On Creativity
The truth about what it takes to become a good creative
“Creativity doesn’t wait for that perfect moment. It fashions its own perfect moments out of ordinary ones.” — Bruce Garrabrandt
When thinking of creatives, many often assume that they must be chaotic people following their flow of inspiration while jumping from idea to idea. Many envision writers, painters, designers, or musicians working late nights when they feel like it and just magically coming up with their work that is valued by the rest of the world. Creative geniuses — the living beings fuelled by spontaneous tweaks and turns in the unfolding of their work.
In reality, creativity doesn’t work like that. In reality, world-class creatives are typically the most disciplined people you will meet. They understand something many hobbyists don’t: that the key to remarkable work is not genius talent given by nature, but much rather the disciplined practice over many years nurturing their skillset and talent. Creatives win the daily battle against their inner resistance and engage in deliberate practice. All ideas grow out of other ideas.
So no, creatives are not the free spirits only doing the work when they feel like it. The price of creativity is discipline. And that’s what you need to be willing to pay to do good creative work.
