Tag: creativity

Palpable, conquerable fear

January 25, 2012 / / 4 Comments

image credit: Creation Swap user Jon Davis

There are times in our lives where fear is as palpable as the key in the ignition of your car.

You sit there, wondering if you really have to start the engine. You wonder if it would be easier to plant, unencumbered by the stress that awaits you the next time the engine will go silent. When the engine returns to its resting state, you’ll be much closer to the fear you dread.

There are times in our lives where fear seems to grip our hearts so tightly it squeezes every the life out of each ounce of authentic, unconjured courage. Our past failures fuel the fire where fear slowly burns, the warm coals pulsing red-hot. Out of nowhere, a flame sparks upward and we’re reminded of the heat contained within. The gray coal we thought dormant shows life once again, and our past rears its head and cripples us again.

Fear seeks to destroy you, and the beautiful future laid out before you. It wants nothing less than to maim and leave you insecure. It takes the gifts God has given you and twists them so they appear weak and inert.

And you can do one of two things with that paralyzing fear.

What to do with your fear

You can let it keep you in the driveway, effectively out of the game of idea-sharing, problem-solving, healthy community, where fear and insecurities dominate.

Or you can dominate your fear. Reminded that you weren’t created out of fear, but out of love, you can stoke the flame of your God-given gifts. Laughing at fear’s potential to cripple, you can begin to help others become conquerers. (2 Corinthians 1:3-11; Romans 8:35-39)

If you’re afraid, work through it and let it propel you to work harder, dig deeper, and fight with all the strength you’ve got.

If you’re afraid, use that fuel to charge your creativity to go places it’s not gone. Instead of stuffing fear under the proverbial rug, find a way to explore it, using it for good. (Genesis 50:20)

Whatever you do, don’t let fear win.

For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God…for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control. – 2 Timothy 1:6-7

 

Passable Gaps in the Creative Process

December 6, 2011 / / 1 Comment

credit: iStock Photo user TommL

*The creative process is beautiful and frustrating and exhilarating and exhausting. Yet far too often, we put out a poor product. One we’re not even proud of. One that doesn’t inspire further creativity, but de-spires it. (kind of like when you create a new word, like “de-spire”)

I look back to work I did a few years back and I think, “How did I ever send that?” It’s not that it’s full of mistakes. It’s that it’s just not that good. I wasn’t being lazy or haphazard with my work. I just knew something was missing and that I could get better.

The Gaps

I noticed gaps between what I was producing and what I wanted to produce. Gaps between “good” art and “lousy” art. I knew what I was aiming for, and I was hitting as close to the target as I knew how. I recognized the gaps, be it ever so slightly, then but now looking back, those gaps are like chasms.

Closing the Gap

That process continues today. I feel like I’m getting closer and closer to the target, but I still miss. I can describe to you what a beautiful, finished piece of work should look like, but for some reason, my finished work falls short.

With every project, I’m getting a little bit better. One day, I know I’ll look back on my current works and wonder, “How did I ever send that?” But for now, I trust that the daily grind and evaluation is producing an increasingly better  and more beautiful work.

So I’ll keep producing the best art with the most care that I know how.

This video from Ira Glass is a great take on the creative process.

(HT: Z)

* I realize that this post is a bit outside of the normal scope of this blog. Thanks for hanging with me, though. This is what’s on my mind right now.

** photo credit: iStock Photo user TommL

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

5 Leadership Lessons Curious George Teaches us

August 10, 2011 / / 5 Comments

My son loves when we read Curious George to him.  It’s one of his favorites!  But I read everything with a critical eye.  And while I don’t always appreciate that part of me, I just can’t turn that switch off and just completely read for fun.  I wish I could.

Image via MyDorchester

Yesterday, I told you about the bad parenting lessons I’ve learned from Curious George. (you can read that HERE)

But I’d be remiss to say there aren’t some great jewels of life wisdom here, too!  Even wisdom that leaders can glean.  To be honest with you, I never thought I’d be learning leadership lessons from a cartoon monkey.  But, alas…the life of a dad…

5 Leadership Lessons Curious George Teaches us

Enjoying life is infectious.

When you enjoy life, you help others to do the same.  At the end of every book, the entire cast of characters is smiling.  Not to say that life’s easy or fluffy or always happy, but looking for ways to enjoy the gifts and opportunities God’s giving you is infectious for everyone around you.

Helping people is messy work.

George’s goal throughout the series is to help people.  But in helping people, he often gets into big messes.  Before it’s all said and done, many people are frustrated with George.  Even those who love him the most (the man with the yellow hat).  Which is what you’ll sometimes, unfortunately, find in life.  Helping people change, grow, and deal with life is often messy and frustrating.  But I can’t even begin to tell you how it’s worth the frustrations.

Creativity is messy and chaotic, but at the end of the day, it’s worth it.

If you pursue creativity in life, things will get messy and chaotic.  Rarely will you find yourself in the middle of creativity and in the middle of order.  Just know, going in, that you’re going to have to put up with a bit of chaos in the creative process.  But at the end of the day, it’s worth it.  The insights, new directions, and “art” you’ll create through the process make it worth the effort.

Curiosity will get you in lots of trouble.

The more you poke around, question systems, and look for new ways of doing things, the more you will frustrate some people.  Because, often, it’s easier to leave the status quo untouched.  To assume you can “arrive” and be done growing and changing.  And the more you push for those out-of-the-box changes, the more you’ll frustrate those who are satisfied with keeping things the way they are.

Curiosity will lead you to lots of fun.

Children naturally gravitate towards creativity and fun.  But life has a tendency of breaking many of us of that.  Curiosity is a beautiful thing.  It leads to new discoveries and new adventures, as long as you’re willing to pursue it.  Don’t get so tangled up in details, systems, and processes that you forget to have a little fun along the way.  There’s an adventure around every corner if you’re willing to look.

Question:

Have you seen any of these lessons come true in your life?

 

How to virally spread your idea

June 8, 2011 / / 12 Comments

According to Strengths Finder, I’m a “Learner.”  Which means that I thrive in an environment where I get to learn and grow.

In fact, sometimes the process of learning is more exciting to me than the outcome.  Weird, I know.  Don’t judge me.

A few years back, I stepped into the role of small groups pastor at Grace Community Church.  I had never been a small groups pastor before.  I knew little to nothing about small groups.  My past experience had been primarily with Sunday School.  And my work in ministry had been primarily with people younger than me.  I was in over my head.

But the prospect of learning a new skill, a new philosophy, gave me great energy.  Maybe my process of learning, growing, and sharing can help you with your idea.

I get much more done through collaboration than working on my own.  Here’s how I do it:

Build communities–>compile ideas–>implement locally–>compile ideas–>build communities

Build communities. Reach far and wide.  Even outside of your normal circle.  Talk with people in unrelated fields.   At some level, innovation is innovation. And there’s something you can learn from Coca Cola, even if you’re in the business of selling cars.  Skip this step and you’ll box yourself in to small ideas.

Compile ideas with a smaller group. This is industry-specific. Find the leading thought generators in your industry, and start picking their brain. Learn from them. Try to understand why they do what they do. What successes are they having?   What failures have they experienced?  These people may not be implementing concepts exactly like you would…mainly because only you are in your context.  Skip this step and you’ll miss the learning from industry leaders.

Implement locally with your team. Take the ideas, principles, stories, and innovations from the entire funnel and begin integrating them into your organizational structure.  This is where the hard work begins, in my opinion. It’s no longer about just generating ideas, and operating in the clouds of thought. This is where the rubber meets the road. And if you do the hard work necessary at this level, real change begins to happen.  Skip this step and you’ll have no credibility in your industry…and you’ll have done no real work.

Compile ideas. As you implement locally, you have something to offer to others in your field.  Continue to grow, expand, and effect change.  Others within your line of work, who are trying to do what you’re doing but are having a tough time getting results like you are, will take notice.  A word of advice at this level: share generously. Give away your knowledge, your stories, and your secrets.  The new wave of marketing, sales, and online social media is built on being generous with information and insights…not with hoarding that information.  You’ll get your payback, but it may not come in traditional forms. As you share with others in your field, you may gain coveted networking opportunities or even become a leader in your industry.  Other highly touted workers in the field may begin seeking you out as a place of employment.  Tangible results?  You bet.  Immediate?  Not a chance.  Skip this step and others in your industry who need your innovation will never see it.

Build communities. As you’ve implemented your strategy at the local and industry level, others outside of your industry will begin to take notice. Because, remember, innovation is innovation. Your strategy will likely work across multiple platforms. But you’ll never make it to this stage if you haven’t generously given of yourself and your time throughout the other stages.  We need your idea. But if you don’t work to build communities, networking even with people not like you, we’re never going to hear it.  Skip this step and your ideas and principles never leave your industry.

This is how I grew from knowing nothing about an industry (small groups) to sharing ideas globally.

Is your idea worth spreading virally?

If not, find a new idea.

Have you experienced influence at the “compiling ideas” level?  How about at the “Broad community” level?

Do you desire to share ideas globally?

 

A blogging limerick

May 19, 2011 / / 1 Comment

The perspiration of writing

Some days I just don’t feel like writing

I think and I type, nothing’s flying

But press on I must

One more line or bust!

Inspiration, please find noggin’

Anybody else resonate?

 

Good ideas need your brilliance

February 22, 2011 / / 11 Comments

Have you seen Toy Story?

Did you know that they have authentic replicas of the movie characters that are built to scale…looking exactly like that you saw on the movie, even down the smallest detail?  They’re a replica of the exact size of the characters you saw on the movie!

But with no imagination, they’re just a plain, lifeless doll.

With the imagination of a child, they become Woody…or Buzz Lightyear…or Jessie.

Good ideas

And the same is true with good ideas.  We go to conferences, read books, interact with broad audiences, dialog on social media, and get tons of ideas.  But until we put life to them, until we contextualize them, until we bring them into our systems, they’re lifeless.

A great idea looks cool…especially marketed in a slick package.  But it’s a different game altogether once you get it out of that package.  Because it takes your creativity, your insight, and your wisdom to put that idea into action.

That’s why copying another ministry doesn’t work.  Because it takes your effort to change, tweak, and contextualize the idea to make it function in your ministry.  If you try copying someone else, even though it may have sounded awesome when you heard it the first time, all you’ve really got is a dead, lifeless child’s toy that’ll sit on your desk.

But with your brilliance, the idea can come to life.

Where do you get your good ideas?  Books?  Conferences?  Conversations?


When was the last time you put one of those ideas to life?

 

Renting Creativity

September 27, 2010 / / 0 Comments

I rent creativity from Starbucks.  And it costs me $2.30 (the exact price, coincidentally, as a Venti Bold coffee, black, filled to the rim).

I need time away from my office, away from my desk and the normal demands of my job.  I can get so sucked into the day-to-day that I forget to lift my head up and move beyond the task list in front of me.  And if you’re a leader, you need that time, too.

For the role it plays,  $2.30 is pretty cheap to rent a little creative space.

Where do you go for creativity?  Is there something you listen to?  Read?

How do you remove distractions so that you can lift your head up?

 

The Creativity of God

July 28, 2010 / / 1 Comment

Just a few weeks ago, while my wife and I were stuck in London, I was able to visit the city of Oxford.  The main reason we went was for a tour of the various sights associated with C.S. Lewis.  We were able to understand more fully the life of Lewis after seeing the places where he lived and worked.

The highlight of the tour for me was “the lake.”  Behind the house where Lewis lived was a forest, and in the forest was a lake (really, it was more of a pond) where Lewis would spend hours, alone, thinking and writing.  It’s said to be the place where he had the inspiration for his infamous Chronicles of Narnia.  And being there, I quickly understood how inspiration could come by spending extended time there behind Lewis’ house.

It was a beautiful spot.  There was a walking path circling the lake.  There were lots of old trees.  And dense shrubs.  We were there in the spring, so many plants were beginning to bloom.  All around, you heard the sounds of nature: bugs, birds, wind, and creaking trees.  Yet there was this sense of quiet and rest that was present, too.  No cars.  No rustling of people.  No distractions.

And I was reminded that we serve a beautiful, creative God.

Spending time outside, away from my normal environment of four walls, a door, and a computer, helps get my creative juices flowing.

What helps you when you need to think creatively?

 

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