When should you start working on your idea?

The instant you have an idea it is time to get to work; there is nothing to be gained by waiting for further inspiration or clarification.  The first step should be to involve your senses in the process of communicating the idea - even if it is to yourself.  Seeing, tasting, hearing, smelling, and feeling your idea will give it momentum.

• Details of a painting will manifest themselves no sooner than when an artist begins to sketch her vision.
• The true form of the code evolves as the programmer is typing, not at the whiteboard.
• A tangible variation of the melody in a composer's head will crystallize only when it is sung or played on an instrument.
• Interesting new questions that beg for answers are only revealed to the researcher through experiment.
• A recipe evolves through tasting, smelling, and refining.
• The characters of a story come to life as the writer lives them out on paper.

A laborer cannot stare at a field and expect it to bear fruit.  Neither can the creative worker expect the seed of an idea to grow without rolling up his sleeves and planting it in its proper medium.

"Vision without execution is hallucination." - Thomas Edison

Contradictions in Productivity - Part 1

It seems that in order to produce creative work, one must be o.k. with the cognitive dissonance that comes with accepting two seemingly opposite viewpoints at the same time.  I'll share a few examples that we face when doing creative work.

Part 1: Making It Perfect vs Getting Started
You certainly wouldn't want to launch your new software product without first testing its primary features.  On the other hand, if you're determined to work out all of the bugs then your project may never see the light of day (and you'll never truly get started).

We've all heard about writer's block, lack of inspiration, paralysis of analysis, and the fear of permanence as being barriers to producing creative work.  However, the process of just working on your art* is likely to spark the muse and cement your conviction in what you have to say.  If the fear of not perfectly expressing yourself stops you from getting started then you're missing out on the refining, constantly perfecting nature of just working on it.


*Art, as defined by Seth Godin's brilliant book Linchpin, means "emotional work".

Why do creative work?

I believe that we were all created.
Take that at face value; I'm still undecided as to exactly how we were all created.

I believe that we were all created on purpose.  No "accidents", no "surprises" but purposefully created in the image of the creator.

It seems obvious therefore that there would be such a huge divide between humans and the animal kingdom; we're created to be creators.

Rick Warren (@RickWarren) tweeted this week: "A society cannot teach its youth they are merely animals then be shocked when they act like it."

So why do creative work?  Because that's what you were made for.

Seeing The Invisible

How often is there something right before your eyes that you never notice?

• A tragically flawed process
• A new solution to an old problem
• Someone else's needs
• Your gifts
• A sign

As a literal example, see take a good look at this square and note what you see:

Did you notice anything?  Take another look.  There's something there that you probably never noticed... something about yourself that you probably never noticed!

Give up?

You should see a very faint yellow and blue 'cloud' in the center of your field of view.  This is known as "Haidinger's brush", and it's your eye's response to polarized light.  Yes, you can 'see' the polarization of light!

Didn't see it?  Take a look again but this time follow these instructions:

• If viewing by laptop/desktop computer, tilt your head side to side like you are touching your ear to your shoulder on each side.  Do it like you're trying to shake water out of each ear after a swim.
• If viewing by mobile device, make the white rectangle large and then turn your screen left and right like a steering wheel.  Go ahead and turn that thing like you mean it!!!

Go ahead.  I'll wait.

...

Like looking in the back of the book for an answer to a homework problem, once you see it then it becomes obvious.

Many things can block us from seeing the invisible:

• Fear (being wrong, being taken advantage of, looking silly)
• Preconceived notions (there is nothing to see)
• Lack of effort
• Lack of faith

What are you missing in life that is right before your eyes? 

*This example will only work if you are viewing this blog on a flat panel LCD screen like a smartphone, flat screen monitor, or laptop for instance.  

A Clockwork Orange

Sometimes real life strikes me with a parable that I'll never forget, and I think I'll always remember to apply it to business and my creativity.  My family recently provided such a parable.

I have an autistic brother who is in his 20's and lives at home with my parents.  I'd say that his autism is quite severe.  He seems to always have an unshakable fixation on something.

Every time I speak with him on the phone he describes the shirt he's currently wearing.  Not in any great detail; you almost have to pry it out of him.  A typical conversation may go:
Me:  "Hi, brother, how are you?"
He:  "I have a blue."
Me:  "You're wearing a blue shirt today?"
He:  "Letter A"
Me:  "Your blue shirt has a letter A on it?"
He:  "Blue"
Me:  "Is the A blue or is the shirt blue?"
He:  "I have a blue"

It can go round and round in circles like this for a while.

His current fixation is "going to the Mexican restaurant".  Before even having breakfast, he'll go out to the driveway and fuss by the car until someone gives in and takes him to "The Mex": a simple little local Mexican restaurant with orange vinyl booth seats and so-so food.  As he's banging on the car shouting "Orange" and resisting any lures to come inside and do something else, it's clear that there is a total fixation.  Before too long, my parents give in and off he and my parents go to the restaurant.
This pattern has been going on for months.  When I talk to my mom on the phone and ask how brother is.  I hear the same ol' story about "the Mex".

Recently, a conversation with my mother came around to my brother's daily Mexican restaurant tantrum but this time the story had a fascinating twist.  After a particularly persistent stance in the driveway by my brother, shouting "Orange, Orange, ORANGE!", they arrive at "The Mex" wherein my brother immediately headed off to the restroom.  Since he is capable of doing that business by himself my parents didn't typically follow him in, but this time my frustrated mother goes in with him.  What she saw must've been a bit of a revelation and a bit shocking as well.  A happy brother points to the urinal stall and says "Orange".  Lo and behold there, guarding the patrons from foul odors and providing a target of relief, was an orange urinal cake which my brother promptly made use of.

It turns out that, for my brother, going to "The Mex" wasn't about getting food at all.  It was about relieving himself.  He was holding it until he got to the restaurant that had the fascinating facilities!

I instantly wondered how often people ask for 'X' when what they really desire is 'Y'.  When someone asks something of you, remember that the underlying need is likely to be more urgent and fundamental than what they can or will communicate.