Wisdom From Arthur C. Clarke: Breaking the Mold with Purpose and Creativity

July 20, 2010 by 15 Comments

One of my all-time favorite science fiction books is The City and The Stars, by Arthur C. Clarke. I believe it was the first sci-fi book I ever read.

This magical story details the life of Alvin, a “Unique,” who has never been born before.

In the fully enclosed, domed city of Diaspar, everyone else has lived many lives — they are reborn cyclically from the city’s Central Computer banks — and their memories of their past lives return to them on their 20th birthdays. Alvin has no prior memories.

Alvin’s uniqueness was deliberately designed. Because the city creators knew that the measures put into place to protect the last of the human race might someday no longer be needed (including behavioral inhibitions to keep everyone safe at home), they knew that a catalyst would be required to test the waters and breakthrough old paradigms when the time was right.

Over the billion years the city existed and of the millions of city inhabitants at any given time, only 14 other Uniques emerged to play this key role in the fate and future of the city.

Unfortunately for Alvin, as someone with such a unique purpose and role to play, he didn’t fit in well with his co-habitants. None of the other people in his life were interested in seeing what was beyond the walls, or questioning why things were they way they were.

One day, Alvin met another unique character: Khedron, the Jester. Although Khedron had lived before, he too was designed to play a key role — the role of the artist and the saboteur — with the purpose of shaking things up, stimulating discourse and debate, and catalyzing other catalysts (the Uniques) into action.

The city planners had chosen his role with care: They realized that a billion-year-old city would get downright boring and complacent without periodical upheaval, crime, disorder, and change.

Although the Jester had lived before, and had his own implanted inhibitions, he operated outside the societal norms and could help Alvin to claim his purpose and to act on it. Khedron became Alvin’s muse, in a sense.

Ultimately, Alvin ventured beyond the city walls to discover the self-imposed secret truths that kept the human race cowering on planet Earth and fulfilled his purpose.

I share this story with you for a number of reasons:

  • I love the demonstration of purpose — of how a single individual can have a lasting impact — and how compelling that purpose can be. Alvin could not rest until he had fulfilled his purpose. Khedron fulfilled his purpose as well. Each had a role to play.
  • I also love how The Jester — the archetypal fool — demonstrated the powerful role an artist plays in a society. Often creativity and art are thought of as gratuitous or entertaining, but this story caused me to see creativity as a powerful force for change, learning, growth, healing, and understanding. When I hear people debating or disliking an art piece (particularly a public art piece), I smile to myself, and think, “Good! That artist is fulfilling her purpose — she’s got people talking.”
  • I love the idea that not fitting the mold is not only “designed” but is the key ingredient for success. The discomfort both characters experienced as “different” parallels the lives of many sensitives and creatives as we navigate this world not well-designed for us. Precisely because of the fear of being different, or rocking the boat, many of us hold back. But as sensitive sages and visionary creatives, when we hold back, we fail to fulfill our purpose. We must recognize that not fitting in is part of our impetus to fulfill our purpose.
  • I love the reminder that we require muses and supporters as we breakthrough the limitations imposed on us (self-imposed and otherwise). As my teacher Sonia says, “We cannot do this alone.”

 

~~~~~~~~~~
What do you think? I’d love to hear from you:

  • What does this spark for you?
  • Where are you ready to venture into new territory?
  • What status quo paradigm are you longing to challenge?
  • Who is your Khedron or muse?

Please share your comments and thoughts on the blog below.

 

 

 

 

 

Filed Under: Creativity, Life Purpose, Science Fiction Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

6 Principles from a Creative Genius on Making Your Vision a Reality

July 13, 2010 by 15 Comments

I’ve recently been obsessed with George Lucas, creator of the Star Wars saga and other blockbuster films, which has led to all sorts of interesting reading and web exploration. Many people seem to believe Lucas has gone over to the “Dark Side” himself, only “in it for the money” with his projects (we’ll have to talk about that another time), but I’ve always found him to be an inspiring visionary.

Here’s why I’m interested: I believe that we can learn from successful, creative geniuses about how to bring our dreams to fruition.

I recently re-watched a documentary about the making of the original Star Wars trilogy. The insider’s look at the creation of a grand vision is utterly compelling.

What I love about watching George Lucas in action — particularly the George of the 1976 Star Wars production era — is seeing his absolute dedication and unshakable commitment to the creation of his art, his way.

Again and again, he steered clear of involvement with the Hollywood studios as much as he could (particularly later in the film series), and found ways to maintain his independence, like retaining merchandising rights (even when it wasn’t clear there would be a popular market for the merchandise).

He worked and reworked his script to be as precise as possible and checked and rechecked his story themes to make sure he was conveying the powerful mythological messages and meanings he wanted to convey.

He repeatedly overcame what looked like insurmountable odds to bring his vision to reality. With the first film, schedules were massively delayed, props were malfunctioning, costumes and sets weren’t living up to his vision, budgets were falling by the way side, and the studio was threatening to pull the plug, but still he kept on.

Clearly, Lucas experienced his own hero’s journey to create his films, along the lines of the story he tells of Luke Skywalker facing his own shadow and obstacles, reaching deep within himself to grow and expand into who he is meant to be and what he is meant to do in the world.

So what is it that enables one creative visionary to succeed, where another might fail? What can we learn from George Lucas about how to make our own visions real?


Here are 6 principles I’ve gleaned from my studies of him so far:

1. If you can see it, it must be possible. People around Lucas would tell him that something couldn’t be done, and he’d say, “Don’t worry about how we’re going to do it.”

I’ve always believed that if I can see something, there has to be a way to create it, even if I can’t see how yet. That’s how I’ve taught myself so much of what I’ve learned, and created so much of what I’ve created.

Interestingly, many technological advances are first devised in science fiction circles — and then the scientists figure out how to make it so.

If you have a creative vision, treat it with sacred respect, trust it, and get to work.

2. Stay true to your vision. Repeatedly, the people who worked with him would say that Lucas’ vision and passion for the idea were what made it all possible. They were obviously in awe of his ability to hold the vision, even when they couldn’t see it themselves.

Are you clear on the big idea of your vision and ready to see it through to the end, even if you don’t know exactly how you’re going to get there?

Find what you LOVE about it, remind yourself WHY you’re doing it, and go for it. Passion and perseverance will carry you through.

3. Delegate. A true visionary enlists other talented, dedicated, and creative supporters to help him or her make a vision real. George Lucas repeatedly hired other directors, screen writers, and editors, for instance, despite having those skills himself, because he knew he couldn’t be in the trenches and hold the big vision.

4. Be a strong leader. Although the pressure was intense, Lucas never seemed to waver or give up. Powerful leadership requires an unshakable faith in purpose and direction. Be clear on yours and retain your independence. It’s YOUR vision after all.

5. Be flexible. At the same time, be flexible, and allow your team to support you.

One of Lucas’ directors, Irvin Kershner, disagreed with him on a key line (where Han Solo says, “I know” in response to Leia’s “I love you” in the second film). Lucas thought it was a mistake, but went with it for an early screening. The audience loved it and talked about endlessly — so George left it as it was. He was flexible.

6. Trust your feelings. The concept of “The Force” in the Star Wars saga is the thread that weaves together both a teaching from the films and from Lucas’ creative legacy. Lucas knows the importance of developing and mastering our own emotional intelligence. Clearly he has followed his own, time and again, despite obviously massive outside pressure to conform to various norms and expectations.

From my perspective, this is all about trusting your own inner wisdom, even if it doesn’t make sense on the surface.

After all, every Jedi master knows that our eyes can deceive us.



~~~~~~~~~~
I’d love to hear about how or if this article has impacted you. Thanks for sharing your comments here on the blog, below.



~~~~~~~~~~
What’s Jenna Up To?

~> Thursday, July 29, 2010, Jenna starts her Embrace Your Inner Wisdom teleclass series. Learn to work with one of your greatest gifts as a sensitive soul — your intuition. Regular registration opens soon. Watch this space for details.

~> August 2010. Jenna’s Give Voice to Your Inner Vision Mastermind Retreat. Clarify your unique vision to implement your Life Purpose in a specific, step-by-step plan. We’re in the process of finalizing the dates for this in-person retreat to be held here in Berkeley, California. Interested? Please contact Jenna’s team to be put on the mailing list for the program.



Filed Under: Creativity, Vision Tagged With: , , , ,

Douglas Eby on the Inner Dynamics of Creative Visionaries

June 15, 2010 by 5 Comments

Douglas Eby of Talent Development Resources at www.TalentDevelop.com and its associated sites, like www.TheInnerActor.com and www.TheInnerEntrepreneur.com, has been researching and writing about psychology and creativity for the last 10 years, and regularly publishes intriguing tidbits about creativity, personality, and more.

I connected with Douglas’s work originally through my interest in highly sensitive people and his site www.HighlySensitive.org.

In the past he was a film journalist and wrote film production articles for Cinefantastique magazine, interviewing numerous actors, writers, and other filmmakers, which helped further his interest in the inner dynamics of creative people, along with his graduate school education in psychology.

Characteristics of Creative Visionaries
Eby describes creative visionaries as people who have a drive, passion, persistence, or consuming commitment to realize their creative ideas. As visionaries, they have a sense of their work being so important, meaningful, and emotionally powerful that they are willing to commit to it and persist with it.

For example, filmmaker James Cameron originally conceived his movie Avatar in the 1970s and finally released it after 4 years in production this year.

He notes that this kind of persistence can be seen as a form of obsession. :)

Common Challenges & Obstacles
Eby notes the following challenges and obstacles often come up for creative visionaries:

  1. Mental Health Issues often come up for creative types. Writers often struggle with mood disorders. Creative work doesn’t provide immunity to those feelings, and in fact they seem to be more prevalent with creatives.
  2. Perfectionism. Creatives often have a burning need to make everything “right.” On the other hand, as Eby notes, James Cameron says, “I’m not a perfectionist, I’m a ‘greatist.’ I just want to make it great.” (Personally, I love that!)
  3. Self Esteem. The dichotomy of feeling entitled and much more talented, creative, and visionary than most people, but simultaneously feeling less than or inadequate (so common for creative types) can wreck havoc with one’s self-esteem.
  4. Fraud & Impostor Feelings. Many creatives feel like frauds or impostors, as if they will be found out as not really being talented. Actors Kate Winslet and Nicole Kidman both talk about such feelings.

How to Overcome These Obstacles
You may be helped by these common ways creative visionaries overcome these obstacles:

  1. Receiving Therapy. Many actors and writers talk about therapy and how it has helped them. Actor Heather Graham feels that she creates better characters as a result of her personal work. Self awareness seems to increase creative quality for those who pursue it.
  2. Going Ahead with Your Creative Work Anyway. James Cameron admits to feeling depressed at times and yet going ahead with his work. This is so true for me — as an Enneagram Four who often bumps into feeling down at times, I can’t wait around to be “in the mood” to create.
  3. Seeing Your Work in Larger Terms. James Cameron again is an example of someone with a powerful vision who has a larger perspective on the work he brings to the world. This is one of the keys to making an impact with your creative project or vision.

How to Sustain & Fuel Your Creativity
Eby notes that many creatives are helped by collaboration, if that works for you and is appropriate to your creative process. James Cameron, for instance, hires the most creative people he can find, which helps him keep his ideas active and sharp, and emotions high. Solitary artists like painters and writers may have to fuel themselves in a different way.

Similarly, Eby recommends going with the flow of your creative work — not resisting it — as a way to sustain and fuel your creativity.

On Dealing with Naysayers, Fears, & Doubts
Eby suggests that creative visionaries become conscious of their doubts and fears and how they might get triggered by other people’s doubts and fears. He advises that we question and examine the underlying beliefs and ideas around the messages we receive from others.

Ask, “How true is that?” For example, a common admonishment to artists is that “you can’t make money doing art.” But how true is that really? Are there people out there making money with their creative efforts? (The answer is a resounding yes! in my opinion.) (If you’d like help with quieting these sorts fears and doubts, consider joining my Quiet Your Inner Critic course coming up June 22.)

What Supports Creative Visionaries to Succeed?
To help stay the course as a creative visionary, follow your gut. If you feel driven, called to, or have to take action on creating your creative dream, despite all the fears, doubts, and reasons not to, follow your gut to claim and step into your role as a creative visionary.

Also, pay attention to your emotional life and what holds you back from your creative spirit, expression, and interests. Therapy, coaching, or mentoring may be helpful. Deal with the fear and anxiety you have so you can get on with your creative work. Coaching in particular can provide a sense of responsibility for bringing your creative project to life.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Want more details? You can listen to the full audio interview here:

[media id=1]



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
What’s Jenna Up To?

~> Tuesday, June 22, 2010, Jenna kicks off her workshop intensive series, “How to Quiet Your Inner Critic So You Can Stop Holding Back On Your Soul’s Mission.” Register *today* to receive 3 special bonus gifts.

~> Summer 2010. Jenna’s Embrace Your Inner Wisdom teleclass. Details to be announced. Learn to work with one of your greatest gifts as a sensitive soul — your intuition.

~> August 2010. Give Voice to Your Inner Vision Mastermind Retreat (in-person). Dates to be announced. Clarify your unique vision to implement your Life Purpose in a specific, step-by-step plan.

Filed Under: Creative Visionaries Interview Series, Quiet Your Inner Critic Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Creative Visionary Survey Results

January 16, 2010 by Leave a Comment

The results are in!

A few weeks ago I posted a survey about Visionaries and received wonderful feedback. There were 299 responses.

Here’s the note I sent out with the survey: “If you consider yourself a creative visionary, a leader, a world-transformer, or even someone with a passion for making the world a better place, I’d love to have your input.”

1. What type of visionary are you?
Over 60% of you see yourselves as “Creative Visionaries” followed closely by over 57% who see yourselves as “Spiritual Visionaries.” Since I sent my survey to my list of “highly sensitive souls,” I’m not entirely surprised by the spiritual focus.

Granted that I’ve been focusing on “creative visionaries,” I’m sure my results are skewed in that direction, but nonetheless, I’m interested in this response. :)

(Note: Click on the graphics for a larger view.)

2. Which of these characteristics best describe you?
Then, I asked you to respond with the characteristics you feel best describe you as a visionary, and heard that most of you think of yourselves as “Creative, Outside-The-Box Thinkers” (over 58%), followed closely by “Big Picture Thinkers” (54%), “Transformers of Old Outdated Systems & Paradigms / Challengers of the Status Quo” (52%), and “Thought-Leaders/Forward Thinkers” (51%).

Lots of thinking going on here, which is particularly interesting in the context of the next question.

3. Which of these challenges have you struggled with?
Clearly the biggest issue was “Struggling With My Own Inner Critic” — over 70% of you selected that choice.

“Feeling Isolated and Alone” and “Not Having a Peer Group” were also top choices, as well as “Having Too Many Ideas and Not Knowing Where to Start” and “Not Having a Clear Vision But Knowing I’m Meant to Be Doing Something Big.”

My sense is that much of the struggle with the inner critic and the many ideas have to do with getting stuck in our own thinking, not keeping our energy moving, and not being disciplined about choosing ideas to bring to fruition.

Other comments on this question included

  • “Not having good energy boundaries”
  • “Fear of jealousy”
  • “Needing a kick in the butt”
  • “The idea that creative work, such as writing poetry, is selfish. Also, nobody likes a showoff.”
  • “Impatience and disbelief that others could not see what I could see”
  • “Not being taken seriously, ‘heard'”
  • “I find myself staying weighted down with ‘I don’t have the right to be heard and noticed'”
  • “Doing what I want vs should causes mental anguish”
  • “Organizing life to write and making it a priority”

Thank you very much for your participation.

Your comments are welcome — what intrigues YOU about this? What do YOU notice?

Filed Under: Creative Visionaries Tagged With: , , , , ,

New Creative Visionaries Survey

December 23, 2009 by 3 Comments

I’d love to have your input on my new survey for creative visionaries. I’m striving to discover what helps creative visionary types succeed and stay on track with what they were put here to do. As part of that effort, I’m looking for information about what kinds of specific obstacles they face. If you’d be willing to share your input, I’d be eternally grateful.

You can find the survey here: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/creativevisionaries

I’ll be sharing the results of the survey here on the blog. You’re also welcome to post comments, ideas, and suggestions.

Happy Holidays!

Filed Under: Creative Visionaries Tagged With: , ,

What Defines a Creative Visionary?

December 17, 2009 by 2 Comments

I’m adding more thoughts on how I’m defining “creative visionaries.”

Although there are many types of visionaries, it’s my supposition that ALL visionaries are “creative” thinkers. In other words, they are ahead of their time and thinking outside-the-box.

Creative visionaries are:

  • pioneers
  • people who aspire to greatness
  • people who change the course of history
  • change agents
  • radical visionaries
  • creative outside-the-box thinkers
  • muses
  • creative thought leaders
  • forward thinkers
  • magicians
  • transformation entrepreneurs
  • people who transform old outdated systems, paradigms, and radically challenge the status quo
  • prophets
  • innovators
  • “imagineers”
  • big picture thinkers
  • idea generators
Filed Under: Creative Visionaries Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

On Being Ahead Of Your Time

December 16, 2009 by Leave a Comment

I just finished a brilliant interview with Mark Simpson of www.ExceleratedSuccess.com.

Mark is teamed up with his wife, Bria Simpson, a six-figure marketing mentor, and he uses his creative visionary abilities to help entrepreneurs develop their own successful creative visions for their businesses.  In the past, Mark designed, owned, and ran a children’s museum in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Along those lines, he cites Walt Disney and Dr. Seuss as two of the most successful, creative visionaries of our time. I couldn’t agree more.

Mark shared with me a favorite quote of his by Theodor Seuss Geisel (Dr. Seuss) that helps keep him inspired and on track, “Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind.”

Here’s a bit of what I gleaned from Mark about how successful creative visionaries thrive:

  1. Be willing to take risks.
  2. Trust your own instincts.
  3. Have a deeply rooted support system firmly in place of people who believe in you.
  4. Channel your creative visions into real and tangible outcomes.
  5. Stay inspired by staying tapped into your big picture vision — remember all the lives you will or are touching.
  6. Keep your distance from the people who doubt you.
  7. The only person to please is yourself.
  8. Be willing to take a leap of faith (or many).
  9. Be willing “fail” and learn from your mistakes.
  10. Stay focused on your big picture vision.
  11. Don’t get caught up in the day-to-day minutia. Instead, delegate and surround yourself with people who have strengths in those areas.
  12. Have people around you who believe in you and ways to stay connected in the world socially. That helps balance the isolation that can come from having a vision that other people may not “get.”

Here are some characteristics of creative visionaries we touched on.

  • Out there
  • Ahead of their time
  • Ahead of the curve
  • Standing out
  • Misunderstood
  • Hard to find
  • At the cutting edge
  • Avant garde
  • Big picture thinkers
  • Idea generators

I’ll post the interview later today.

Filed Under: Creative Visionaries Interview Series

Imagineers Don’t Shoot Down Their Dreams

September 25, 2009 by Leave a Comment

One of my platinum coaches just forwarded me this article about “Imagineering” (R) by Ali Brown called, “Learn From Disney and Make Your Business Dreams Come to Life!”

Ali says, “…in Imagineering, it’s important to take things one step at a time. Otherwise, you might shoot down your dream before you have the chance to make it happen.”

This is such an important lesson that so many of us overlook.

We can’t possibly be in — let alone stay in — the creative resourceful space we need to inhabit to “dream big” and connect with our own inner vision and guidance.

Once we’ve given ourselves a chance to brainstorm and daydream, THEN we can do the “reality check” and find a way to make our visions real. But before then, all we’re doing is shooting down our nascent brilliance before we even give ourselves a chance to discover it.

Filed Under: Creative Visionaries Tagged With:

Amazing, Innovative Art

September 9, 2009 by 2 Comments

Just saw this on Twitter via @Kaypearl from @bitrebels.

The detail is amazing, and I love all the “round pegs” and “rebel” references. Click the links below the image to see the full image and to click through to the artist’s gallery.

Wow.

Steven_Paul_Jobs_by_dylanroscover

Steven Paul Jobs by ~dylanroscover on deviantART

Filed Under: Creative Visionaries Tagged With: , ,

What Inspires Me About Creative Visionaries

September 5, 2009 by 3 Comments

Part of what inspired me to explore this new project was this article about Brad Bird at Pixar. I loved the “lessons,” including:
(Note, these are renumbered from the original article because there were actually 10, not 9, as indicated in the text)

  1. Herd Your Black Sheep: “Give us the black sheep. I want artists who are frustrated. I want the ones who have another way of doing things that nobody’s listening to. Give us all the guys who are probably headed out the door.”
  2. Perfect is the Enemy of Innovation: “…there are some [scenes] that only need to be good enough to not break the spell.”
  3. Look for Intensity: “Involved people make for better innovation”
  4. Innovation Doesn’t happen in a Vacuum: “…if we can interconnect all our strengths, we are collectively the greatest animator on earth.”
  5. High Morale Makes Creativity Cheap: “…the thing that has the most significant impact on a movie’s budget—but never shows up in a budget—is morale.”
  6. Don’t Try To “Protect your success:” “The first step in achieving the impossible is believing that the impossible can be achieved…”
  7. Steve Jobs Says ‘Interaction = Innovation:’ “People are allowed to create whatever front to their office they want…. if you have a loose, free kind of atmosphere, it helps creativity.”
  8. Encourage Inter-disciplinary Learning: “…encourages people to learn outside of their areas, which makes them more complete [and more creative].”
  9. Get Rid of Weak Links: “Passive-aggressive people—people who don’t show their colors in the group but then get behind the scenes and peck away—are poisonous.”
  10. Making $$ Can’t Be Your Focus: “Walt Disney’s mantra was, ‘I don’t make movies to make money—I make money to make movies.’”

What I love about these thoughts is the outside-the-box thinking that focuses on creativity, results, risk, and morale, simultaneously. As someone who is accustomed to coaching clients who “don’t fit in,” I love seeing such powerful results coming from NOT fitting in and not valuing fitting in. It’s so refreshing.

It’s my sense that we all have a lot to learn from these creative visionary types who see things differently, are willing to say so, and are willing to match their money and their efforts with their beliefs.

Filed Under: Creative Visionaries Tagged With: , , ,
« Previous Page
Next Page »