"I am always doing what I cannot do yet, in order to learn how to do it." —Vincent van Gogh
He wrote this to his brother Theo while creating some of history's most revolutionary art. Yet Van Gogh spent his entire career doubting whether his bold colors and emotional brushstrokes had any value at all.
Sound familiar?
Van Gogh painted over 2,000 works and sold exactly one during his lifetime. Critics dismissed his vision as amateur. Yet today, his "failures" fundamentally shape how we see beauty, emotion, and possibility.
He was simultaneously right and catastrophically wrong about his impact. Right about the power of his work. Wrong about the timeline.
The most transformative contributions often follow this pattern. We create while questioning. We innovate while doubting. We push boundaries while wondering if we're simply pushing people away.
Van Gogh painted for audiences that didn't exist yet, people who wouldn't be born for generations. Today's innovators do the same, solving problems for a world still taking shape.
- What if your greatest contribution isn't about feeling confident, but about creating courageously despite the doubt?
