Two Slamming Doors and a Mouse …
Jul 31, 2016 12:49PM ● By Annette Briggs (Owner/Publisher)
Reflecting on the nebulous term creativity, late American psychologist and author Rollo May, in the The Courage to Create, stated: “Creativity is the process of bringing something new into being. Creativity requires passion and commitment. It brings to our awareness what was previously hidden and points to new life.” The power of creativity is fully alive and can be seen all around us today. Whether gazing upon an architectural wonder, appreciating an artistic masterpiece or getting lost in a captivating and suspense-filled movie that leaves popcorn flying in the air like confetti at the climax of every intense scene, creative minds are on display.
In a revealing study conducted by George Land, it was observed that we, as humans, are naturally creative and as we grow up we learn to be uncreative. Creativity is the act of turning new and imaginative ideas into reality. It is often characterized by the ability to perceive the world in new ways, to find hidden patterns and to generate solutions. It involves two critical puzzle pieces: thinking without mental borders (envisioning) and bringing the resulting thoughts (ideas) to life by birthing them into reality. And there can be no better example of this theory than Walter Elias “Walt” Disney.
Disney was born in the city of Chicago in 1901 and developed an interest in drawing at a very early age. As a boy, Disney took art classes and got a job as a commercial illustrator at the age of 18. On his way to creative genius, fame and global success, Disney’s unfolding life story was highlighted by numerous life-changing twists and turns.
However, there are two defining moments of his life that I feel threw a wet, cold bucket of dream-killing reality onto his creative vision, threatening to bring his plans to a screeching halt. In 1919, Disney was fired from one of his first animation jobs at the Kansas City Star newspaper because his editor felt he “lacked imagination and had no good ideas.” Unfortunately, failure later visited Disney again. He acquired Laugh-O-Gram, an animDisney did. Following these obvious failures, he decided to set his sights on a more profitable area: Hollywood. He and his brother moved to California and began the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, eventually creating Mickey Mouse, Disneyland, Disney World and winning 22 Academy Awards; a reminder to us all that creative success can be found on the other side of slamming doors. The same was true for Steve Jobs, co-founder of Apple, and Bill Gates, co-founder of Microsoft. And the same is true for you! Now, go color your world with your creative power!In Living Color,ation studio that sadly landed in bankruptcy. Wow … two slamming doors of life!
Sadly, for many of us, our creative dreams die an excruciating death due to the dream snatchers we encounter along the way. Some intentionally draw the knife to kill our creativity, while others, rather unknowingly, offer well-intentioned advice and observations that, quite frankly, can send creativity to the morgue. John C. Maxwell, in his book Thinking for a Change, said this about creative ideas: “Ideas are fragile things when they first see the light of day. If you try to implement them too early or introduce them while there are more naysayers than supporters, they won’t survive.” True … is it not? We have to strengthen our creative dreams from within and hold on for dear life until the vision becomes a reality.
In Living Color,
