Flaky or genius? Thriving as a multi-talented creative

You want to write. You also draw. Perhaps you were once identified as a painter but now you are compelled to make clay mugs and bowls.
Flaky? Or simply like most artists, drawn to lots of different things and experiences? This is the very nature of being creative – curious, open to new things, adept at many different skills and media.
The notion that we have to drill down and focus on just one thing can feel like death to a creative person. Yet if we flit from thing to thing, we can risk not finding satisfaction in any one thing.
How to solve this multi-faceted problem of abundance? I have a few thoughts on this, and I hope they are helpful for you.

Connect to your original impulse

First, you have to know very deeply, truly and clearly what creating is about for you. Maybe it’s just for fun and expression. Maybe it’s just for your own creative jollies. Perhaps you want to build a business around your art-making.
Whatever your reason, don’t skip this vital step of connecting to your own original impulse. Knowing your motivation will make everything – including taking advice from others – a lot easier.

Finish things

Finisher or dabbler? Depending on your intention for creating, you will know whether finishing things is important to you or not. For me, it’s very important. I am compelled to finish all kinds of things:

• my newsletters
• blog posts
• books and e-books
• class curricula
• art projects
• and more.

If I don’t finish these things, my work isn’t as effective as it needs to be. I also don’t derive the immense satisfaction that awaits us at the finish line.
You may not be making things for money, and that is okay. But I bet you have an inner critic who loves to say “See?! You can’t finish anything!”
That really stinks. It degrades the quality of your creative joy and it’s not okay. That’s the demon twin to the inner critic who tells you that YOU WILL DIE if you finish things and put them out into the world, because your art won’t be perfect and then you will be under attack.
Trust me. You won’t die from imperfection. I don’t, and everything I put into the world is perfectly imperfect. I see the flaws in all of my art, writing and work. And I have come to accept it. Don’t get me wrong, I still have high standards. I still work my tush off to make things of quality. And I also have learned that if I don’t put them out there in their wabi-sabi adorableness, I’ll never make anything.
But I digress. You get to decide whether you want to finish things and how that will happen.
This is an important piece because we can easily flit from one art form to the next when the project gets tough. We abandon things when we don’t see easy solutions. That’s fine, but don’t rob yourself of developing your creative power by staying with things to the finish line.

One major project at a time

I help my clients to the finish line by guiding them to focus on one major project at a time. A book, a body of work, a business idea they are developing. They can enjoy other art forms on the side, but they have a primary focus on one thing.
This helps us feel sane, focused and accomplished when we complete the project. it also teaches us our own process, start to finish. When we know our completing style, we can replicate it again and again to finish all kinds of things.
There are many ways to juggle multiple talents, but that’s enough for now. To sum up:

• Know your motivation or original impulse.
• Clarify whether completing things is important to you and why.
• Focus on one major project at a time, with room to play with other things as a joy practice.

What helps you manage multiple mediums so you can feel like a creative genius? Drop a comment below and let us know.