My Advice For You, Sol Lewitt.

I always get asked, “How did you build that?” The answer is that I just went for it, without hesitation, and figured it out.

I let go of questioning, will it work? What if it does not work? Will it make money? Instead, I adopted the feeling; am I having fun? Am I enjoying the practice of doing, building, and seeing where each new idea takes me?

If the answer is yes, I keep going.

Sol Lewitt, in 1965, wrote a letter to his sculptor friend, Eva Hesse, that conveys my sentiments exactly for any entrepreneur in the state of questioning. LeWitt urges Hesse to stop overthinking her art and let go of her expectations or attachments to what it must be:

Dear Eva,

It will be almost a month since you wrote to me and you have possibly forgotten your state of mind (I doubt it though). You seem the same as always, and being you, hate every minute of it. Don’t! Learn to say “Fuck You” to the world once in a while. You have every right to. Just stop thinking, worrying, looking over your shoulder, wondering, doubting, fearing, hurting, hoping for some easy way out, struggling, grasping, confusing, itching, scratching, mumbling, bumbling, grumbling, humbling, stumbling, numbling, rambling, gambling, tumbling, scumbling, scrambling, hitching, hatching, bitching, moaning, groaning, honing, boning, horse-shitting, hair-splitting, nit-picking, piss-trickling, nose sticking, ass-gouging, eyeball-poking, finger-pointing, alleyway-sneaking, long waiting, small stepping, evil-eyeing, back-scratching, searching, perching, besmirching, grinding, grinding, grinding away at yourself.

Stop it and just

DO

The masterpiece of a response LeWitt wrote on April 14, 1965 was later included in Letters of Note: Correspondence Deserving of a Wider Audience (public library)
Sol Lewitt

From your description, and from what I know of your previous work and your ability; the work you are doing sounds very good “Drawing — clean — clear but crazy like machines, larger and bolder… real nonsense.” That sounds fine, wonderful — real nonsense. Do more. More nonsensical, more crazy, more machines, more breasts, penises, cunts, whatever — make them abound with nonsense. Try and tickle something inside you, your “weird humor.” You belong in the most secret part of you. Don’t worry about cool, make your own uncool. Make your own, your own world. If you fear, make it work for you — draw & paint your fear & anxiety. And stop worrying about big, deep things such as “to decide on a purpose and way of life, a consistant [sic] approach to even some impossible end or even an imagined end.” You must practice being stupid, dumb, unthinking, empty.

Then you will be able to

DO

LeWitt reminds Hesse that perfectionism kills creativity and urges her to surrender the addiction to good work and instead use the bad as a springboard into the great.

The same goes for entrepreneurs; I have repeatedly been caught in this perfectionism cycle. Let go of perfection and the expectation that comes with it and enjoy the present, the process, and the journey.

Your mind does not know what you can create, but your heart does. So, get out of your mind and into your heart. Into your soul and your feelings, and build from your creative intuition.