This post was the introductory note to issue 16 of The Black Fantastic newsletter.
There’s no shortage of blogs, podcasts and books on tackling big projects. Big projects are challenging not only because of their complexity, but because they’re about staking out a big vision. And some times what holds us back is fear of articulating and acting on that vision we have for ourselves.
Fear keeps us from moving forward towards what we want. Truth is, any time you say what you want, you might fail. Or somebody might say no. Or they might give you all the reasons it won’t work, and you might believe them. Or worse, they might judge you on that thing you kept buried deep in your heart. I have all these conversations with myself on a regular basis.
Right now, for example, I’m struggling with how to build the 2021 version of the New Black Imagination Festival. In my mind, it really is a “Black TED conference” with all the success, sustainability, and impact of the original. The difference is, TED’s been around for nearly 40 years and it’s been almost a decade since I did my last Festival. So you see why it feels kinda intimidating.
To get around that, the first thing I’m going to do is not try to figure this out on my own. Some of y’all will be getting a call from me very shortly. While I’m in this transition period, it’s a good time to change up my approach. I’ve often opted to do things on my own, but I know that can only get me so far. I’m also going to change how I think about the Festival and frame it more as a project. Calling this a project suggests an open-ended experiment vs it being some interminable slog to reach a pre-defined end point. I don’t have to build my 20 or 30 year vision right now. I can focus on enjoying this part of the journey, see where it leads and what opens up for me. And there’s no time like now.
Let’s go!
