I remember sitting in a chair in my living room when I first had the idea for a strategic planning curriculum. But it was just that…an idea. It wasn’t the first idea I had in that chair and it probably won’t be the last idea I have in that chair. But, something different happened that day. I got up out of my chair, and I picked up some blank printer paper. I began to quickly sketch out the process with words and pictures. I let all of the good ideas, and probably some really bad ones as well, flow out of my head and down onto those pages. I then took those pages, added copy, and had them designed into something much more official looking. The CreativeGrid process was born.
I am going to be really honest with you today. I could have done every bit of that from my chair. It wasn’t hard. It was just putting ideas on paper. It was actually the easy part of the creative process. The really difficult part of creating was actually putting the product in front of people.
I remember the first time I took a leadership team through the CreativeGrid process. I was a walking ball of stress. I played it cool on the outside, but internally I experienced worry about whether they would get anything out of the process, fear about whether it would actually work, and even anxiety about whether they would like the design. I experienced all of those emotions and stress because creativity is risky.
Creativity is always risky. Here are two principles that help remind me that creativity is always worth the risk.
If You Never Risk, You’ll Never Create
By their very nature, innovation and creativity are risky. They are putting something new or different in front of people. That is not a safe endeavor. It is not safe to your ego, it isn’t safe to your wallet, and it’s not safe to your career at times. When you create, you are sticking your neck out. But, think about the other option. If you never risk, you will never create anything. In fact, it is what most people want. Most people want the path of least resistance. Most people want to stay on the couch. The truth is that most people think they’re not creative because they aren’t willing to take the necessary risks to be creative.
If You Risk, You’ll See Reward…Someday
When I took the first leadership team through the CreativeGrid process, I remember the look on the team leader’s face as we ended. Eyes welling, because the process brought direction to a place where there was drifting. The process brought clarity into confusion. The process helped this team develop a purpose and a plan. They were thrilled and I was thrilled, too. The process worked…the first time. If you have created before, you know how rare that is. And I experienced the reward of seeing my vision come to life.
That doesn’t always happen. Heck, that doesn’t usually happen. Risk can also result in failure. Risks don’t always pan out. Failure pushes us forward toward better ideas. Every failure sharpens our ability to create. But if you take the risks, you will find the reward. It may not be the first time, or the second, or even the third, but someday the risk will get the reward, and that moment will make all the risk worth it.
So, do something risky today. Maybe you need to pull out the pen, put the ideas on paper, and take the first steps toward a risky creation. Maybe you need to pick up the pieces of the last failure, muster up the courage, and try again. I’m not sure exactly what you need to do, but I know you need to do something.
No matter what happens…just don’t stay on the couch.
Where are you risking right now in order to create? Where are you tempted to just stay on the couch?
All of that in writing. At 60,000 with my new book and all of it is risky. New ideas and definitely days I don’t feel like writing. But, once I show up to write, it is smooth sailing from there. Just gotta show up.
interesting post….
Hope it helped!
“Behold the turtle, who makes no progress until he sticks his neck out.” Great post, a message we all need — repeatedly.
Love that quote! It’s a message I need constantly. Thanks, Glenn.