"The Road is Long" - Sustainable Creativity

"Wisdom Begins in Wonder"

This quote from Socrates sent me on a small but very important journey recently, and it's a subject from which I rarely stray, a worry from which I am rarely free.

I have no doubt in my ability to be creative, thoughts spill from the small bucket of my mind more often than perhaps my employer or friends would find appropriate, but the problem I really face - is staying creative.

The Raven that keeps tapping...

It is a great fear of mine that my greatest work is already behind me, that the creative flair I carried for so long is an extinguished fire. I'm sure i'm not the only person who lives in fear that "that great thing I did was a one off, a fluke" - that fear keeps tapping at my door and I hear the whisper of "nevermore".

Well the ancient Greeks and the Romans believed that creativity was a god (daemon), or Genie (hence, Genius...) which would inhabit the artist when the mood took it and produce in them something original and exciting.

This meant that, though an artist was never directly responsible for their own work, neither were they entirely to blame for the creative dearths. It was merely the artists responsibility to show up and do their side of the bargain, it would be up to the ethereal genius if it would come that day or another.

Nothing Succeeds Like Excess...

The truth of the matter is, that the mystical place where those original thoughts and dreams came from, the ones which started you down this path of art, or design, or creation is never out of reach. Some days, it may seem like it's million miles away and that your Daemon or your Genius has long since forgotten about you but keep in mind all the things which inspired you to be a creative person in the first place.

In a recent conversation on LinkedIn an artist made a point which really resonated with me:-

 I can only speak for myself, but I have a many methods... When I am creative, I focus on creating new work. Then when I fall into a hole, I can take those designs and push out the mechanics. In addition, I let others work inspire and push me

So here, creativity is like a jet engine, fuelling itself from it's previous endeavours, or allowing you to tempt that Genius out of the walls with awe from other achievements.

Final Thought

Bottom line, don't stop creating...

• Those days when you feel defeated, create even more and create new things rather than re-working something already in development.
• Find inspiration from the wealth of greatness around you. The internet is now a vessel for inspiration, but don't forget just how inspiring people's company and conversation can be
• Never loose faith, never give up no matter how hard the challenge seems.

Like so many of the TED Talks I was inspired by what this professional had to say, and her unwavering desire to keep going.

If you're in a creative dearth when you're reading this then walk to that tapping door, banish the Raven and his endless "Nevermore" and usher in your genius. I don't know who you are, or what you're working on, but based on what I've learnt in this little journey then one day what you're doing may inspire me. So I believe in you, I believe in the power of creation, and I believe that original art from any corner of the world makes it a better place.

So why not start with a little Wonder... it may just lead us all to a little Wisdom.