Is your portfolio a creative prison?

Hey friends, Chase here.

If you've ever found yourself hesitating to start a project because it didn't feel "portfolio-worthy," this one's for you. I've fallen into that trap more times than I'd like to admit — obsessing over whether something I'm making is polished enough to represent me. The irony? That mindset kills the very creativity that fills a portfolio in the first place.

The Portfolio Trap

Somewhere along the way, we started treating our portfolios like prisons instead of playgrounds. We only want to show our "best work," so we start *only* making work we think will fit that box. Every idea gets judged before it's even born. That's not curation — that's fear dressed up as professionalism.

Here's the shift: Separate creation from curation.

Create Wildly. Curate Ruthlessly.

When you're creating, you're exploring. You're playing. You're trying things that might fail — and that's where originality lives. When you're curating, you're editing. You're selecting what best represents your voice *after* you've made a lot of things. These are two different modes, and mixing them up is where people get stuck.

Let yourself make a mess. Create hundreds of sketches, photos, prototypes, or drafts that no one will ever see. Then, later, curate like a maniac. The discipline is in the separation — not in perfection.

Why the Messy Stuff Matters

Some of the best gigs of my career came from "throwaway" experiments — the projects I almost didn't share because they weren't polished enough. Those experiments showed curiosity and risk-taking. Clients and collaborators see that energy and think, *I want that.*

You don't need every piece of work to land in your portfolio. You just need to make enough to find the pieces that truly speak for you.

Here's what we get into in the episode:

• The portfolio trap: how obsessing over "shareable" work limits your creativity
• Separate creation and curation: freedom in process, discipline in presentation
• Messy work = momentum: why experimentation builds better portfolios
• Play over perfection: creativity thrives when the stakes are low

The big idea? Your portfolio should reflect your growth — not restrict it. Make more. Edit later. The only "wrong" project is the one you were too afraid to start.

Until next time—stay curious, stay playful, and keep creating.