a royalty.