And so are you, if you choose to be. This TED talk by Ken Robinson is shockingly clear about creativity in our culture (and pretty hilarious). His simple message is that creativity requires an acceptance of being wrong a lot, and we’re training people to believe that making a mistake is the worst thing you can do. “The problem is to remain an artist as we grow up.”
I have a simple solution to this problem. When someone asks me what I do, I tell them I’m an artist. Now technically, my business card, if I had one, might say “Commodity Trader.” But when it comes to what I do on a daily basis, it’s finding creative solutions to very complex problems. And it’s an art form. When it comes to mapping out the career path ahead of me, I view it as having a blank canvas on which I can create whatever beautiful picture I choose. The point is that I never stop thinking like an artist (like a kid), which means anything is possible and I’m free to have big dreams.
The world is more complex than ever before, and we need as many people as possible to have the courage to find creative new solutions. You can do your part by embracing your own sense of creativity and supporting others when they are trying something new or different. Please do. And if you can, take 20 minutes to watch the video and allow yourself to be inspired.
4 comments
No ping yet
Mehul Kar says:
November 1, 2010 at 11:08 am (UTC 0)
The new? original? definition of art has completely up-ended my world.
I think the purpose of life should be to turn every single action and thought into a masterpiece. Not to get too philosophical, but in essence, I think the religions and sciences are all trying to do the same thing.
Jason says:
November 1, 2010 at 12:34 pm (UTC 0)
Very interesting, as always, Mehul. I see what you’re saying, and in a sense, it is the logical conclusion of some of what I’ve been talking about. If everyone finds exactly what they’re passionate about, and specializes in just that, everyone may become more and more specialized. At some point in the future, the smallest little thought or idea would be made as grand as possible by a passionate person.
The other side of this is that as great as it would be to make a masterpiece of everything we do, we still must lead balanced lives. This means we must not neglect a lot of the little requirements of daily life. But, in healthy amounts, making a masterpiece of your life is a great goal.
Mehul Kar says:
November 2, 2010 at 12:58 pm (UTC 0)
Making something a masterpiece doesn’t mean spending hours and hours on it.
What makes conventional art (music and painting) great is not that hours of thought went into it (think of the phrase “spark of genius”..it’s not “hours of genius”…or even the metaphoric lightbulb).
What makes a masterpiece great is the purity of intention. Every action can have that. I’m not sure how balance fits into this equation, though. Which should be worrisome, because I’m an advocate of a balanced life as well. :/
Jason says:
November 2, 2010 at 2:06 pm (UTC 0)
I’m going to have to disagree with you now. What enables a “spark of genius” is all the time and energy we put into gaining knowledge and experience. In fact, masterpieces of music and painting take lifetimes of dedicated practice before they are possible. Malcom Gladwell’s book “Outliers” describes this in great detail. Search for “The 10,000 hour rule.”
From this understand, to become a master of everything is literally impossible, so in order to maintain balance, we must choose what it is we would like to become masterful at. Aiming to master every thought and idea is an exercise is futility and exhaustion.
I really appreciate your thoughts!