Creative (and other) Problems

Yesterday I noticed this painting while attending my daughter’s art show. It’s an open house for the art school as well as an opportunity for the students to showcase their work. It was done by a 15 year old which, in my opinion, was one of the best works on display.

What I like most about this painting is the message (intended or not) contained within the work. We’ve all heard of writer’s block, a condition among writers that prevents them from producing new work. It may also be safe to assume that artists also suffer a similar condition as evidenced by this painting. It’s also safe to say that we have all suffered from a similar condition. Artist or not, we have encountered a professional or personal moment of paralysis whereby we feel as if we cannot move forward.

This “problem” is not limited to the creative community but as we can see here perhaps there’s an opportunity to learn from the citizens of that community. As this artist has done so perfectly it may be time to turn these moments of defeat into moments of opportunity. You can almost envision this artist painting her way through the her “creative problem.”

The next time you hit the proverbial wall in whatever you do think about this artist and think about how to change that moment in time into a moment of opportunity. Write, post, capture, or develop your way through your problem, have faith in your abilities and maybe the product you produce will turn into a work of art.

*The painting was created by a student at the Kaizar School of Art. For more information on this image or the artist that created it please content them directly. http://www.kaizarartschool.com/

Opportunities for Growth

I finally got around to reading a blog post by Chris Brogan that’s been waiting for me for who knows how long. It was titled “How to Write Three Blog Posts a Day” and as a new blogger and a fan of his work I thought I could pick up a thing or two that I could put to use. Fortunately there were more than a few nuggets of information and when I was finished I came to an unexpected realization – that the “how to’s” in his post can easily be appplied to just about any scenario including how to improve upon our approach to business, relationships and networking. As I sit on plane headed to Chicago there are two that stand out in my head.

Embrace Imperfection – His point was that your blog will have mistakes so get over it and move on. Wow, what a relief. This is huge and a huge relief to those that are immobilized by the fear of failure.  If only we were able to adopt that philosophy in our everyday lives and on a consistent basis. Think about how ones approach to work would be, not to mention the outcome.

Seek Opportunity for Content – There’s plenty of things to write about as long as we’re looking for the opportunity. I agree but for all of the non-bloggers out there I would say replace “content” with “conversation” meaning star talking and listening to everyone around you. More often than not conversations lead to discovery which leads to many things including personal and professional growth.

These were two of many tips I was able that resonated with me. Oh, and one other included the notion of stealing time to write when you can which I’ve done here on my approved electronic device in seat 10 C.