Last week I read a reprint of an article from frog design that originally ran in Fortune. It nailed a tiny pet peeve of mine in the world of creativity. Companies and individuals often trumpet themselves as innovative, out-of-the-box, creative thinking “idea people”. It sticks in my craw a bit because there is nothing remarkable about having creative ideas. We all have them. ALL of us. What I think is rare, and much more extraordinary and ultimately valuable, is to be a person of conviction, to be someone who believes so much in a creative idea that she is willing to do whatever it takes to bring it to life and share it with others.
Creative folks get a bad wrap, too-often characterized as lazy, unfocused, and spacey. The most successful creatives I know – meaning their ideas are out in the world and people are benefiting from them – are nothing of the sort. They make a plan and drive to completion. They work hard, have laser-beam focus, and an unbelievable degree of attention. When I’m in their presence, they are there with me 100%. They’re present, aware, and relaxed even under great pressure. Those types of people are the ones I hold up and say, “Yes, that’s it! That’s creative living at its very best.” Conviction is required.
Creative ideas are all well and good. I want something more. I want more creative ideas out of our heads and onto the page, screen, canvas, pottery wheel, and stage. We don’t need permission, a business plan, or even funding to take action. We will figure it out as we go. So much creation is free or close to it thanks to the ludicrous amount of open-source tools that are literally at our fingers. Our only barrier is us.
Creative ideas stuffed into someone’s mind without an outlet for expression are just clutter. And quite frankly, it’s selfish to keep our ideas to ourselves. If ever the world needed more creative doers to fix the complete wreck we’re making of this world on every level, now is the time. Act, act, act!
Christa Avampato 