River runs pink

What risks do you assume when you’re going against the norms? How does it make you feel?

During a short visit to Portland, Oregon last weekend, I decided to defy the time zone difference and stay on Eastern Standard Time by following Ben Franklin’s advice: “early to bed, early to rise.”  Staying downtown, I went for a quiet run along the river each morning to mentally prepare for my meetings.  Because of the light drizzle early Sunday, I expected deserted streets and was surprised to find police activity and thousands of people about.

My route happened to take me toward the starting line of the RACE FOR THE CURE. This yearly event has special meaning for many, what does it mean to you?  Hoards of mostly women wearing pink were walking in the same direction I was jogging. Although it could have been my imagination, I felt their approval and solidarity as I ran in the direction

Race For The Cure

of the registration booths; after all, I do support the cause.    My route took me under their pink balloon arch as I turned left along the river. At that moment I realized turning left wasn’t perceived to be right, and  I was running into the wind.

It could have been my imagination again, but now I felt hundreds of passing women’s disapproval as I ran in the opposite direction of the startling line without a pink number attached to my clothing. Have you ever had an experience like this of going against the norm?

Often when we are creatively inspired and making something new we are headed into the wind. This does not mean we are against the crowd but instead motivated by individual ideals. Courage to be different comes through believing in yourself.  What do you think?

Spring cleaning

The Penguin, the Joker, and the Riddler use their creativity to wreak havoc on Gotham City, while Batman and Robin used their own creative powers to prevent mayhem. Is there a Ying and Yang to creativity?

It’s exciting to throw another log into the fire, but how do you feel about burning something you created? Even failed attempts have some value as lessons learned, or to help spur new ideas? It takes effort to physically clean out the attic and how many poor examples do we keep?

Pablo Picasso said “Every act of creation is first an act of destruction.” In our creative process, do we have to burn to make room for something new? Children rotate the wheels on their Echer Sketch to erase their drawings, just as they topple their towers of blocks, dismantle their jigsaw puzzles, and continuously remold their play-doh.  For us, if the vase flies off the potter’s wheel it’s clearly mud, but most of the time, it’s more difficult to decide when to destroy what we have created. “To build may have to be slow and laborious task of years. To destroy can be the thoughtless act of a single day,” describes Winston Churchill.

After artists becomes famous, every scrap they leave behind gets served as a gourmet meal. Famous or not, who wants their legacy to be a stew of leftovers?

Choosing paintings to frame and hang on our walls is admitting them into our daily consciousness – more difficult is taking them out. Removing them is something I call “deframing” since it’s both defaming and deleting. How do you choose what to frame, what to haul to the attic? Or what to toss on the coals?  11 Comments

Blocking the way or a step up?

You create something that took an hour, a day, or a lifetime and someone comes along and expends five seconds of their time and tells you what you did wrong. It seems much easier (and more fun to some) to stomp on sandcastles than to build one. But sometimes, among the ruins of the castle we can find valuable grains of constructive critics.

Because they are concerned about “What people will say,” many people avoid the risk of creating anything new for fear of criticism, and some are even embarrassed by praise. Sometimes a river is a not an obstacle but a source that sustains life, and sometimes a high wall can be climbed to provide a better view. What people say does not have to be frightening and feedback can enable you to climb.

The first step in sifting out the gold is to qualify the critic. A good question to ask is “did the critic spend an hour, a day, or a lifetime acquiring the knowledge to make their judgments?” If they are knowledgeable in the field, you’re in luck, but sometimes even without a lifetime of knowledge, a critic can be helpful. Even a child can warn that a giant wave is about to crash on your head, but less apt at commenting on your business plan.

Next, can you do anything useful with the advice? Can you use it to improve your project? Or your next project? Like/dislike does not say enough. Is the criticism too late? Is it accurate?

Knowing when to dismiss, delete, and erase from your mind is an important skill. Destructive criticism can be thoughtless, mean and sometimes motivated by other’s agendas and shouldn’t be taken seriously. Much is a matter of opinion where critics unknowingly state their personal values. If their values and objectives happen to coincide with yours, their words could be useful.

Is the criticism given in public or private? Beyond heckles, public criticism is directed to a wider audience and provides information for others: “that was a good movie,” or more qualified, “if you like sci-fi and don’t mind seeing blood,” but not necessary directed toward the producer. Public criticism provides you the chance to respond back to the public, not the critic. “It’s more than sci-fi, it’s also a love story and the violence is limited to one scene.”

To give others useful criticism or advice, speak from your experience and set aside your self-interests. When you receive this kind of criticism, use it to climb the wall for a better view. When there is no feedback, it’s good to assume everyone is deliriously happy. 13 Comments

Calculated risks: Start in the tide pool before venturing into the ocean

Creating something new is risky! People may laugh; your idea may not work, costing you time and money. A simple step of calculating the risk beforehand can help you to understand what you are stepping into. Decide what is the worst thing that can happen? And what is its likelihood?

Start in the tide pool before venturing into the ocean. What is the harm of picking up a pencil and making a drawing? You risk wearing down your pencil and wasting a sheet of paper.

There is little risk in singing in the shower, or in your car on your commute, why not try to make up your own words. There is little risk in practicing a speech in front of some close friends, little risk in molding a piece of clay, or writing an essay. Find a low risk environment and use it as test laboratory and see what grows. Practice swimming in the shallows before getting in over your head.