LAGOS, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA) — You know, a lot of people think that practicing creativity or being an artist is crazy.
You don’t feel comfortable with it, as I can attest from personal experience. I didn’t feel at ease referring to myself as an artist. I still struggle with it occasionally.
How do you define artistic expression? I’ll have to don a beret as a result. Does that imply that I’ll never, er, earn any money again? Does that imply I’m making a mistake of some sort?
You know, it’s peculiar because I think there are so many different ways to be creative and an artist that we just ignore them and fail to recognize the enormous benefits that having these abilities may have for us.
The influence it can have on our lives in terms of how we view ourselves and what we do, how we set goals, and how we create a framework for our work is immense. Since making stuff is something that many people do, who among them would claim, “Well, I’m not creative?”
You already know that I work in government or that I’m a dentist or accountant. It’s reasonable that you don’t feel comfortable using that word, but I want to show you another way of looking at it.
You’ll be able to accept your identity in what you’re doing thanks to that, in my opinion, without having to give anything up. You won’t need to leave your career; instead, you want to do something that will, in your opinion, make you happier and more effective at what you do.
I heard a story about a large corporation’s CEO, who was a typical finance expert. He had suits, glasses, gray hair, and golf clubs. He contacted his friend, an artist, to assist him with his presentation, which he was to deliver at a major corporate event for successful CEOs. They belonged to the Fortune 20 or 25 top guys.
The most important presentation of his life is coming up, and he asked for support from his friend. Then he said: “We can’t make it too creative” In other words, he didn’t want to do anything too extraordinary. Like his friend, he wasn’t a strange, creative person.
In light of this, as they both worked on the presentation, his friend came to the conclusion that he possessed all the skills necessary as a creative, including improvisation, problem-solving, innovation, refining, collaboration, storytelling, and empathy. He wasn’t aware that he was a financial con artist.
In an effort to spark a creative collaboration, his artist friend composed the first draft of his presentation. When this CEO returned with it after taking it away, he had a number of dry looking charts. When his artist friend saw them, he felt an internal groan.
He initially believed it would be extremely painful, but as soon as he began to examine all of the columns, lines, rows, and charts, he realized he was telling a compelling story entirely with data.
His charts spun a rich saga of ambition, hope, and service to mankind in ways that words simply couldn’t do, and he was speaking in a language that other CEOs understood and loved too. He had discovered his canvas, and he used a vivid, expressive brush.
The conventional belief that creativity is exclusive to artists and creative types needs to be challenged. The CEO who uses data to tell stories, the engineer who creates ground-breaking new technology, and the surgeon who performs life-saving operations using cutting-edge methods should all be celebrated equally.
The focus is on creating new things. It involves developing innovative systems and finding novel ways to solve issues, such as coming up with a new dental gadget or a new method of recycling waste, etc. There are many types, forms, and dimensions of creativity. Accept your own special form of creativity and apply it to improving the world. Who knows? You might be the next Picasso of the pie of chart or Renoir of Roi.
Think differently going forward and make an effort to have an open mind about yourself and your life. Don’t confine yourself to an identity that says, “I’m this or I’m that.” Feel at ease. Put a label on yourself that says, “I’m an artist who can do all kinds of things to improve the world.” Make yourself happier and feel more like your true self. Create whatever you want and have fun with it.
Thank you for reading.