Surprise ending

I often think about what Seth Godin calls “shipping” – the process of taking an idea and following through to its completion. Most creatives are very good at starting and experimenting and discovering. But it’s another thing to decide if a project is worthy of following through and then see it to completion.

One of my personal projects last year was the Columbiana Calendar. It’s a calendar of photos I’ve taken while riding my bike around town. I had decided to design, print and bind 15 samples and take them to local businesses to see if there was any interest. Even though there were times when I wondered if it was worth the effort, I followed through and eventually dropped off the samples. As it turned out, no stores ordered any calendars - not one! But someone heard about them and I started getting calls and website orders - all through word of mouth and the internet. I ended up selling 33 calendars directly to individuals even though that was not even part of the plan.

If you believe in something, commit to both the completion of it. But also commit to solving all the challenges to get there. You might be surprised at the end result!

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But if I did…

As creatives, there are times when we hit a wall; we’re blank; we wonder if there’s an ounce of creativity in our bones. When I hit these times I do a little reverse psychology on myself. I change the conversation to “OK, I’m not going to do this, but if I did, then I would…

I’m not going to edit this photo and send it in to the contest… But if I did, then I would add some saturation, bring up the sharpness in the eyes, add a vignette…

I’m not going to write this novel… But if I did, then I would set aside a half hour every day, write a profile of each character, have chapter one complete by this date…

Get the point? Thinking about the project this way allows the freedom to consider that last line - …if I did, then I would… It’s like giving my brain permission to relax and pretend I don’t have to accomplish anything if I don’t want to. This may be more difficult if you create for a living, but try and really convince yourself that you are not going to follow through with the task.

But if you did, what would you do?

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There's an amazing little world within our big world if you take time to observe. I found this little thorn bush in the middle of a forest the other day.

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