Build Creative Muscles Through Small Acts

Hey friends, Chase here

Let's talk about reality.

Not the abstract, philosophical version. Not the version you argue about over coffee or read about in some dusty book. I mean the reality you wake up inside every day.

The job. The schedule. The obligations. The story you tell yourself about what is "practical." The version of your life that everyone around you seems to agree is reasonable.

And then there's the other thing.

The thing you can see in your mind that does not exist yet.

The book. The business. The body of work. The new way of living. The creative practice. The conversation. The project. The identity. The version of your life that keeps tapping you on the shoulder, quietly asking, "Are we ever going to build this?"

This episode is about that tension.

It started with a Nietzsche quote I love: No artist tolerates reality.

But the point is not Nietzsche. The point is you.

Because too many of us spend years — sometimes decades — living inside somebody else's plan for our one precious life. We inherit the well-worn path. We internalize the "shoulds." We mistake convention for truth. We tell ourselves that creativity is indulgent, impractical, selfish, lofty, or naive.

And the more we repeat that story, the more it starts to feel like reality.

But here's the thing I want you to hear clearly:

Reality is not fixed. Reality is shaped.

And one of the most powerful ways you shape it is by creating.

This is the heart of the episode:

You are not here to simply accept the world as it has been handed to you.

You are not here to blindly follow the plan someone else wrote.

You are not here to wait until the world gives you permission to make something, become something, or live in a way that feels more true.

You are here to create.

And I don't mean that in a soft, decorative way. I mean it in the most practical way possible.

Creativity is not just painting, writing, photography, music, or design. Creativity is the foundation underneath every act of making anything in the world. A conversation is co-created. A relationship is co-created. A business is co-created. A life is co-created.

You cannot build anything meaningful without creativity.

Which means creativity is not extra.

Creativity is your birthright.

The Core Idea

Stop asking permission to create your life.

That's the message.

Not because you should abandon responsibility. Not because every idea you have will work. Not because the path is easy, obvious, or guaranteed.

But because waiting for permission is one of the most common ways we avoid our own agency.

We wait for someone to tell us it's okay.

We wait until the timing is better.

We wait until we have more money, more confidence, more clarity, more proof.

We wait until the world gives us a clean, logical reason to begin.

But most meaningful creative acts do not start with certainty. They start with a pull. A nudge. A frustration. A vision. A refusal to accept that the current version of reality is the only version available.

That is what artists do.

That is what entrepreneurs do.

That is what builders do.

That is what every person who has ever changed anything does.

They look at reality and say, "This is not the whole story."

Why Creativity Is Practical as Hell

One of the biggest lies our culture tells is that creativity is impractical.

You've probably heard some version of it.

Be realistic. Have a backup plan. Don't waste your time. That's not how the world works. Do something more responsible.

And to be clear, I'm not arguing against responsibility. I'm arguing against the idea that suppressing your creative agency is responsible.

Because the truth is, every useful thing around you was once imagined by someone.

The chair you're sitting in. The phone in your hand. The building you're inside. The app you use. The song that changed your mood. The book that changed your mind. The business that changed your life.

All of it was invented, dreamed up, shaped, built, and brought into the world by people who were no more inherently magical than you.

They saw something that did not yet exist, and they acted.

That is creativity.

And the more you practice creating in small ways, the more you build the muscle to create in bigger ways.

It's only by creating something that you learn you can create anything.

And eventually, you start to understand that you can create not just objects, projects, or art — but change.

Change in your work. Change in your habits. Change in your relationships. Change in your identity. Change in the way you experience your own life.

What You'll Hear in This Episode

This is a short micro show, but it goes straight at the heart of creative agency. Here are the ideas worth listening for — and coming back to when you need a reminder that you are allowed to build the thing you see in your mind.

• Why so many of us live inside someone else's plan without realizing it
• How culture trains us to see creativity as impractical when it is actually foundational
• Why creativity is your birthright and not a luxury reserved for a special few
• How creating in small daily ways builds the capacity for bigger change
• Why the current version of reality is not the final version
• What it means to stop tolerating reality and start shaping it
• How to identify the thing inside you that is asking to be built

Timecodes (So You Can Jump to What You Need)

If you're not listening straight through, here are a few landmarks to help you find the part that speaks to where you are right now:

• 01:50 – The Nietzsche quote that sparked this episode: "No artist tolerates reality"
• 02:24 – Why the trap of someone else's plan is an illusion
• 03:16 – Creativity as your birthright
• 04:16 – Why creativity is practical, generous, and life-changing
• 05:35 – Reality is shaped by us
• 06:32 – Bringing new ideas into the world, from books to platforms
• 07:26 – What happens when people tell you your idea is stupid
• 08:16 – Steve Jobs, reality distortion, and refusing the status quo
• 09:05 – Why it is your job to stop tolerating the reality you live in
• 09:50 – A direct call to action: what can you build right now?

Read This If You Feel Trapped

If you feel like you're living a life that doesn't quite fit, I want you to be careful with the story you tell yourself.

Because the first story is usually, "I can't."

I can't change careers. I can't make the thing. I can't start over. I can't say what I really want. I can't build something new. I can't disappoint people. I can't afford to be creative. I can't risk being wrong.

But underneath "I can't" there is often something else:

I'm scared. I don't know where to begin. I'm waiting for permission. I don't want to be judged. I don't want to fail publicly. I don't want to discover that the dream matters more to me than I admitted.

That's human.

But it is not the end of the story.

Because the question is not whether you can transform your entire life overnight. The question is whether you can take one creative action that proves to you that the current reality is not absolute.

Can you write the first page?

Can you make the first call?

Can you sketch the idea?

Can you block the hour?

Can you start the conversation?

Can you make the prototype?

Can you tell the truth?

Can you take one step toward the life you keep imagining?

That is where agency begins.

The World Wants You to Be Reasonable

The world has a narrative it wants you to fit comfortably inside.

It wants you to do what is practical, measurable, explainable, and familiar.

It wants you to make choices that are easy to defend at dinner parties.

It wants you to stay on the well-trodden path.

And again, there is nothing wrong with practicality. There is nothing wrong with stability. There is nothing wrong with being thoughtful, strategic, and grounded.

But there is a problem when "being realistic" becomes a disguise for abandoning yourself.

There is a problem when you use other people's expectations as evidence against your own intuition.

There is a problem when you confuse safety with aliveness.

Your creative life does not need to make sense to everyone at the beginning.

Most new realities don't.

The thing you see might not exist yet. That does not make it impossible. It makes it yours to explore.

What Are You Here to Make?

One of the questions I ask in this episode is simple:

What are you doing to shift reality?

Not someday. Not when the market is perfect. Not when everyone understands. Not when you finally feel completely ready.

Now.

And I don't necessarily mean some giant, world-changing, billion-dollar idea.

Yes, some changes are massive. Some ideas become companies, movements, inventions, platforms, or bodies of work that reach millions of people.

But not all meaningful change looks like that.

Sometimes changing reality means changing the way you spend your mornings.

Sometimes it means making art again after years away.

Sometimes it means building a healthier body.

Sometimes it means leaving a role that no longer fits.

Sometimes it means saying yes to the project that scares you.

Sometimes it means refusing to let the most honest part of you stay buried.

Even if the only reality you change at first is your own, that matters.

Because your life is not separate from the world.

When you become more alive, more honest, more creative, and more engaged, that ripples outward.

Questions to Ask Yourself

If you want to turn this episode into action, take five minutes and sit with these:

• Where in my life am I waiting for permission?
• What part of my current reality have I mistaken for something permanent?
• What is the thing I keep imagining but keep postponing?
• Who told me this path was impractical — and do I actually believe them?
• What small creative act would remind me that I have agency?
• What would I build if I stopped needing everyone to understand first?
• What is one part of my life that I am no longer willing to tolerate?

A Simple Practice for Reclaiming Agency

Here's something you can do immediately.

Not as theory. Not as inspiration. As practice.

• Name one reality you are no longer willing to accept. Be specific. Don't write a vague complaint. Write the thing plainly.
• Name the reality you want to create instead. Again, be specific. What would be different? What would you feel? What would exist?
• Choose one action you can take in the next 24 hours. Make it small enough that you can actually do it.
• Do it before you ask for feedback. Let action come before permission.
• Repeat tomorrow. Agency is built through repetition.

The point is not to blow up your life.

The point is to stop outsourcing your authorship.

You do not need to wait for the perfect conditions to begin shaping reality. You only need to take the next honest creative action.

The Takeaway

The reality you live in right now is finite.

But you are not.

You have the ability to add something. To make something. To shape an experience. To invent a solution. To build a practice. To create a body of work. To change the way your life feels from the inside.

That does not happen by tolerating everything exactly as it is.

It happens when you notice the gap between what exists and what could exist — and you decide to participate.

So here's the call to action:

What can you build?

What can you change?

What can you stop tolerating?

What can you create that would make your life — and maybe someone else's life — more alive, more useful, more honest, or more free?

Because the only thing that has ever made this world better is someone deciding that the current reality was not enough.

Someone like you.

Until next time: stop asking permission, trust the thing you can see, and create the life that keeps calling you forward.