83: Cebo Campbell on Putting Everything Into Your Work, Taking Your Time, and Striving to be the Best

Cebo Campbell grew up with a father and a community only interested in one of his talents: football. When he was a kid, his father was the coach of his football team where he stressed one thing, be the best you can be. Cebo took that advice to heart and became a dynamic football player, but due to his height, only got a football scholarship from one school. So he took it.

This is when Cebo started to shift his focus from athletics to academics. He was always creative, but it wasn't until his teacher encouraged him to major in writing that he truly started to focus on it. When you're a football player, your teammates shun you for being smart, so Cebo always tried to hide that part of his life. But after winning a writing competition as a freshman, he realized there was something there, so he ran with it.

After graduating and spending a short stint on the west coast, Cebo moved back to Florida and worked at a hotel. While working at the hotel, he convinced the owner to let him work on the hotel's website. This would be the second big shift in his life.

Cebo became interested in everything he could accomplish with website design and writing. So much so that he went to a conference centered around it. That's where he met AJ Leon. Cebo and AJ hit it off immediately. This fateful meeting ended up being the beginning of a great friendship, and eventually a job as the creative director of Misfit Inc.

In this episode, Cebo talks about why you should put your all into your work, why you should take your time, and why you should always strive to be the best.

Here are three things you can learn from Cebo:

Put Your All Into Your Work

Something Cebo believes in is the power of pouring yourself into your work. Most people believe talent is the ultimate predictor of great work, but Cebo believes great work is the result of being completely present when you're creating.

"When it comes to what is good... that whole measure, I don't think measure exists in your talent. I think the measure is in how much of you are you allowing into be present in the work that you do. Can I see it? Can I feel it?"

One of the things that prevents most of us from putting ourselves into our work is that when you make something personal, you open yourself up to criticism. But Cebo doesn't let that criticism stop him.

"The minute that you allow yourself to be into the work that you created, you open yourself up to criticism and I have no fear of criticism."

That's the problem many creatives have. They are afraid to expose themselves to criticism from the world, so they play it safe.

"That's true of a lot of creatives. They're afraid of being exposed, and so they do just enough as opposed to letting it all hang out."

And that's what separates Cebo's remarkable work and distinct style from most creators. He is willing to put everything into his work, even if it means opening himself up to vulnerability. If you want to make an impact with your work, you have to be willing to accept and embrace views from the outside world.

Don't Be in Such a Hurry

One of the burdens of being an artist is knowing when one of our pieces is ready for the world. Sometimes we toil over it for days, and other times we try to get it out as quickly as possible.

Cebo believes we shouldn't be in such a hurry to release our work. We need to own it and chisel it until it's ready.

"Not everything has to be shipped so fast. Not everything has to get out the door. Not everything has to be expedited. Start. Control it. Own it. Make it the way you want it to be. Chisel it if it needs to be chiseled. That's just how I look at it... I don't want to be here today, gone tomorrow."

Our necessity to get things out quickly is especially true of people who work in the digital space.

"We have a tendency, in particular with the web, any digital interface, to time stamp it to the trends of today."

Cebo doesn't believe in following today's trends. He wants his work to stand the test of time.

"I am very particular about my art. The same way I was very particular about playing sports... When it comes to art, I have no problem saying it's not ready."

Even though much of his work lives on the web, Cebo doesn't treat projects like one and dones. He doesn't let other people dictate his work. He treats everything he does like a piece of art.

"If it's not ready, it's just not ready. I hold to that because I think in the end it's art. If you abide by the rules that other people are imposing on both time and completion, then it's not your art anymore."

That's the way we should all consider approaching our work. Whether you're a writer, musician, or painter. You should treat each piece like a work of art you can be proud of.

Always Strive to Be the Best

Often times we will settle for good enough. We work so long on a project that it starts to feel like a burden. We want to get it out of our hands so we can stop worrying about it.

This mindset often holds us back from achieving greatness in our work. But if we want to create our best work, we need to trust ourselves and stop holding back.

"I believe wholeheartedly that you have to trust your talent... and there's so many people that I work with, where you can feel them holding back. You can feel it. You can see it in the work, where they're just holding back, holding back, holding back because they're afraid their skill set doesn't allow them to go further. But I will tell anyone, when I do design workshops, don't let up. What you don't know now, you'll learn. You have everything you need to do everything you want so just keep at it and you'll get where you want to go."

Always doing your best can be a challenge, but no one ever said being an artist would be easy. Anyone can create art, but very few people can create great art.

"I think it's a challenge, and it's not just a challenge to art. it's a challenge to us as humans to be the best that you can be. Take it there... If it's not where you think it should be, hold onto it."

Cebo doesn't settle for good enough. He puts everything into his work. Even though he knows he might not be the best at everything, that doesn't stop him from doing his best. That's the attitude he wants everyone to pursue, not just with their art but in everything they do.

"It's only the best that I know. It doesn't mean I'm going to be better than every person in the world. I just want to realize the potential that I feel that I have, and I think individually as a pursuit for everyone, not just in art, but in their lives just go out with intention and purpose. Take yourself seriously."

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