Some People Think Being Creative is a Curse…Maybe?

If you’re interested in the entertainment production industry, I’m willing to share my 30plus years battling and succeeding in it.

Sometimes being creative is not as awesome as other people think. Let me explain why that’s not true…

Some people think being creative is a curse.  I was one of those people.  I had way too many ideas floating around my head and I got frustrated trying to get people to on board with me on an idea.

So, I tried to stop paying attention to new ideas.

I tried to ignore my thoughts when I saw something I thought could be built better.  

I stopped offering up new songs to the band.  

I wrote stories that I never shared with anyone.

Basically, denied my instinctive creativity. 

It worked for a while. I was kind of okay with it. It definitely made relationships with friends and family easier. What’s the phrase, “go along to get along.” 

Eventually, I couldn’t live like that.  

I can almost remember the exact moment. It was in the early days of MIDI (musical instrument digital interface).  In those early days MIDI was used almost exclusively to get one synthesizer keyboard to talk to another via a MIDI cable. 

Being technically familiar with how MIDI worked. I started thinking if I press this C# on keyboard 1 and it plays an f on keyboard 2 that means neither keyboard cares what musical note is being played.

Keyboard 1 is just saying, “someone just pressed a particular switch (C#), which became a specific MIDI command. When that command hit keyboard 2 it was up to keyboard 2 to decide what musical note it was going to play.

That got me thinking.  If a MIDI command is basically just a on and off switch command, it should be able to tell anything that speaks MIDI to turn something on or off.  That set my brain on fire.  

 The possibilities were endless. Turn on a stage light, an effect in a studio rack, etc., etc., etc.  Remember this was way in the beginning of MIDI. Most people were confused enough with programming a keyboard to play another keyboard. 

When i mentioned my ideas to a few close friends, i watched their eyes roll back in their head as i rattled on about all the things you could be able to do. Bam!!

TO MUCH OF A GOOD THING

I realized at that moment what had been happening to me all those years prior. When you begin sharing creative ideas in all their glory, without detailing or developing step one, people can not see what you see.

What is the take home point? Being creative isn’t just something some people are born with. I believe everyone is born with creativity.  It is like any other talent or skill, it has to be developed and encouraged.

The later part, encouraged, is the trick.  You need to believe in yourself and not rely on others until you learn to present your ideas in a manner that anyone can see the value. One idea at a time. Present your concept simply. Make sure you also lay out simple development steps and never rush to the “change the world” thoughts until they are on board. Most importantly leave room for their contributions. (that’s something I’m still learning how to do hahaha)

 As always hit me up. I’d love to hear your thoughts.