Live Inspired
Inspiration, the magical spark that takes creativity to a higher level. Look on our page of Great Creators and ask why each one of them shines above the rest. It could be because of that jolt of inspiration that pushed them to find something extra within themselves, or it could be from some unknown external source. Michelangelo, the great Italian sculpture and painter, had the "spark." Most of his creations are exceptional and he always had something new to say through his art. Just look at the perfection in his sculpture known as The Pieta. Michelangelo completed this when he was just 24 years old.
So what can help us all find that extra spark, that extra element of creativity that makes us better? Simply put: connection, curiosity and hard work, teemed with awareness. I say "connection," because we all learn from each other. Even if we are 'self taught' we continue to gain ideas from watching, reading, or experiencing something through others, either with their help or through our own curiosity, listening and learning. Through curiosity we gain new knowledge and a different prospective and perception of the world.
The way to be curious is to read a paper, search through a book store, surf the internet, travel to places you've never been before, go out of your way to meet new people, do things you've never experienced, and gather a wealth of information about the world. Learn how the world works and learn about things you never knew existed. And enjoy the learning. Sometimes a spark of inspiration comes from sources we never could imagine. Perhaps a neighbor says a word of wisdom, or a friend tells you about an article he has read, or you overhear someone in a cafe say something that strikes your imagination. This is where curiosity combined with connection and awareness will help you find that something extra. Maybe it's something you weren't looking for or something you never knew about. You don't have to look hard, but you do have to develop your curiosity to the point where you revel in the excitement of learning new things and gaining knowledge.
When I say hard work, I mean spending your time working at something you love to do. Pretty soon you'll find that what others think of as hard work will be just enjoyment to you. The most successful artists spend endless hours at their creations. It's not a 9 - 5 job, it's a life interest and vocation.
When you have gathered the elements together for your particular activity, art, business or what ever your calling is, look for new ways to work, new ideas for creation. And don't be afraid to fail. Through failure you can find the right way to do something. Thomas Edison, the great creator and innovator once said, " I speak without exaggeration when I say that I have constructed 3,000 different theories in connection with the electric light, each one of them reasonable and apparently likely to be true. Yet only in two cases did my experiments prove the truth of my theory." So did Edison fail almost 3,000 times on the way to creating the light bulb? He was metaphorically searching for a needle in a haystack, and he knew that the only way to succeed was to search straw by straw until he found it. And he loved the process.
All artists and people who are successful at anything love what they do. Their focus becomes their passion. What makes golfer Tiger Woods greater than many others? Yes, he learned to be good, but it was something else that made him great. It was his focus and his total dedication to his game. He found that every move of his body guided the golf ball a different way. He worked hard at mastering the art of moving his body, mastering his tools (the golf clubs) and using his brain to find the spark throughout his whole being. Why was he better than others? It is in the way he loved to get better and work the elements. Guitarist Django Reinhardt had fingers missing on his left hand, but he became a great artist on the guitar by mastering the elements he had. I once met a painter in Nova Scotia named Earl Bailley who had polio as a kid. He had no arms, but he painted the most exquisit art by holding the brush betwen his teeth.
Mastering the elements is all you have. Once you've found your passion, then you must master the tools you need. A photographer is not good just because she knows how to use a camera. She is good because she has trained her brain to search for the meaning, the story, the feeling and the essence of what her art is all about. The tools are, of course, the camera, the shutter speed, the aperture, the lens, the filters, the composition and many other components, but then comes the location, the light, the frame, the colours, the model, the positioning, the inspiration for the moment and good darkroom or photoshop technique. Those are what she learns scientifically and practically. Then comes "being." All the living, and learning, and experiencing and awareness, and perhaps the years of practice and failure and success it takes to get to the moment in time where she is able to make the perfect picture more perfect. Better perhaps than the many other professional photographers in the same field. That takes more than work; it takes experience, total love of the medium, the curious mind, all the connections she has learned and studied from and her total being at one in the moment. If she has all these things going for her, she might just call upon the universe to help her be better than she ever thought she could be. In the end, is she brave enough to click that shutter knowing the collaborative elements have conspired with her to create a masterpiece? And, could she really tell us why she is better than most? Probably not.
So what can help us all find that extra spark, that extra element of creativity that makes us better? Simply put: connection, curiosity and hard work, teemed with awareness. I say "connection," because we all learn from each other. Even if we are 'self taught' we continue to gain ideas from watching, reading, or experiencing something through others, either with their help or through our own curiosity, listening and learning. Through curiosity we gain new knowledge and a different prospective and perception of the world.
The way to be curious is to read a paper, search through a book store, surf the internet, travel to places you've never been before, go out of your way to meet new people, do things you've never experienced, and gather a wealth of information about the world. Learn how the world works and learn about things you never knew existed. And enjoy the learning. Sometimes a spark of inspiration comes from sources we never could imagine. Perhaps a neighbor says a word of wisdom, or a friend tells you about an article he has read, or you overhear someone in a cafe say something that strikes your imagination. This is where curiosity combined with connection and awareness will help you find that something extra. Maybe it's something you weren't looking for or something you never knew about. You don't have to look hard, but you do have to develop your curiosity to the point where you revel in the excitement of learning new things and gaining knowledge.
When I say hard work, I mean spending your time working at something you love to do. Pretty soon you'll find that what others think of as hard work will be just enjoyment to you. The most successful artists spend endless hours at their creations. It's not a 9 - 5 job, it's a life interest and vocation.
When you have gathered the elements together for your particular activity, art, business or what ever your calling is, look for new ways to work, new ideas for creation. And don't be afraid to fail. Through failure you can find the right way to do something. Thomas Edison, the great creator and innovator once said, " I speak without exaggeration when I say that I have constructed 3,000 different theories in connection with the electric light, each one of them reasonable and apparently likely to be true. Yet only in two cases did my experiments prove the truth of my theory." So did Edison fail almost 3,000 times on the way to creating the light bulb? He was metaphorically searching for a needle in a haystack, and he knew that the only way to succeed was to search straw by straw until he found it. And he loved the process.
All artists and people who are successful at anything love what they do. Their focus becomes their passion. What makes golfer Tiger Woods greater than many others? Yes, he learned to be good, but it was something else that made him great. It was his focus and his total dedication to his game. He found that every move of his body guided the golf ball a different way. He worked hard at mastering the art of moving his body, mastering his tools (the golf clubs) and using his brain to find the spark throughout his whole being. Why was he better than others? It is in the way he loved to get better and work the elements. Guitarist Django Reinhardt had fingers missing on his left hand, but he became a great artist on the guitar by mastering the elements he had. I once met a painter in Nova Scotia named Earl Bailley who had polio as a kid. He had no arms, but he painted the most exquisit art by holding the brush betwen his teeth.
Mastering the elements is all you have. Once you've found your passion, then you must master the tools you need. A photographer is not good just because she knows how to use a camera. She is good because she has trained her brain to search for the meaning, the story, the feeling and the essence of what her art is all about. The tools are, of course, the camera, the shutter speed, the aperture, the lens, the filters, the composition and many other components, but then comes the location, the light, the frame, the colours, the model, the positioning, the inspiration for the moment and good darkroom or photoshop technique. Those are what she learns scientifically and practically. Then comes "being." All the living, and learning, and experiencing and awareness, and perhaps the years of practice and failure and success it takes to get to the moment in time where she is able to make the perfect picture more perfect. Better perhaps than the many other professional photographers in the same field. That takes more than work; it takes experience, total love of the medium, the curious mind, all the connections she has learned and studied from and her total being at one in the moment. If she has all these things going for her, she might just call upon the universe to help her be better than she ever thought she could be. In the end, is she brave enough to click that shutter knowing the collaborative elements have conspired with her to create a masterpiece? And, could she really tell us why she is better than most? Probably not.
Please Note: Articles and writings contained on this site are the property of Brian R. R. Hebb (unless otherwise stated) and may not be reproduced, copied, edited, published, transmitted or uploaded in any way without the express written permission from Brian R. R. Hebb. For information of use and possible permission, please contact the author directly. www.brianhebb.com
