Being Creative

What Do You Care About?

Happiness, Success, The Pathway To Fulfilment

It is reported flat Vincent Van Gogh only sold one painting during his lifetime. He often lived in poverty, but he felt the urge to paint. Now his paintings are worth millions of pounds/dollars. I suppose scarcity raises the price, now that he cannot paint any more.

But given that he could possibly have earned more money doing something other than painting, why did he paint? I guess you could also ask why I write this blog, or why does anyone do anything creative? And why some people do not.

Also, you could ask whether Vincent Van Gogh’s paintings have more value now or the moment they were painted. They have more monetary value now, but I would argue that the way they make the viewer feel has always had the same value.

The value of anything we do in life, if done with purpose and mastery, stands for itself and stands the test of time. The question is, what do you care about enough to master and share with the world?

Redefining Art

Success, The Pathway To Fulfilment

When we think of Art, we usually think of Monet, Van Gogh or some other famous painter or sculpture. We think of the things we see in art galleries, but those in Tate Modern, what is called Modern Art, is sometimes debated about regarding whether they are in fact Art.

I have an Art background and I have struggled with agreeing that some Modern Art pieces or installations are Art. The room with lights turning off and on that won the Turner Prize some years ago comes to mind.

The definition of Art given by Seth Godin in his book Linchpin is “Art is a gift that changes the recipient.” I like this definition, because it does not limit Art to particular skills or materials. He goes on to give the elements that are needed for something to be Art.

He says “Art is a personal act of courage, something one human does that creates change in another.” “By definition, Art is human… …because intent matters.” “Art is original.” “The last element that makes it art is that it’s a gift.” He also points out that “…it’s art when a great customer service person uses a conversation to convert an angry person into a raving fan.”

This definition of Art broadens it out to allow all of us to be Artists. A cook is not an Artist, but a Chef is. You too can be an Artist, so be courageous and give with the skills you have to make a difference and change someone for the better. This is a giving time of year, at Christmas, but make this a day habit and you will have a big positive impact on the world.

Success

The act of being creative is essentially to take existing things and ideas and to create something new out of them. We write with words and we paint with paint. These are the typical things we think of as being creative, but there are many ways to be creative.

However, the things we create end up creating us too, because the act of creating them changes us. We are a different person after each act of creating through what we learn about ourselves and the world via the creative process.

Many people think of the thing they create as their baby. It is not a baby, it is a thing that exists because of you, but it is not a human being.

The human being in the creation process is the creator. If you want to use the Parent Child analogy then the creator is more like the Child, because the process of creating changes us and contributes to creating who we are.

How To Be Creative

Achieving Goals, Success

Many people will say that they are just not creative, but I disagree. Everyone has been creative at least once in their lives. The difference with those who identify as creative is that they have chosen to be creative on purpose more than once, that’s it. Some people can generate more ideas than others, which is the basis for being creative for a lot of people.

To me, being creative is to take an idea and make something new out of it, it is simply to create. This seems like such a unique talent, because so many people have talked themselves out of being creative and therefore those that talk themselves into it stand out. That’s all it is.

Out of those that identify as creative there are some that will think they have to wait for the Muse to inspire them. Some will say that there is no Muse and you have to work through the bad work before you get to the good work. I kind of think both are true.

When I write poetry the poems seem to come almost fully formed and they flow out of me and if I don’t write them down they will be lost. This feels like the ancient idea of the Muse giving me inspiration, but I don’t wait for a Muse, because I don’t believe there is one. However, when ideas come I grab them and run with them, and appreciate the gift that they are.

When I write my blog, this is more of a practice. I have committed to writing a blog post every day. Some will be below average and some will light a spark that helps someone. I have chosen not to worry if the next blog post will be a hit, I just write and usually it is good, because I have gotten myself out of the way.

I think in order to be creative we need to firstly believe that we can be creative and then go and create, to have the confidence to give it a go again and again. With practice what you produce will get better and better until it is always good.

Sometimes it will feel like the Muse has given you a gem of an idea, but mostly having the practice of consistently creating, on whatever level or medium you choose will tip the balance towards being creatively successful.