Well, I was stuck….not creatively, not emotionally, I was actually literally physically stuck – or more specifically my car was stuck. My front wheels firmly secured in a muddy ditch after my car swirled around several times in the icy road. I’m a tad disoriented yet happy I wasn’t smashed into a pole, so I got out of the car, and I walked around it, I got down on my hands and knees and looked under it….yup. Just as I thought. Stuck.
Now what are my options, I think to myself….I can either try to get it out myself or call for help. Being that I was in the middle of nowhere and it would take time to find help anyway, I chose to try myself! Now I’ve been stuck before, and I’ve ‘rocked’ my car out of holes, small ditches and such…but that clearly wasn’t going to work in this situation. I had to think outside the box, be creative. The ditch was too steep to back the car up, and it was at a precarious angle, so if it began to slide further, it may very well roll over. So I stood for a moment in the cold and wondered what else might work. My mind went blank.
Now I was in fact figuratively stuck. I could think of nothing that might not make the situation worse. A tad bit defeated, I decided to simply get back in the car and calm my mind for a moment….I began to doodle, clear my mind and to look around… and while I was opening my eyes and my mind…it suddenly it hit me! Drive forward! No, it didn’t really seem to make sense, but it looked like just what needed to happen! Drive forward and a bit further down the road (still in the ditch), and with some luck I could ease my car up onto a nearby driveway on the yard side of the drainage pipe! Seemed to go completely against all common sense….but I did it anyway! And guess what – it worked!! I spent the rest of the day basking in the glory of my creative genius – I even inadvertently developed an evil genius laugh before the day was through!!
“It’s kind of fun to do the impossible.” ~Walt Disney
Creative Genius is courageous in action and in thought. A Creative Genius is always ready to attempt new things, break the rules, and boundaries that limit the average mind! It is due to this courage and creative thinking that often the impossible becomes more than possible within the perspective of the Creative Genius reality!
When we truly think creatively, we tend to be open to opportunities and possibilities that we might normally filter out of our personal experience. Our Creative Evil Genius allows us to think outside the box, around the box, on top of the box, through the box in a free flowing and imaginative manner!
The Creative Evil Genius has a unique set of qualities, of beliefs, methods of speaking to themselves, listening to the voices in the heads, asking the right questions and taking strategic actions that rest naturally within the recesses of their minds. All Creatives are Creative Evil Geniuses, just waiting to be explored! By consistently and persistently instilling these unique traits into our psyche, we will be able to supercharge our minds and unlock our full capacity for creative work and thought!
“We think too small. Like the frog at the bottom of the well. He thinks the sky is only as big as the top of the well. If he surfaced, he would have an entirely different view.”~Mao Tse-Tung
If you truly want to find the Creative Evil Genius inside of you, you must believe….clap three times if you believe!! Then remember how strong your BELIEF is in the three following things:
Belief in Yourself … The Creative Evil Genius has full belief in themselves, and their abilities. They may not be totally confident in those beliefs, but we do have full belief in our SELF. This belief supports every aspect of our personality, helping us to approach our problems with excitement and passion instead of fear.
Belief in a Higher Power… The Creative Evil Genius is fully aware that their gift works through them, it comes from Higher Power and it is given to use to bring to the world, and if we don’t bring it, that gift will move to the next creative genius. We often feel like frauds because we innately sense that our creative genius isn’t ours to own, it is given to us with a glad hand. We know that this Higher Power (whatever you believe that to be) helps to spark the creative forces in our bodies and our minds so that our Creative Evil Genius can do the work we were given.
Belief in Learning… from Both Success and Failure! A Creative Evil Genius does not actually distinguish between success and failure; they only acknowledge what is to be learned from each. We learn from the feedback of personal experience, from the outside environment, and from our inner knowing. Each piece of feedback works to transform our creative genius approach when confronting similar circumstances in the future!
“I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” ~Thomas Edison
“I’ve missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. Twenty-six times I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.”~Michael Jordan
“Don’t take anyone else’s definition of success as your own.” ~Jacqueline Briskin
Now that we know how to recognize the Creative Evil Genius inside of us….how do we go about luring them out?!! Muuuhhhahahahaha, I thought you would never ask!! : ) At the risk of an overuse of a cliché that runs the gamut of the business and educational as well as the creative world…. we must THINK OUTSIDE OF THE BOX!!!“The key to success is to risk thinking unconventional thoughts. Convention is the enemy of progress. If you go down just one corridor of thought you never get to see what’s in the rooms leading off it. “ ~Trevor Baylis
The following is a list of ideas to help you to start thinking outside the box, and to get your Creative Evil Genius to jump out and get going on bringing you the joy you sometimes find yourself missing, especially when you are “stuck”. Artists and Creatives surprisingly often have difficulty with this, but we are working on our courage, we are working on growing and changing…so this week let’s practice a little change! If you incorporate some of these tasks this week, your challenge should be a breeze!!
Have an Opposite Day at Lunch: If you eat lunch at your desk/studio/kitchen/bench…then eat out, even if it’s just in your car! If you eat out, then eat in! If you go to the lunch room, then eat at your desk, or if you want to really be daring, eat your lunch a little at a time for about an hour before your break, and on your lunch break, read a book!
Listen to the Voices In Your Head: Listen to the huge, crazy, big ideas that pop into your head, write them down, trust in them, believe in them…usually we ignore those voices, but they often are guiding us! So go against your normal response to ignore the awesomeness in your head, and listen to the voices!! If they are saying bad things, shut them up immediately!!
Change Your Appearance: if you usually wear your hair down, wear it up. Wear a hat if you don’t generally. If you usually wear jeans, try on a pair of slacks, or a skirt. Wear boots, high heels, flats…whatever it is that you don’t usually do!
Make a Not Now List: Instead of a To Do list, make at Not Now list! Make a list of all the things you would like to do, but know it’s okay to do them Not Now! Then relish in your non pressure list of things you are NOT going to do right now!! Later you may look at it and think “Wow! I thought of that?!” and do them when you can!
Change Your Transportation: If you walk to work, then catch a bus, if you take a taxi, try walking. If you drive, change your route. If (like me) your studio or office is in your home, instead of going straight in, sit quietly for a half an hour before you do. Not thinking about what needs to be done, but just sitting quietly to open up your mind.
Listen to Your Inner Child: When adults are asked a question, the answers are generally logical based on our life’s experience. How do you get to heaven would elicit a myriad of answers depending on each particular persons personal beliefs, life experiences and vocabulary. The same question asked of a child might elicit “Go to hell and turn left.” To return to this childlike state of mind, ask yourself some fanciful questions, like “What if dogs could fly?” then come up with a half a dozen consequences of that…we would need much longer leashes, would they still need to be walked, how would we keep them in the yard, how do we teach them to fly and land when they are puppies…do you see where this is going? How about “What if I was allergic to water?” now answer like a child might, and have fun with it!
“To cease to think creatively is but little different from ceasing to live.” ~Benjamin Franklin
If you are still having difficulty thinking a bit outside the box, there is a fabulous book called A Whack on the Side of the Head… give that a try!
As Artists and Creatives we all know that we are original; this week though, don’t just be original, be first without thought of how it will be received. Sound out your idea first instead of waiting and building on someone else’s idea. This is often difficult, but it is only when we stretch ourselves outside of our comfort zone that we ever come up with newer ideas. They needn’t be astounding revelations or inventions that no one has considered yet, just ideas kept true to yourself. Push your old ideas in new directions; take a way of working your process and start over with it. You may think that you are already doing it the most productive way possible…but hey, what if you aren’t??This week to lure out our Creative Evil Genius, we are going to be original in a completely different medium than we are used to! Here is our challenge….
If you are a Studio Artist, use a different medium….painters-try jewelry, mixed media-try woodworking, metal workers-try working with glass…you get the idea! If you are a Writer, don’t write…illustrate instead! If you work in textiles-try painting! Anyone who doesn’t cook a great deal, try to work outside the box…and Cook something! If your creative outlet is cooking, try scrapbooking, or bake. If you work in an office all day, create a new way to accomplish a daily task or trade tasks with a co-worker for the week, use your non-dominant hand as often as possible. The goal here is to retrain your brain, only for one week….so whatever medium you decide to work it, truly work in it. No need to purchase all types of new products and tools, just do what your mind isn’t expecting!
I am a jewelry artist…and I spent last week reorganizing my entire studio to help me work through a creative slump I’ve been in…this week, I’m going to work with reclaimed mixed media…I’m not going to make jewelry, I’m going to make everything I can think of that ISN’T jewelry! I’m pretty excited, but I’m also a little scared. I’m going to make little tooth fairy boxes, and keepsake jars, I am going to attempt to do what my other artist friend does, on a completely different canvas! When I am finished with this challenge, I fully expect that I will have a completely different outlook on my jewelry, a new way of thinking about how my process works…and I’ll probably likely have a little evil genius laughing inside my head! Mmmmuurrrhahahahaa!!!
What are YOU going to do to lure out your Creative Evil Genius?!
JeaneMargherite Meria Murray McMahon Schintgen (that’s my name, don’t wear it out!)
