By Cynthia Morris
Recently, I was with a group of creative adventurers, and we were sharing our dreams with each other. One person’s story showed me the truth of something I’d suspected for a long time: what we consider an asset is actually a liability. Here’s what I mean.
As he described one project idea after another, I clearly saw his energy drain away from him. A film, a book, a new business, blog ideas…all these great ideas buzzed around his head. We listened and I know I wasn’t the only one who was initially excited, then drained by all the possibility.
He confessed that he wasn’t making satisfying progress with any of his ideas. Yet he still clung to the notion that having all these ideas was a good thing.
It struck me like a gong and I had to speak. “Your wealth of ideas is actually a liability,” I said. “Thinking that an abundance of inspiration is a good thing is actually holding you back.”
An abundance of ideas is only an asset if you consistently make and ship them.
No one wants to hear this. We love or precious and brilliant notions. You’ve probably said, “If only I could be paid for all my great ideas!”
But here’s the truth: ideas by themselves are worthless. The thing that makes a creative idea valuable is the sweat and tears and work that goes into making it real. Our creative ideas are nothing without the commitment and labor we bring to them.
Here’s where the true gold lies: our creative projects work us. Your great ideas are not going to make you happy perched in the attic of your imagination.
No. Your idea is going to make you happy because it’s going to demand the best that you’ve got to give and more. Because once your great idea is an actual reality, you’re going to be a different person. A better person.
This is why I spend my precious life coaching people to create their great work: we’re given these great ideas not so we can get our jollies from looking at them and talking about them. We’re given these flights of imagination so we can get on board, one idea after another, and pilot our way to best selves through the work they demand from us.
If you’re guilty of hoarding your ideas as a precious asset, drop it. Instead, commit to one asset at a time and build true creative wealth.
How about you? Have you turned the corner from thinking of your ideas as an asset only if you execute on them? I’d love to hear what you think about this. Please comment below.
productivity
Yes! I Respect!
We’ve made countless dates and I stand you up every time. Sometimes I bother with a lame excuse – I had to do the laundry, or I got engrossed in online surfing – and sometimes I don’t even give a reason. I rarely apologize and yet I insist that our relationship is important. And then I do it again. I blow you off.
With good reason, you’re not so happy with me. Sometimes you even tell me off. I’m afraid that you will abandon me altogether and find people who show you respect.
Is this how your relationship with your creativity looks? Might your Muse feel disrespected and abandoned?
I sincerely hope not. I hope you’re heeding the call to create and showing up consistently to practice, play and finish your creative projects. If so, you can stop reading and head back to your writing or art making.
It’s time to live like you respect your creative impulses. Say YES to your creativity and build trust and self-respect. And be a lot happier. If you’re feeling guilty about the lack of respect you’ve shown your Muse, read on.
Six ways to say yes and repair your relationship with your Muse
Yes to creating first. You have a lot of other obligations. Try creating first and see how it fuels your relationships with yourself and others, your work, your other pursuits. If your other relationships are based on respect, your loved ones will be happy that you’re creating.
Yes to prioritizing. Recognize where creating stands on your list of priorities and honor that. Your priority list may look like this: family, health, writing. Honor the place writing has in your life by making time to write and then filling that time in with nothing other than writing – not researching, not talking about writing.
Yes to focus. Create muscular goals. Muscular goals challenge you to your edge. They give heft to the impulse and commitment to create and help you to move past obstacles.
Yes to progress. Respect all and any minor or major accomplishments. This is vital to building trust and momentum for your art making. We often gloss over our achievements and focus on what isn’t happening. Respect your progress and let it fuel more creating.
Yes to completing. Respect your ideas by following them through to their natural end. This will mean different things for different people and different projects.
Yes to confidence. Enjoy the confidence you build in yourself by respecting your creative impulses.
If you’re not feeling the love between you and your Muse, try saying yes more. You’ll both be happier!
How else do you show respect for your creative life? Share your respect in a comment below.
Video Book Review: Daily Rituals: How Artists Work by Mason Currey
I’ve been reading a ton of great books lately, and this summer I’ll share what I’ve gleaned from the creativity books I love to consume.
This week’s video review: Daily Rituals: How Artists Work by Mason Currey.
One line review summary: Read this book for entertainment, not for how-to advice.
I’m giving away a copy of this adorable and entertaining book. Simply tell us about a daily ritual that you do that helps you be more creatively satisfied.
Leave a comment here at the Original Impulse blog by Friday, June 21st at noon MT to be entered into a drawing to win.
How to write books and articles more quickly
All of my clients bump up against the frustration of how long it takes to write. Because we can access and send things at lightning speed, we think we should be able to write and create that quickly. But writing remains a slow process. Especially a book: this requires deep thinking and space to hash out and develop our ideas.
I think what you’re looking for is more efficiency so you can make the most of your writing time. You can set yourself up to write more efficiently. The main work is knowing your own style and systems and sticking to them without wavering.
Here are seven suggestions for feeling like you are mapping and writing with more efficiency and momentum: [Read more…] about How to write books and articles more quickly
My Secret Sauce for Creative Success
I’m as nutty as the next creative person – lots of ideas, interest in a variety of mediums, a preference for play over work.
So why have I been able to consistently start, finish and launch e-books, books, classes and programs? How do I make time for the creative adventures that are fun for me and continue to work?
The short answer: I became a coach and that forced me to the finish line in two ways:
1. I learned productivity and time management skills, and tweaked them to work with my creative ‘insanity’. I kept training myself to do things I didn’t want to do so I could have time to work on projects that matter to me.
2. I dug into my value of integrity; if I was going to help other people be creatively successful, I better walk the talk.
But the long answer? I discovered and held to my three F secret sauce: focus, follow through and finish.
Focus
Every year, I decide what my focus for the year is. This year, it’s making and showing my art, and developing my personal practices in order to have a life outside my business.
Every month, I make a map of the projects I am working on that month. I set deadlines and drive myself toward them.
Every week and every day I force myself to focus on what matters to me and the people I serve. This isn’t easy, but I am committed to refining my work and my life. I’m always learning and that’s why I invest in coaching and programs like The Good Life Project.
Follow through
Like most creative superheroes, I receive a daily stream of new! exciting! different! paths I could follow.
It’s so frickin’ hard to ignore the thrill of these new things. Every day I leap like a trout at small flies that hover on the surface of my idea stream.
But I’ve learned that I’m only allowed to add new things if I am still able to follow through on my current projects.
The main way I am able to follow through is to be accountable to someone else. I use my mastermind partnerships to stay on track.
Finish
Because I’m not able to start new things until I finish current projects, I am motivated to complete things. I also know that great ideas have a shelf life and if I don’t get it out into the world, the idea will wither or someone else will do it. Which would stink.
It’s not easy to drive projects across the finish line. But the more I do it, the more trust I build that I can finish important creative work.
That’s it. This is how I stay on the right side of the nutty line and don’t veer into ‘flaky’ territory. This is what I help my clients do: focus on what matters to them, guide them to follow through on things that will get them where they want to go, and keep them on track to finish their best work.
That’s my secret sauce. Don’t get me wrong; I still struggle with all the same issues we all face in the adventure of living our best creative selves. But I find that this mantra or policy really helps me stay on track so I feel more successful as a creative person.
What’s your method for staying on track to ensure your creative success? Tell us in a comment below, and if there’s someone in your life who might benefit from this simple formula, for goodness sake, share this with them!