My son, Wyatt, has a crooked smile. He was born with hemi-facial microsomia, a common birth defect in which the lower half of one side of his face is smaller than the other. This “medical condition” makes him very cute.
We all have our dents, details that make us feel different, inadequate, or even ugly. We want to hide from them and hide them from the world, but they’re our best parts. People are attracted to imperfections. Your large and crooked nose, the gap in your front teeth—these make you sexy. Your flaws, quirks, and extra curves make you stand out. Lead with them.
The same goes for your work. Most creators aspire to some ideal of perfection but usually land closer to boredom. Only when we see Frank Gehry’s architecture do we realize that boxy buildings are bland. In my own work, it’s the mistakes, the extra hairs in a brush stroke, or the clumsy lettering, that people applaud.
We are all flawed, and yet somehow we are all perfect. My son will have a choice about how he sees his asymmetry, whether it’s his misfortune or an opportunity to find his voice. We can drown in our flaws or, by owning them, we can find our strengths.
