by Owen | Feb 17, 2020 | Creativity, Impromptu
We can spend a lot of our creative lives criticizing the work of others. We all want to believe we could have done a better job or had a better idea. “I would have done it this way instead” or “That color? Really?” Hell, a lot of people are all criticism and very little creativity. But let’s be honest, we don’t know any better. Not really. We are all lost on the creative path, trying to stumble on something worth sharing. Some of us maybe a little farther down, but we are all just trying to figure it out.
So why waste your time criticizing? Because the truth is that criticizing comes easier than creating. And that soothes us. Creativity and ego are a matched pair. As we start to build creative confidence, we inevitably want to show it off. As we develop a style, we are suddenly at odds with everyone else’s. So we point, and we criticize, and we nitpick and try to show how much more creative we are than everyone else. Creativity without creating.
The worst crime of all, however, is believing we have any say in what someone else created. The truth is it’s probably just not for us. We can dislike something, but if we do, well then, it wasn’t made for us, and that’s okay. Everyone is trying to connect with someone. That someone isn’t always you. So leave it alone. Maybe someone will come along and see beauty where you never could.
Don’t bother fretting about how it’s not what you would’ve done — go and do it.
by Owen | Jan 27, 2020 | Creativity, Impromptu, Practices
“If only I had gone to the gym as a kid, I’d be much WAY healthier now.”
“I would be that rich if I started my company when I was her age.”
“He’s been doing yoga for so long. I wish I did that.”
We spend a lot of time cursing ourselves for not doing something as a child. We regret not starting our grand scheme at age 20, like Zuckerberg or Gates.
What do we do after? Probably not much. Back to the routine and wishful thinking. “It isn’t worth starting now,” we think. “I’m waiting for the big idea to come,” Or worse, “I still have plenty of time.”
Sure it would have been nice to start years ago — the first best time. And yes, maybe we are behind the clock we set for ourselves. But the more we wait, the bigger that gap grows. And the regret with it.
And why wait? Lighting may strike if we wait long enough. Maybe one day we will wake up and feel like going for a run. Or the golden ticket idea will come to us in the shower. But is it worth putting your fulfillment and happiness in the hands of nature? Developing a half-finished idea will get you farther than waiting around for the “perfect” one. The second best time to start is right now.
As the practice piles up, and as the ideas grow, you’ll be glad you took that first step. Put the regret away; stop beating yourself up; stop waiting around, and take action.
Start today. Start now.
by Owen | Dec 26, 2019 | Creativity, Impromptu
The first wheel wasn’t on a wagon or a cart. It was for spinning pottery until someone saw an opportunity.
Apple didn’t invent the MP3 player. Yet, there’s no question the iPod revolutionized music.
Even sliced bread was a flop until Wonder Bread brought it to grocery stores more than a decade later.
Innovation isn’t about being first. Nor does it require genius. Sometimes all we need is a new perspective.
What do you see? What can you do better?
Show us your angle. Reinvent the wheel.
by Owen | Oct 24, 2019 | Creativity, Impromptu
“I’m out of ideas”
I doubt it.
Out of good ideas maybe. But full of bad ones. And all of them a path to something.
Perhaps another idea.
But don’t get paralyzed. It’s in there somewhere.
Whether in pieces or in process, exploring the wrong path is just as valuable.
The only way out is through. So keep going.
There’s work to be done.
by Owen | Oct 19, 2019 | Creativity, Impromptu
It’s easy to feel satisfied when our inbox is empty. When the last box is checked.
We’ve met spec! Fulfilled the direction!
But is that enough? Focusing on the inbox is a zero-sum game, circling the status quo.
The meaningful work exists beyond the list. Before the checkmark and in between the tasks.
That work requires initiative. The initiative to look outside the box and ask “And what else?”
That work moves the needle. That work inspires.
Initiative creates movement and movement becomes change. And what’s not worth changing?
Take initiative. Not direction
