My little hater is telling me to not write this because no one will feel where I'm coming from. But at the end of the day creativity is faith (IMHO). Faith in yourself to produce something worth while and faith in your audience to be able to appreciate all the hard work you put into whatever you're trying to create. No this doesn't mean that any creative person should be above criticism, but it's nice when it's constructive and well thought out and not just someone trolling and pooping all over your hard work.

Exposing your 'faith' for the judgment of others can be nerve racking.

lemme just say I checked this fuckin site twice a day waitin for a video. Don't worry dude, we dig ya shit

Jay! Nice to see you hard at work on videos again.
My little hater usually sounds like a sarcastic me.
The hater in me tells me to dumb it down, to not ask smart questions in interviews, to use simpler ideas in my writing.
I ignore him and keep on writing, even when it's hard.
Telling yourself that you know you do quality work is a good way to start off beating him/her.

> lemme just say I checked this fuckin site twice a day waitin for a video

Let me just say: RSS :)

I’m not particularly creative, but I procrastinate a lot when it comes to work. For me, the thought of doing work is worse than actually doing it, so I find it really hard to start.

But once I start, and get the work into my head (I’m a web developer, so work only taxes my brain), I can make progress and get some of it done. I just have to remember to force myself to start every day, because I feel much better once I’ve done some of it.

My little hater just says "oh nobody cares what you think". Because on the internet, there's content everywhere, and somebody always did something before you did it or better than you did it or they're doing it bigger.

I used a video of yours in a lecture I gave a few months ago - I tried to email you. Anyway, keep going with the videos, nobody is doing it better than you.

My little hater generally tells me to kill others.

But let's not dig into that one.

Hey, are you going to offer an embeddable version for this one? I can't find an option for that.

I was all set to do a post with your video and now the little hater says to kill you cause I can't embed your video.

Crazy, huh?

Seriously, though, what's up with the embedding situation?

My little hater keeps pointing out that people are already doing things I'm trying to do; and they're already doing them better. I remind my little hater that "better" is in the eye of the beholder and my best ish is just as good - sometimes better - than everyone else's. And my little hater sucks air and says "Yeah, but you don't always do your *best* now do you?". So I remind that mofo that I've recieved emails and comments from people all over the world thanking me for even my smallest contributions. And then my little hater laughs and point at my bank account. (My litttle hater is sorta winning today).

Jay, thanks for this--the demons are especially nasty about the holidays.

As I just twittered, you've inspired me to sucker punch mine, and I am going to start vlogging (putting my face in front of the camera) in 2008.

Here's to hoping the little haters are like vampires--exposed to light, their powers shrink...

This post is far too relevant for me...

My little hater is my ego. My problem/anxiety/hater appears when I try to write papers for my classes. I can't let other people think that I am not intelligent so my papers MUST be perfect. For some reason, I have it built up in my head that attempting formal writing without being an amazing writer is evidence that you are not intelligent. This means that my papers never actually get done, or at least handed in...

Good to have you back again

If you had a video-blog that pumped out 10 times as many posts with half of the insight and style that you currently have- I would still watch every day.

Thanks
-Jacob

The way I stay productive is by stealing other people's ideas... no, really! I'm in graphic design, and one of the first things you learn is, there's absolutely nothing that hasn't already been done. The trick is to do it better.

When I'm stumped on a project, I take a walk, look around, flip through some magazines, look in store windows, surf the net, all with one purpose in mind: gathering ideas.

Then I might pull elements from the various things I've seen, put a shani-o twist on 'em and call it a day!

Forgot to add: glad to see you're back!

im scared to make hip-hop because i'm white

im scared to actually study for the final i have at 12:30

and i guess im a perfectionist because i just edited this post thrice..

Welcome to the wonderful world of Podfade! A couple of months ago at a podcamp here in Toronto Brent and I covered a session on Podfade. And as a fellow video podcaster I can relate...

But in all honesty... say anything, and say it often. Someone in your audience will resonate with it... and because you're posting regularly even if you have an "off" post... the bulk of your work will carry your less then stellar ones. Even crazier.... it might be one of those off videos that actually draw ppl in. You never know.

One of my "beating the little hater" posts ended up touching on a topic alot of people search for, "Is classical music really techno?" It regularly shows up as a search result in my logs, and that may have brought me a whole audience outside of my normal scene. The episode is _very_ outside of my normal show.... but I had to do it to beat the lil'hater. Now I'm 32+ episodes past that one and still going strong.

Just press and go!... don't let the Podfade get ya!

Sounds like it should be a children's book...

My Little Hater, by Jay Smooth, illustrations by the Megatron Don.

on another note, I found a solution to killing off these little haters. Drink a 40oz then chase it with some liquid tide!

I shouldn’t even be allowed to touch this subject but since you ask.…

Ignore the perfectionist. Just create for the sake of it. Than leave it alone for a couple of days, basically just forget about it. When it's forgotten watch it back, judge with a fresh mind. Most of the times it’s you'll be more positive about it then where you was in the proses of creating or just after. If not… you created some proper crap my friend. That's ok tho, go back to step 1.

The thing that's worked for me.. is the Seinfeld secret of "don't break the chain" - write or draw or rap or do whatever every day every day every day. Even if it sucks donkey balls, you at least got SOMETHING down.

http://lifehacker.com/software/motivation/jerry-seinfelds-productivity-secret-281626.php

how can someone ignore the perfectionist that will just spiral into some sort of bizarre anxiety attack and nobody will sleep at night....but i think most everyone falls into this category at some point in time in their life.....

unfortunately i stumble into it 2-3 times a week and end up mindlessly watching mc battles and white kids set them self on fire via the net....because if there is one thing to combat procrastination and perfectionism its watching the downfall of others...

More than any other piece of content you've produced so far, this one resonates with me the most. My lil' hater is a beast, on the real!

I actually try to consume as much contents by cats like you, and some crucial others, to help pull me through the fire.

Naturally, I fail daily -- for all the reasons you've identified. The times that I am able to produce something and get it out there, there is relief.

What do you have to say though, about that hater that raises up once you've published your content (but then no one says anything about it -- good or bad?!?)

Marinate :)

I think the little hater is what they call "automatic thoughts" in cognitive therapy. You're minding your own business, about to get some work done, when you look over and see an envelope. The envelope makes you think of your bills, your bills make you wonder if you have enough money, the money questions give rise to questions of whether you should have stayed in college, then questions about your ability to finish anything, followed by wondering if you're even qualified to do the job that you were about to do. And we're back to the money...

Everybody has them - the key is to recognize when you're going down the path, then figure out how to break out. Sit down and really think about the questions you're asking yourself and come up with new answers: I don't have to worry about the bills because it isn't the 12th, and that's the day I pay bills. Hell yeah I'm glad I quit college. Whether I think I can do this job or not, my boss sure does, and if he doesn't like the work I do, he can tell me. And on and on.

My late wife had the hardest time with this - every area of her life had been infected with automatic thoughts, and I had to talk her out of them any time I saw her sitting quietly and getting frustrated. But you can shut that little hater up yourself: just write down the thoughts, come up with better answers, and break that chain next time it comes around.

Jay, I know how it feels man. My little hater causes me to do shit last min. I started a blog but I have not done anything in like a month. My little hater tells me that I have no time for that. The same thing goes when I do leadership stuff. My little hater asks Whats the point in doing what I do? I wish I could kill that little hater. lol. The way I stop him is to remember that I am in school to get that degree and I do the blog and leadership thing because they are my passion. My blog will be up and running over this winter break. I am getting a laptop. So, no more excuses. Check out my blog, Jay. I would like to get some feedback from you. http://hiphoponmymind.blogspot.com/ Take care, Jay. Fight your little hater!!!

Word Son, I feel you 100% dude, i know exactly what feel like
dude i reside here in the ATL and am constantly trying to stay focus and inspired. Where i get my fuel is basically my creative comrades
they really inspire to improve my style and my grind. yo keep doing what you do an i do commend you on being so honest.THANX.
Yo by the have you ever thought about allowing you vblog to be
available in itunes. hope so cause i really love to take your vlog on the go.
peace
chastarr

i like switching to a different medium if i'm being too much of a perfectionist

if the bar's too high for me writing, then doodling/messing around on a keyboard/finger-painting for a while with no expectations is a good way to get back into the flow of things

spot on. effing story of my life!! might have to do a little hater blog myself but apply it to relationships.

great video.

my litte hater tells me that it's all going to stop tomorrow. that time is running out. that if i don't double my efforts and my output, i won't be able to keep up. that if i don't answer every email from every person i'll fuck my karma irreparably.

so i just remind myself that it's a marathon and not a sprint. and i remember a great quote from bill cosby (before he went off the deep end): "99% of our unhappiness in life comes from comparing ourselves to others."

also, chocolate helps too. i'm just sayin'.

It is even worse when you are making physical products...like shirts. Ideas are almost never good enough for my little hater. It is even worse when you ignore the hater and make it anyways...then no one buys it...or very few.

mrh....

keep up the good video man! and if you ever need shirts...let me know...

Keep those videos coming, man, I check for a new one every day.

The best way that I have to avoid procrastination is to go to a place in which I can't do anything else but work. I'm not sure how this translates for making videos, but get out of your room, get off the internet, go to a library or somewhere to write out your ideas and do whatever research you do, then go film! As for editing, the best thing would be some school's video editing lab so you can do it without being on the internet and stuff, but I guess you don't have access.

Good luck

My little hater is like, "Look at that, 0 page views for today. Why do you do this?!? This is your Christmas break you should be sleeping and watching movies not blogging. Just quit you'll never get any readers."

Then I trick my little hater and say, "You're right I'm just going to write this one sentence then get back to doing nothing." Before he knows it I've done two blog post and have even more ideas.

My trick is to get myself to start by saying I'll only do a little, but I usually continue until I'm done...

first of all, glad to see you're back.

my little hater tells me not to take chances and to just stick with mediocrity because it seems to be working. i have a hard time breaking from this slump usually, but all it takes is a fire lit to get me going again. keep your head up and keep your eyes open, opportunity is always around.

I'm ADD. No joke. Which means I can be crazy creative yet I'm easily distracted. It's hard to stay focused for long periods of time. I'm also in advertising. Which is a very precarious situation. It means that although you need to get your message across in a creative and engaging way you also feel like a hack with most of the work you do. What I find that works is, if your a creative by profession have other creative interests outside of your job. For instance, if your in advertising, start a blog, make a short film, help open up an art gallery. Do anything that inspires you creatively from an artistic and cultural point of view. You feel better about yourself and feel better about your profession. Generally anything that gets you thinking creatively out of what you normally do or outside of your safe zone is a good thing. It works for me. And lots of music. For some reason when I'm working music helps me focus. It also helps influence whatever creative I'm working on. Especially Wu Tang. Especially in the Winter. For some reason RZA's cold beats and Ghostface hollering at me pull me out my drunken ADD stupor.

The hater phenom does also exist in my head big J. All u can do is ignore that bastard. Thinking positive thoughts may sound corny but it's all u can do to fight the sucker. Physical exercise also can help. People who act like they don't have a hater in their head are the ones who have it the worst, they are in denial. Admit the hater is there 1st step then start karate chops to the neck!!
http://nextthing.wordpress.com/

My little hater tells me that I should dropout of college and be an electrician. He says a degree doesn't really matter cuz regardless of what I do I'll still be stuck in the matrix........he's probably right, but for now I'll stay in school and hope that Jsmooth posts more videos.

Great post Jay. My little hater is a perfectionist and constantly gets angry w/ me for not doing better. It's nihilistic and self-deprecating. It picks things apart and finds the wrong instead of seeing all the "right." It slows me down. Most of the time I keep it tied up and strangled in the cellar. ;)

Good to finally see you back Jay-Smizzels. Nice video post by the way, would love to comment but the little haters saying, "don't worry, you can always do it later besides, someone probably already wrote what your thinking anyways!" That being said......arrgh, he wins again!!!!

I'm a writer.

Part of me wants to joke that that's all I need to say; several years unpublished writer here!

Even when I remind myself that I'be been busy taking care of other business in my life, my little hater likes to whisper "You're giving up the dream! But that's ok, didn't we just read a book where someone used -your- idea?"

I keep reminding myself that it's all about perspective and no one can have mine, cause they're not me. Good or bad my perspective will be unique.

Other times I just have to put a bunch of random words on a page and wait for something to hit me until I go - "Hey, I liked that phrase, it's poetic, what can I do with that phrase?"

I look at all the down south and country entertainers talkin about they're rappers.

That's my singular motivation.

-Black People

my little hater tellz me to be like the muddled masses and not care so much and just fabricate my content from false memories...
to side swipe all that i usually dance it out or take a walk somewhere i've never been (during the day, no doubt).

The biggest trap I avoid is the "invisible executive". As a video creator, I've been trained to make video for companies and the people with money. So when I make a video there's a little voice that says "will the invisible executive like it?"

Ive learned that I got to keep my own vision for what the videos will be. No rich, powerful executive is going to swoop down and offer me millions of dollars. It doesnt matter if I get a million views or not. Even if this was the goal...the people with money want to see stuff they can't imagine. They don't want to see copies of what they are already doing. So I can have no boundaries.

I keep lerning the "art of the long view". I want to create a body of work that will last over time. A video made now should be just as enjoyable in 20 years. These are the artists I like.

It's also about embracing the blogging way.
We arent making novels or feature films.
We're blogging, updating often...giving a voice to our own community over time. We arent making perfection. We're showing each other how we're learning.

Your video today does just this!

That really hits home.
I've been on a slump with my poetry and art. Just recently the little hater fell asleep and I spent a day drawing and then wrote a pretty decent poem the next day. While I was drawing he stirred, because I got to this point where the drawing was going nowhere. Then the little art teacher punched the little hater in the face and told me to work with it.
So to get over the little hater, I drown him out with poetry or art. I either read some of my favorite poets' work or else do art research and, within minutes, the cacophany of sounds, words and images drowns the little hater. The trick is to seek, experience, then IMMEDIATELY get to work.

I thank you for this video though, as well as all else you do. If more people were as reflective or critically observant and active as you, the world would be taking steps towards a more positive future.

It's not just creative types -- I recently compared my own creative blocks to Steve Sax Disease:

http://tinyurl.com/ypoewd

My friend bought me The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles" by Steven Pressfield after reading that post. Now that I'm finally done with school (which was like giving the little hater just enough brain space to let him run wild), I can't wait to give it a read.

Am i the only one with a lil hater that tells me to stop hate'n on others?

I would havae to say as a producer my "little hater" really comes from the same thing as you, if I continue to make tracks because I'mg etting a positive feedback then the quality of those tracks increases. If I stop due to there being a lack of response when I decide to try again I've lost a lot of the inspiration I had prior. As gimmicky as it sounds the only way to fight this negative voice in your head is to think positively.

Welcome back Jay... the internet's missed you (and maybe now you can accept my request on MySpace).

- G-Harp

Saw a friend twitter about this episode so I had to check it out. Damn glad I did since I've got a little hater that I try so smash down daily.

When he gets really bad and I'm rocking the multiple browser windows idling into nothingness I find that if I turn off my router and thus the Internet the hater goes into hibernation and I can accomplish what I need to do.

The other silver bullet to kill the hater is a simple comment from a stranger. If one new person reacts to content that I'm creating it shuts the little hater up and i can move forward.

Just subscribed to the show and looking forward to more. Keep it up.

I love your videos. Keep it up.
Little Hater, stop telling what I can't do.

Sup Jay.

I always knew that I had something that from time to time messed my creativity/productivity. You just gave it a name... LITTLE HATER. LOL

My little hater it's a funny little dude and kicks in normally when I am tired.
I do computer Animation and Illustration and normally work every day after work,
And sometimes I am tired and just feel like resting for a day or 2, this is the where the little dude starts talking to me.
Saying things like:" Keep on working, man! You don't need to rest dude! You losing precious time! Sit you ass down, and do some work! Don't be lazy! ".... Over and over
When I actually obey my little hater, I end up working until 2 am and only shit comes out, and I normally have to redo all the work.
I've been doing better lately as I told him that he should stop hating all the time, and have a rest also.

huh i didn't even think of that. now i will. now ima go edit my final vid some more so i can get it scored! YEAH! IM PUMPED!

also the comments about dumbing down writing is true. i do that and i didn't even realize it. i do that to be different and cuz for some reason i want to think i can have a good argument w/o fancy grammar. but maybe i'm dumbing down. who knows? i think i've gotten over that lately tho. and apparently i can't find the shift button. except when IM PUMPED!!!

Surfing over from a post at Lifehacker; great video man. It's time to kick out another Geekfit episode now. ;)

So that explains what kept me away from blogging this year. Anyways tight site, just going through your other videos and I like what I'm seeing, so bun those haters and keep going with it...

5 year slump right here! First the hater says "theres no money in it" then he says "nobody will care" then he says "the shit never comes out the way it sounds in your head anyway plus you're 5 years out of practice" & i go back to bed or whatever.

Mostly I blame everything on my job being in the way. Who designed the 40 hour work week?

my lil hater...
says that on this 40 plus comment- thread- everyone else the hit the nail on the head ...

so, what i got thats worth saying?

my lil hater...

then , tricks me into believing her points can be rationalized to positive thinking. " i do talk too damn much. i should listen more...."

my lil hater...

just never stops thinking. it mentally examines and cross examines more times a minute then a fast talking lawyer...

my lil hater ....

is a
self-consciousness-over-active-dyslexic-logician windbag....

Perfectionsm is my worst enemy man... I havent been publishing new songs for some really long time because of this...

i am my own GIANT hater.

Real haters motivate me to fight my inner hater. But I think I need a more positive motivator than that.

I get over my little hater by thinking about death. I ask myself if i've done,said,felt everything that i feel i need to say. someitmes i answer yes. then i ask myself if i've heard everything i want to hear have i experienced the kind of love that life has to offer and sometimes i say...yes!but at that point i'm kinda softened up and then i asked myself if all of those publsihed short story writers are better than me. the answer's always no. and then i ask myself if i'm willing to go knowing that a guy that sucks got one up on me and i ALLOWED it because of my little hater. at that point, i'm looking for a pencil(not pen, the hater never totally leaves. at least not mine)

I'm ADD too. My big hater fucks me up all the damn time. I hate my hater. It cancels out the hate. Try it.

I'm trying GTD http://lifehacker.com/software/feature/practicing-simplified-gtd-335269.php
Though not at the moment. I got distracted by your (great) video.

I also am afraid of rapping. You know, the white 'n nerdy thing. I wish I was born black. Sometimes, anyway.

When i was in graduate school for playwriting and that happened, i would take a long walk… Until fortunately for me, i found the little hater and glimpsed that the little bugger only existed in the present. So whenever it pops up i move –walking, running, thinking, daydreaming- quickly into a future space.
(Sort of like the RoadRunner’s after image.)
Then the little hater bugger can only address the fading image; meanwhile i’m doin what a have to do feeling no stress whatsoever.
Anon…….anthony – T (from thePatterson’s takingthetraintoTibet.)

I'm pleased I have a name for the little bastard now, cheers for that.

Best advice I have is to just start. Tell him it's all cool, he's right, you suck - so five minutes won't hurt. Once I'm typing, the brain's ticking over and I'm more inclined to stick with it.

It never stops being an uphill battle though.

I don't know if anyone already mentioned The War Of Art... but someone should.

http://www.amazon.com/War-Art-Through-Creative-Battles/dp/0446691437

"Beating The Little Hater" video

This was EXTRA nice. My "little hater" has a name. It's called Program Director. Anytime I present an idea to him, I have to plug in the virtual earplugs and move forward.

However, I understand your presentation FULLY. It is usually why it takes me several months to complete an hour-long audio presentation. PROCRASTINATION and PERFECTIONISM. Always a toxic combo. I have no answers, but it was a pleasure to hear/see your plight.

Thank you! You know I dig your work.

Peaceness,
J.

What I've learned is that procrastination can be good.
As long as you don't let it get our of hand you can usually use it to motivate you to get stuff done you should've done before whatever you procrastinating about.
For example, I've got tomorrow off and I plan on finally drawing this christmas thing I'm supposed to do, but I'm sure I'll end up doing about a weeks worth of work for my game.

and good to see a new video j :)

Jay, got turned on to your video post by a Twitter friend, great stuff man! I can completely relate.

For me the little hater in my head tries to convince me what I'm doing never is or never will be as good as someone else's work. There's always someone else, doing it better than I could ever do it. The bar is too high. Why bother creating something?

My solution to this has been to go deeper and invest my own personality into my work. I realize while there are many creative people, doing great work out there, but that's their work, not mine. I have to do my own work.

My personal touch and style (my soul) makes my work unique and special. Different. I know I have the technical chops, so that's not the deal. For me it's all about investing myself into my work, and not letting the fact that other people are doing great work dissuade me from doing my own great work.

Thanks for the opportunity to comment!

I watched the video.... at work. Procrastinate much?

Then I went and saw a friend. No work done there...

Then I came home and couldn't sleep. I wrote a 6 minute standup routine and actually recorded it for a change. When I woke up this morning I had the chorus for a new song in my head and I instead of surfing the internet I wrote it down and then sang it into Garage Band in three part harmony.

I am bookmarking you and thank you for putting your foot on the little hater's head for a while.

You summed it up so well here, man.
I slowly fell into the trap that my "little haters" set for me, and before I knew it I hadnt touched my blog in more than a year. I was on what I thought was a productive break to explore new ideas. Ha! Anyway, I found some much needed inspiration and got back to work. This time around the "little haters" are going on mute! For real.
Peace.

There's a local team of guys that have been pasting up posters around the city for a while now; great stuff that's been widely recognized for its creative contribution to the city. Recently someone emailed them asking how to start doing such awesome stuff...

Their response: Just start.

Personally, I've hit a bit of a wall in my creative efforts. There's always a bunch of excuses and reasons why you can't or don't do what you want... but ultimately, it just boils down to that moment where you go from not doing to doing... and that critical moment of starting is typically what most people get hung up on.

So that's what I've done... I started.

The hater inside me basically tells me that I cant do it, its just not worth the effort, more like a Debbi Downer or an XemoHaterX.

Ah yes, the video resonates along with the responses which is very reassuring and motivating.
I enjoy different music and video outlets (mostly writing music) but it's preventing focus on getting one single thing done
(hell, even A song), so there's a bunch of crumbs and snippets of this and that,
which prevents from having any solid work to get out there and show for to specialize in the most preferred choice of work professionally.
Getting the ball rolling is always easier than I think it is but the hater talks laziness because of perfectionism causing the procrastination.
I usually get somewhere when I stop thinking about "how should I start?" or "what should I add to what I've got? Will it ruin what's already there because it sounds pretty dope but it needs more"
instead of just doing something and the ball rolls.
It's like getting out of an exercise cycle and thinking how strenuous it'll be to start again; then you realize the workout wasn't that bad and you feel better afterwards.
The lil hater causes more stress and drains you more than the workout itself!
Like with writing, instead of worrying about the start, just work on something as if you're in the middle of it and you can build around that.
I need to beat that over lil haters head!

I spend a lot of time justifying my perfectionism / procrastination complex. I tell myself I must not really have anything to say, there is already too much mediocrity in the world, I don't want it bad enough, etc.

Being entirely too esoteric, I'm not going to treat this as a problem I have, or a psychological problem many with the creative temperament have, I'm going to find out it's real purpose, write a philosophical essay entitled "beyond fear of success or failure" and this project will take up so much time, I'll never, ever have to finish my novel...

i think sometimes it's healthy to let your ego run loose for a little while. we all get so caught up in being humble and trying to be the all-knowing, all-seeing perfect artist/writer/whatever that it can be paralyzing.

something it's good to sit back and be like "i matter. or at least i matter as much as all these other idiots. here's what i have to say, damn it."

when i hear the little hater, i remind myself that sometimes we need extremes, we need arrogance, we need an attitude to move the discourse along, right or wrong. of course, you can't let the ego get out of control, but that's something we all just have to deal with.

i feel you on this one Jay.. after watching this video, i realized that i'v ebeen lettin them little haters beat me..

this means war, Jay.. good lookin

There is quite the little hater in my head. He gets very strong when some one says something even remotely negative about my videos. What I try to do to stop the hater is to never stop working and make everything perfect to MY standards, not his.
Every word you said in this video felt like it was me talking.
Thanks so much for posting.
If I keep working hard and become successfuI at this movie game I will be able to gauge my successfullness on if I am able to get the opportunity to meet you. If I'm sitting at the same table as you I'll know I'm doing something right.
Keep on fighting the little hater because from one creative person to another, we need as many soldiers as we can get to fight this hater war.

This is something that resonates with a lot of creative minds; the lulls, the doubts - the internal critic from hell. The irony in how a person will turn to destroying something they created because of a second guess. I know this, because I've done it a couple of times.
The technique I've been using for some years now is when I create something, I let it marinate for a day or two, sometimes a week if need be, then check it out through a new lens. Sometimes I have to be on the other side to see it for what it's worth. Once in a while I know it's real fresh during inception.
As for the procrastination, or as I call it - the assassination of motivation, I avoid it through balance. If I spend every moment focused on writing my book and my blog, I wouldn't be able to be with my wife and daughter, or at work to support them. Setting goals and deadlines are simple and effective and flexibility with myself if I fail is important. Good to see you back on your game. Happy Christmakwanzakah!

One of my favorite quotes was by the famous Tour de France Winner, Fausto Coppi-

Here's a guy who blitzed the Tour in the days before steroids, and everyone was just aghast at his amazing talent, so there were lots of people asking him, over and over "What's the secret? What's your training regimen? How do you do it?"

He got tired of the relentless questions, and announced that he was going to have a press conference to FINALLY reveal his amazing secret training regimen.

The day finally came, and he strode to the podium. "My secret is this: Ride the bike, ride the bike, ride the bike."

There's no substitute for doing something every day, Jay.

I play drums. I have since I was ten. I am approaching 40 now. I still play five days a week... because I love it. I make some money here and there. I travel to Europe once a year or so... but the important thing is that I get to play the drums.

use your voice. Be wise. Be funny. Be provocative. Be goofy. Be UNAFRAID, but most of all, just be in front of that camera at least once a day. Keep the best stuff, send the rest to the cutting room floor.

No pressure, y'know.... just do what you do so well.

I've found that highly creative people are more likely to be huge procrastinators because their 'little haters' are very creative about coming up with ways to freak them out!

Most bad art is made by people who can't step outside themselves and see it as others will see it. Successful artists are usually in tune with the audience perspective, as well as with their own flaws and those of other artists.

For me, creating worthy art is about learning from successful artists. Many artists fall into a line of thinking that art is primarily about originality or individual perspective. But ultimately art is about an audience (i.e., participants or consumers) and that audience has usually been reached and conditioned by other artists.

Either you are successful in connecting with the desired audience, or you are not. Focus on the audience you want to reach. Forget about all this personal insecurity crap. You are better than that. And you shouldn't feel indebted to your audience. You don't owe them, they owe YOU.

The little hater can't hold me down, keep making them videos Smooooooooth!

What a great video, great blog, great comments! I just discovered you today and I am adding you to my favorites.

But if it wasn't for my little hater, how would I cram all this mostly useless, often entertaining information into my brain?

Just discovered your site, I'll be watching.

FiiNALLY!! LOL iiLL BEAT THA LiiTTLE HATER 4 U iiF HE KEEPZ iiNTERFERiiN, YOUR ViiDEOZ ARE LYKE CRACK N ii GOTTA HAV MA FiiX LOL. LUV THE EDUCATiiON AND THE FEELiiN THAT iiM NOT SO WEiiRD N OTHER PPL THiiNK EVERY ONCE iiN A WHiiLE TOO. ii ALWAYZ THOUGHT ABOUT iiT BUT NEVER COULD PUT iiT iiNTO WORDZ...ii COULD CREATE A MELODY OR BASSLiiNE BEAT TO DESCRiiBE iiT EVEN A FEW VOiiCE SOUND EFFECTZ TO LACE iiT WiiTH BUT WORDZ WHEN iiT CAME TO MY EMOTiiONZ ALWAYS ESCAPED ME, EVEN THO iiF iiT MEANT AN "A" iiN SCHOOL ii HAD NO PROBLEM...JUS STARTED WRiiTiiNG WiiTHOUT THiiNKiiNG. MY LiiTTLE HATER ALWAYZ CREEPZ UP SAYiiNG iiTZ NONE OF MY "CREATiiONZ" (4 LACK OF A BETTA WORD) WOULD B ACCEPTED CUZ THEY ARENT CARBON COPiiEZ OF SOMETHiiN SEEN B4, EVEN THO THE PRiiViiLEGED FEW DO SEEM TO GENUiiNELY ViiBE 2 iiT ALL (OR AT LEAST MOST OF iiT) MA LiiTTLE HATER TELLZ ME iiTZ JUS CUZ THEY DON'T WANNA MAKE ME FEEL BAD AND THE CYCLE U TALKED ABOUT DEFiiNiiTELY APPLiiEZ.

You are dead correct on this one Jay Smooth and I do have tip top advice for you. The little hater is also known by another name: RESISTANCE. IN my case he is a historian and tends to remind me of all previous known failures in order to kill current projects. In my opinion, that little punk must die a horrible death, but he tends to be reincarnated on a daily basis.

The best cure I know is just grunting through the work. Cowboy the hell up and drive on. If you want to know more, then there is one and only one book you need to read. "The War of Art" by Stephen Pressfield. The book is small, easy to read, honest and profound. Every human, especially the creative types, must have this book.

And beside the hater, I can only speak for myself. I found your site today through fimoculous.com and I think it is great. Honest and true, I feel you. Keep on keepin' on.

I think part of what makes creative people shut down is because we have haters that try to make us think in terms of whether people will accept our work or not. I personally suffer from that problem and have shut down projects, blogs, and other things because the hater in me told me to get real with myself. I think eventually I'll grow from that.

I'm surprised by Mr. Smooth's acknowledgement of his struggle -- but I guess that's how cool he is, he can admit it.

My little hater keeps telling me she doesn't want it at 3am but I try to give it to her anyway.

Getting started is the hardest part to beat that little hater. But give him a taste of his own medicine! hate him back! People in the dark usually fear monsters lurking somewhere ready to pop up and put them down, but my mentallity is IM THE MONSTER! I'm the one who will scare people not the other way around.

Though that little hater is there for a reason. Take some advice from him, but don't let him control you.
Use that little lover to get things right.

I just saw your CNN video and stuck around a bit to see what else you had up your sleeve. Thank you for your thoughts about the Little Hater. I get stuck in this trap more often than I'd like to admit.

I just got hired by Arizona State University to blog for their technology department. The blog is about two months old and I'm slowly building readership. The fun and games of setting up the site have come and gone, and now I have to get down to the nitty gritty of posting regularly and building an audience.

I'm not quite sure if I have a system yet for fighting back. Sometimes if I throw on some good music and force my mind to stop working (hard to do with ADD), I'll get a blast of creativity that flows onto the screen.

A few things come to mind:

Persistence. Regular schedule. Texting ideas to my email address as soon as they come. Don't force it.

Thank God you're back! Sheesh.

Well, as a writer, and someone who depends upon their craft to eat, my little hater sounds like this, "you are too young, and far too Black to compete in an artform, where 17th century Brit Lit, is considered the best, and Langston is considered a longshot when it comes to the literary canon." Another thing it says is, "you got lucky once, but don't count on another fluke opportunity."

When this happens, I run as fast as I can to my friends. Luckily for me, I am blessed to have a slew of like minded people, all on their creative grind, who have little haters. so we all give each other the emotional deposits necessary to keep moving. if not for them...

y hater is always telling me every morning to hit the snooze button and just "rest ur eyes" for 5 more minutes. Meanwhile 1 hr goes by, and I'm late, and work piles up. FU Hater!!!!!! But thx for the sleep, lol.

Keep doin your thing, every video is always on point

I think I circumvent procrastination and haters by telling myself that I do it for myself alone and who cares if nobody likes it or gets it. The haters do come though. It happens just after I've posted something and then I remember what I am doing by putting it online for people to see. I imagine every person is sick and tired of me.

It's a risk to create something new but I get a rush from it. Still, when someone I respect and like ignores what I create, it hurts and makes me want to stop everything. I cannot have expectations of people. I learned that. If I do then the haters multiply. Instead, I have to somehow forget that sometime people that I love don't care for what I create. It is so hard to do that.

I HATE the little haters! I'm up to my ears in them! Every day I thank some higher being that I don't have to create stuff for a living, because if I did I might need to be committed or heavily sedated in order to make the little haters shut up! I only create stuff in my spare time, and still: the hates just won't go away. The spiral is difficult to stop.

Once I tried telling myself "Just. Post. It. All.", as if uploading crap stuff with the odd gem hidden between would make me feel better. That seriously didn't work.

Then I tried making more of the kind of thing I like to watch instead of the stuff I normally like to shoot, and that didn't work, either. Not true to myself at all.

Now I'm into this weird loop where I keep making videos about cooking dinner and it feels like a cop out of some kind. I don't know why. Now my brain has a food-video hater talking, too.

Dude, you've got noooootttthing to worry about. You can even go ahead and video your dinner. It'll still be super-cool.

Shut down the little haters in '08! Shut 'em down!

You know what I love best about this video? That there's so many just like it. It's like a videoblogger right of passage of some kind to make a video about how hard it is to make videos because of the little hater voice. I love videos like this because they remind me that I'm not alone in my fight against the haters.

FRESH Intro! :D

what up jay, you dipped JUST when I became a fan, and in ure absence i've been telling people to go check out your non existant blog. Good to have you back. My little hater keeps telling me to scrap my designs, because they are not worldly enough or big enough, or hard enough to stomp with the big dogs, on occassion I've given in to the doubt and dropped a project, but to psyche the hater out when I do a personal project, I tell people about it, or fix it so that someone is counting on it so it has to get done.

Khia

Oh man. I have been in that rut for about 2 months now and I think you have just convinced me to get out of it. Brilliant work.

Jay, I check all of your v-logs and I tend to *hate* v-logs. Yours is the only one I've watched in the past year. Keep up the good work.

I'm an aspiring rapper (like 80% of the population) as well as a web designer and in both pursuits, I frequently want to wait on inspiration rather than create it. I'll wait for weeks sometimes for it to happen rather than sitting at the computer, digging through beats, looking at new web techniques, etc until something just clicks and gets me fired up. You definately have a point about staying at your hustle, keeps you from feeling like its so hard to get back in your zone.

my little hater is telling me not to write this cause so many other are writing this same comment that im writing. its saying "whats the point? 50 other people wrote the same thing you wrote...u thought you were being original but youre not! what are all these user names? u dont wanna go through that process of registering, no dont check to see if im wrong, im right, come on laziness show him whose boss!"

naw but im and aspiring producer and i constanty wait on inspiration before i make a beat or ill be hit with the "producers block" and cant really conjure up a good beat. the next day my little hater might influence me to take some time off from it.
u really made some sense in ur vid. i gotta stay on the grind

Thanks Jay for posting this. It is good (and scary at the same time) to read you have the same thoughts and issues regarding creativity, procrastination, etc.
I also always waste so much time THINKING about the things I want or have to get done, the ideas I have to realize, the stories to write down, the things to organize and so on until it is almost too late.
Mostly I need to set myself time limits, deadlines (and best let others keep remidning me, asking me, so that I get even more stressed and feel guilty for being behind), otherwise nothing will happen and I'll feel like a complete loser.
But at the end of the day I get the things done.
I also think perfection (the urge to want to do things as perfect as possible) is my biggest enemy.
And if you think about it, perfection is boring.
Again, thanks for the (almost) perfect post! ;-)
Take care,
Alia

First Time Poster. Long Time Fan.

You hit the nail on the head. The wisdom that you have thrown speaks nothing but truth. We all hold ourselves back from greatness. We just have to tame the "little hater" in our heads and we can acomplish anything.

The amount of comments on this is a testament to the omnipresence of the "little hater" in everyone's lives. Mostly I feel people on here. I only wish there was a universal cure for it but alas, there is none. But thanks for starting the conversation. It probably helped a lot of people (me included) realize what holds them back the most.

For the Hater in You - http://canelanyc.blogspot.com

Oh man. The little hater man in my head is evil and nasty.

I make crap.
People only watch because they feel sorry I make crap.
People only comment so I know that they know that I make crap.
I make artsy crap.
My editing sucks.
My shooting sucks.

Yeah...my little hater can go on and on.

I have no idea how to fight my little hater. He never goes away. I just keep creating stuff in the hopes that one day that little hater will say "Hey David, ya know what? That one aint half bad."

My little haters usually emerge when I do something to satisfy my own ego. The punks don't like anything I do. As a designer, my creative gifts are best used to help other people. The minute I lose sight of that... blaow! Out of control... until I remind myself that it's not about me. I know very few people who can summon maximum creativity at will. I say keep doing what you do, whenever it hits. If you're not feeling it, all you or anyone can ask is that you do your best with what you've got at that time.

Little hater...what a punk-ass. I just swallow my fears of not worrying what the next person will think of my post and not worry about falling into the trap of being first or most exclusive. I focus on having a post with personality or knowledge and passing it on. Then let the creative people do what they want with it. That mindset has led me to over 150 posts in a few months and fans stopping by daily. thanks jay for the inspiration!

Know The Ledge - word, son!

I am pretty much a self-described hater so my little hater has a hard time even getting a word in. Sometimes that little hater can work to your advantage. Because my most creative moments are always the epiphanic ones. Not when imintentionally trying to create something masterful.

you're a genius man. The procrastination and perfectionism tandem working hand in hand

I know I'm extra late but,
My little hater says "Drum Bum, your skills are lacking.."
Then i go and get better. It doesn't matter what I'm doing at the moment, be it producing, playing the drums or writing papers... I use my little hater as motivation.
keep making vids fam

My hater says no one is reading your blog so why bother posting

oh man, this was great -- I def. know where you're coming from with this, and it seems to sneak up in every aspect of my life from time to time.

From blogging to work to spending time with friends and family -- no matter what it is...when you take a break, that hater in your mind will always tell you that you aren't good enough to come back.

but yeah, i guess thats what pushes us to get better.

cheers to you man.

I thought I Was Just Scitzo U Know But Guess im Not Lets work togetther fo the elimination of lil haters every where!!!!!!!

That shit is brilliant and so true.

You've obviously hit a note with a LOT of us out here with this one! I'm just an old hippie/grandma, but I've been struggling with my lil hater ever since she moved in, about when I started school 50+ yrs ago... If you're really stuck and in the mood to put some time into turning it around, there's a very easily digestible book called "The Artist's Way", by Julia Cameron that's helped me and quite a few artist friends put the lil hater in it's place and reconnect with that fantastic feeling you get when you're in the pocket, doing what you were made to do... I found a reference to your site on one of the political sites I get mail from and decided to check you out and it's been a real treat! I love the way you give it a name; it's soooo much more relatable than say, inner critic. I mean, come on, inner critic; that sounds like something you say so the lil hater will feel properly respected, for God's sake! But "lil hater", puts it right in its proper place: which is really just a scared little punk weenie, whose real job of warning us when we ARE getting stupid, gives it so much power, it too often forgets when to shut up...Lastly, I think for obvious aforementioned reasons, we all too often feel like poseurs if we present ourselves as artists or even dare to dream we could be, so I wanna leave you with a quote from the new autobiography by one of the early SNL cast, Steve Martin, "Born Standing Up". He's talking about a postcard he sent to a girlfriend in '67 while he was on the road perfecting his comedy act where he wrote, "I have decided my act is going to go avant-garde. It is the only way to do what I want." Back in the present he says, "I'm not sure what I meant, but I wanted to use the lingo, and it was seductive to make these pronouncements. Through the years, I have learned there is no harm in charging oneself up with delusions between moments of valid inspiration." Because after all, that's one of the best defenses against the lil hater's venom, knowing who you were meant to be and owning up to it! Thanks for giving me the chance to say all this. Keep it coming, you're an inspiration!

I'm watching this and going, "Get out of my head, Jay!"

I'm lucky to have a solid support group around me that is keenly aware of my bad habits and confronts them when too much time goes by and I don't appear to have done anything.

Let people know how you roll, honestly, and get them to watch your back. That's my defense against the inner-haters.

Keep doing what you do, bro.

Sounds like your little hater and my little hater are evil twins, separated at birth.

"Don't study physics, you will never use them. They are a piece of crap, as well as this so called education shit. I think you should just go ahead, shit on your physics book and send it to the dean's office inside a chocolate box with a note saying 'there you go maafuka, you are just getting what you are giving me, biotch`". Then, after doing nothing but moanin and crying about how shitty is education, I go to bed, and the same voice says, "oooohh you didn't do what you were suppossed, you piece of shit. Grow up, you have to study, you need to survive, study, I hate you, you fucking jackass". Then I can't sleep, because that motherfucker is shouting at me, and the following day I skip my first class because I can't even wake up. Then I am mad at everything because I couldn't go to class, and of course I can't study because I hate myself, my little hater, and my education. Then everything becomes an infinite endless loop of frustration, and procrastination starts again with the same abovementioned strategy.

The key is to not listen to ALL of the chatter that you have going on in our head...that is your ego...quiet your ego, many ways to do that, deep breathing, recognize that this chatter in your head is not you REALLY? And once you recognize that it becomes quieter in your life, It is just your thoughts that usually occur over and over again until you either listen and do something out of character or SILENCE them so that your true self can come out.

Maybe its just bull, but it works for me.

This practice will also make you a calmer person because when your ego is silenced, you don't react to situations that you used to because you don't let your ego control you.

Keep doing what your doing. I just found your website and not only are you doing great work, you are also a fresh voice that is real. And your cute too! LOL

My Little Hater is getting me to write this post instead of writing the 10 page research paper I have due tomorrow that I have protrastinated writing for the past 10 hours by making myself, as you said, feel busy. In reality I know that I'm effing myself over for tomorrow. You see, he follows the same cycle as yours (maybe they are related). He makes me very busy with unimportant things, distracting me from the real work that makes money and accomplishes goals. Well, that paper is still there.

I guess I should get on that.

Wait... let me check my email first.

Hrm...I've never really quite commented about my little hater before. But, I'll give it a go.

Anyways, my hater tends to start out in a similar pattern as yours: perfectionism. That's usually where I start flailing, because I can easily get frantic and fearful of what others think of me as well. Then, there's the part where I feel like it's easier not to do anything, because I won't get criticized as much. Unfortunately, that can become a comfort zone, since I'm deathly afraid of criticism.

What I do, though, is probably look over the compliments and refresh my sense of security, take a long break from the thing, and then come back to see if the criticism is actually constructive or not. By then, I can see my work from a different perspective, and I won't take the words personally. Either that, or I talk with a friend of mine or whoever that doesn't judge me. Usually, that helps plenty.

Thanks MAJORLY for posting this! A friend of mine recommended that I watch this after seeing me flail under my writer's block, and I was astounded that someone can place into words so accurately what I usually go through! Major, major respect to you, man!

been wandering through your archives periodically and came across this...and it's like you're inside my head! Procrastination + perfectionism = why my advisor had to write a letter to the graduate school explaining why it took me an extra year to finish my dissertation. But I AM finishing, amazingly enough. If all goes as planned, I will have all the requirements for my PhD finished by the end of next week. No one is more surprised than I am...

The only thing that could get me past it was discipline--doing *something* every day, and keeping myself to a rigid schedule. I never have, and probably never will, actually silence the little hater. Perfectionism is the worst of it, I think...it really is better to have a dumb idea on paper (or on the screen, or said into the camera, etc. etc.) than nothing. Can't make something from nothing, but we can all make something from something, even if it starts out as crap.

I feel like such a dork saying this, but when you talk about feeling a connection with your viewers...I really do when I watch your vlogs. In the midst of all the junk, there are some amazing things that the internets can do...

Dear Jay's Little Hater,
Don't you want a break? Perhaps a vacation? Seriuslee I'm waiting for Jay to post a video or comment or something about the current Obama victory. Forget about waiting till Hilary does whatever the heck she needs to do on Saturday, forget about your feeling of dread or whatever may or may not happen and really ENOUGH is ENOUGH I need my Jay fix.

So vamoose!

No love,
C