hmmm. pensive.
Dani bravely wrote about herself. I wanted to do that…I will do that. But this Friday, our next episode, “The One about Creativity” will be out, so I’ve had ‘Creativity’ on the brain.
I’ve noticed that people often talk about creativity as if it is reserved for people with obvious talent. Sculptors. Painters. Writers. Singers. You know—artists. But I’ve always believed that even the most business-minded, “left-brain”, pragmatic person is actually a hidden artist. (PS that whole right-brain, left-brain theory? Lies and fairytales.)
Think about it. As kids, we all loved coloring and crafts. No one said no to dipping their fingers in paint and spreading them across a blank piece of paper. In fact, if you decided to be weird and ask the next person you see if they have ever made a Thanksgiving turkey out of paper plates, a cut-out handprint, and some googly eyes, that person would look at you crazily…but then they would say yes. As a child, art, dance—creative expression of any kind—were never off limits.
The problem is that as we get older, we realized that some people are better at art than we are. Some people have more melodious voices. Some finger painters turned into real life Banksy-s. Listen..some little girl became Beyonce.
The truth is, we just weren't good enough. And that reality made us trash our coloring books. We traded them in for the activities that rewarded us internally and externally. We left art for the things suited us. Instead of just cultivating the artist within us, we judged it. Gave it a C minus and became…the math girl. The football player. The bookworm. The cheerleader. Since we weren’t “good” at art, we became good at something else. Because let's be real…there can only be one Yonce.
On one hand, that’s great! We’re not pretending to be something we’re not. Go us. On the other hand, we began slowly defining art as something only “creative” people do. We removed ourselves from the “Creative” category into a less whimsical, more practical category… (I couldn’t think of what to call that category, so have at it.)
But what about business?
Doesn’t it take a creative person to take raw materials and make something out of nothing? To solve a problem with an intuitive product or service? There’s an art to that.
What about life? Isn’t that art? Aren’t we constantly creating it? Writing our life stories with every decision? Oh my goodness. WHAT ABOUT MOTHERS? They are literally and figuratively creating the future.
My theory is that deep inside, we are ALL creatives. We are all artists. Whether or not we accept that power and responsibility is on us. (OH man. I have a REVELATION on responsibility. Later. Later.)
As Dani and I are in the process of unearthing the creativity we’ve buried, my hope is that you’ll do the same.
I’ve realized is that I want to make something – a life, a family, a career, a podcast – that I’m proud of.
What do you want to create?