I know I have. 100’s of times there has been self doubt. I still don’t think I’m creative. I do, however, think that I have an eye for things. Some people call it taste, some people call it creativity. In the end it doesnt matter, it means there is something. That has to be nurtured. 2 powerful posts today , all from the same fantastic blog - Lateral Action – really hit home.  I’m going to write down some notes here and the most powerful messages that I got from it. I encourage you to read the blog as well, it serves for that late night inspiration most of us need. Whatever’s in italics are my thoughts.

The I’m not Creative problem.

A creative person is a person who creates things.

You either create something or you don’t. Period.

No doubt there are plenty of factors that influence things along the way, but it’s hard to say definitively that any of them are the reason why creativity happens. So worrying about them – and whether you have them or not – is a red herring. And the great thing about this definition is that there’s nothing stopping anyone having a go for themselves, to see if they too can create something extraordinary. Including you.  Forget about who you are (or think you are) and what qualities you may or may not have. Forget nouns (’creativity’, ‘creation’, ‘creator’) and adjectives (’creative’), and focus on verbs (’create’, ‘creating’). In other words, stop worrying about theories, and start taking action. And whatever you do, consign the thought “I’m not creative” to the dustbin.

The 4 step process is encouraged here. GOAR.

G- Goals (what are my goals?)
O- Options (what can I do to get to my goals)
A- Action (Do that next step)
R- Review (Have I achieved my goal?)

The Lack of time to be creative problem.

It sounds like you’re confronting the fact that you can’t do everything in life. Whatever you choose to do, there’s “always something else to do”. This is why the stories of great creators often involve hard decisions and sacrifices – at least at the beginning.

Like the Victorian novelist Anthony Trollope. His day job in the Post Office meant he had very little spare time in which to realise his literary ambitions. His solution was to get up at 5.30 every morning and write several hundred words before breakfast. He also wrote on trains while traveling for work. Eventually, he earned enough from his novels to give up his job – but most of his 37 novels were written while he was a full-time employee.

Do you see that ? 37 novels, day time clerk but never gave up on the dream. Little by little he strived to do it. This ties in to what Julien Smith writes as well. Stop believing your own bullshit. The bullshit is the internal dialogue that says “I’ll do this tomorrow” or “I’m too busy.” So let’s make it really simple for ourselves, ok? There is only one thing that isn’t a round-about, convoluted way to say “no.”

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