The ugly.

Just look around. Way too many ugly messages of out there that people call creative. It gives creativity a bad name. Some people think that dumbing it down for the masses is creative. I’m sorry, but it just trash. There are too many examples of bad stuff to start pointing my finger. Just go out in the world close your eyes and point, you are bound to confront mediocrity.

As a culture, we should think about the development of and improving ourselves. Instead, we seem to have a culture that thinks it is OK to have a lack of respect for others, ignore the value of an education and rely on others to take on one’s own responsibilities. I could go on and on, but what’s the point. It’s like trying to stop a huge tidal wave. But wait, we can still feel good about what each of us do by using our own private creativity in a constructive and meaningful way. Let’s not dumb it down. Instead, let’s learn to just tell the truth.

Face the truth.

Not everyone is going to be successful at being creative. Some people spend a lot time in the world getting inspired and immediately start thinking of creative ways to use it. It’s really work and a huge commitment. As I have said in the past, it’s partly due to the competitive spirit that makes one more creative than another. There are some people who are just born with the ability. They were lucky enough to recognize their talents early on and found a career where they can use it. There are great singers, musicians, actors, artists, designers, writers and thinkers, and then there are those of us that do a good average job and still others who struggle. It’s just the way it works. We have winners and losers and everyone in between. Everyone doesn’t deserve a trophy. Every creative idea isn’t worth the time spent. We shouldn’t be satisfied with any idea that seem to dumb our lives down. As they say, be part of the solution. More importantly, be part of advancing our culture with our creativity. Creativity is good. It doesn’t or shouldn’t criticize or pass judgments. Use it to do good things.

Here’s the good…

I believe everyone has a good chance of being creative. Creative people are admired, so it worth the trouble and energy to develop your own flavor of creativity. Accept whatever level your ability is and go with it. There’s no point in stressing out over trying to compete with the stars. I believe that as you continue to practice and develop your creativity you will see a mark change in the quality of your solutions. Why? – Because you will develop a point of view about your process and what is important to you in a solution. If I were to suggest one thing a person can do to improve their ability to be creative, it would be to become more aware of simple inspirations. Write them down and visit them the following day to edit them. Then put them to the test, by expanding the inspiration with your creativity. Then get over the fear of sharing them with others. That‘s where the change will take place. You have to become fearless. Ideas come and go, but it’s your enthusiasm for sharing that will live on and encourage you to look again for other inspirations. Barrow inspirations from others and make it your own.

Happiness and Creativity

History has shown us that not everyone that is creative is happy. Some are driven by creativity and have no time for their own happiness. They are too busy trying to out-do themselves. Just be happy who you are and enjoy the process. Your time will come.

Why are so many songs written with the words love and baby? We are all looking for love and happiness. And in a perfect world it would be easy to find, but the world is not prefect, so we use our creativity to describe that which we desire. Like Pharrell Williams’ lyrics suggests, “Happy, …my level’s too high…nothing can bring me down”. An optimistic view of life is a good start for the average person to be hit by inspiration. Of course if you chose the darker side of life, it also can bring on inspirations. For me, paintings by Francis Bacon are genius by virtue of their truth and impact. Trust me, there are enough good and bad answers to go around for everyone. Just be sure you feel good about what you just created. Be your own best critic.

Be happy and reveal your real truth or be unhappy and lie to yourself. It’s the happy ones that will be are able to share and grow in productive ways. I guess you could die unhappy and famous.