Be Innovative!
I once came across an anonymous quote that said, “Every human has the potential soul of an artist.” The seed to any artistry starts with creation, with being creative. So how does one loose that artistic potential? To put it simply, survival, there was once a time where the only way I could be creative was to only think of new and innovative projects that I could do. Time and money were not by my side, because I had to prioritize where I would sleep, eat, and ya know shower. So I was forced to only settle for planning out my creative ventures and not doing them. Though doing so was quite depressing at moments, because it’s hard to think innovatively when you are living in your car.
Nonetheless it was the inspiration that kept me moving and the drive that knowing that I will someday be back on the road to creativity. When I did, I had a plethora of ideas to start working on. A good thing to always keep in hand is a journal and/or notebook around to jolt down anything that inspires you. A quote, a book you might want to read, an idea, etc. Let’s call this your creative journal for innovative ideas. This will be your personal muse to help jump start a new creative hour project. Now it’s time be innovative.
What is something new that you could introduce to the world? Don’t get discouraged by the fact that your innovative idea is already taken. I know this first hand, as the saying goes, great minds think alike. I have seen many ideas that I thought were my own original idea, and witness it on TV or seen it done in a show and have felt completely worthless. But then I had a conversation with a friend of mine in regards to original ideas. She had mentioned to me that although that idea may have been taken, the way I would have done it would be completely different from how the other person did it. Therefore I shouldn’t be so quick to be discouraged.
I say the same to you, many things that we know of the world today are really just remixes of other concepts done before but differently. Think of literature, music, and film. How many loves songs, romantic comedies, or poems have you read? What is the basis of them all? The concept of love, an old… old subject, but each song, film, poem is an original spin on the same concept. Here is my impromptu idea for the week: Purchase or create your own creative innovative journal. Within the first couple of pages do a free write for a timed 10 minutes no more and no less. Don’t think too hard about it and don’t correct misspelled words. Just write. Continue doing this for a week, then put it away and work on something else. Then come back and look through your free write to see if it inspires any new innovative ideas.
"We shall not cease from exploration, and at the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time."
-T.S. Eliot