Photo Props

Do you ever go to work and hope that no one figures out that you have no clue what you’re doing?

Ever wanted the day to end so you could go home without being caught for making it up as you go?

These special feelings force us to do the work necessary to bring us to our personal best and make us reach our true potential. Acknowledging these feelings causes us to not rest on our talent, but rather to do everything in our power to compliment it with good work, effort, and faith.

Faith, work, and talent are a dangerous combination. When we work with just talent, we cheat ourselves and our projects. When we ignore talent and just work on effort, we will never reach our true potential.

When we incorporate faith into the equation, we are able to have perspective and achieve that potential. See, we don’t deserve our jobs. Our jobs and responsibilities are an honor. When we get this, we refuse to take a day for granted. We cherish the opportunity more than we bemoan the challenges. Honor and respect for what we GET to do is vital to reaching our potential. God has a history of picking people who don’t deserve their position. When we realize we don’t deserve what God is giving us, it helps put success and failure into perspective. When we know that – without God – we wouldn’t have these opportunities, we are able to think more clearly when we’re failing and won’t take it personally. Further, we are unable to accept the praises of success – by far the most dangerous trap for successful creatives or leaders.

Do you feel you deserve your job? Are you thankful for what you get to do everyday? Are you making the most of your talent, work effort, and faith?

Our team is adopting a new philosophy that we feel is very audacious:

“Every Day is a Chance to Create Art & History”.

Sunday does not happen on Sunday, it happens Monday through Saturday. We create and work every day for the chance to share our art on Sunday. A chance to help communicate a loving, caring, grace filled God with a hurting world. Not for arts sake…for the lives of lost people. We get to serve communicators with worship elements. I love what Gary Molander says about art in his book Pursuing Christ Creating Art: “Art is our opportunity to to make an invisible God visible.”

So, we show up. Every day.

We do our work.

We create, we dream, we build. We do all we can.

Then, on Sunday, we pray that the skin we have created for an invisible God resonates with someone who needs Grace, Hope, Love – someone who needs art to make the invisible, visible.

Today is your chance. Create art. Make history. Be audacious. Do your best work. Create your best art. Stop worrying if you are accepted. Of course you’re not…you’re an artist. Stop buying excuses. Stop believing that the artificial boundaries around you can contain you. Be courageous. This is your time. This is your moment. Forget being normal. Be the authentic you that God created first…in HIS image.

When we do this, we are helping to make the invisible things in our world visible. If we’re lucky, we will see our art make history – not for us – for someone who needs to see or feel God.
Are you ready to make art & history?
How can you do that today?

Photo Props

No one has ONLY good ideas. Stop buying that lie. We all have ideas; some of them are good and some are bad – that’s life. Accept it.

We must avoid the temptation to become “idea snobs”. Even bad ideas have potential and a place in our creative process.

Every idea deserves the chance to reach its potential. The good ones, the REALLY good ones, stay with us and have to be acted on. But, sometimes the mediocre – or bad – ideas get tossed to the curb and left for dead. Inside some of those bad ideas could be the potential for future successful ideas. How can we tell?

• Write every idea down. Document them. Have a place to come back to them.
• Always give ideas space. Good or bad, they need space to breathe and grow. The worst practice we can have as creative people is moving on ideas right when they are developed. Sometimes we have to, but it’s not a “Best Practice”.
• Allow ourself the freedom to change an idea or use it later. Just because it’s not good for today does not mean it never will work.
• What adjustments can be made to these average ideas to make them become great ideas?
• Maybe these ideas challenge us to ask questions and come out of our problem or production from a different angle.
• Play with a bad idea. Flush it out. Something great might come out of it as we talk through how it would or would not work.
• Share these ideas. Sharing them scares us, but just talking through them can cause your creative community to respond and birth a newer or better version of the idea. Never hold back. Creating in community can save even the worst idea if it spurs a new best idea.

Have you ever used a bad idea to create a great idea? Do you save your bad ideas or just throw them away?

Who does not love a start? Starts are full of energy, ideas, hope and optimism. Starting is invigorating. But, what happens when we lose the adrenaline from the start?

For ideas to be successful, we have to not only be great starters, but effective finishers. Finishing ideas takes longevity. Longevity is birthed out of a commitment to continuing. We have to find consistency in our approach. Longevity means getting up, coming to work, being diligent, and refusing to settle for mile markers while we drive to the finish line. Creative people love starting, but we often get bored, discouraged, or distracted before finishing. There are a million reasons why, and a lot of them are legit.

Don Schlitz – a famous country songwriter who penned “The Gambler” – was involved in the country music hall of fame inductions here in Nashville just a few nights ago. During his time, Schlitz talked about how success comes to those who live in the 2%, which is especially true in the creative community. The reason that the 2% seem elite is because they stick around. You see, 98% of people quit, give up, get discouraged or distracted, or just lose interest. The road to success – or successful ideas – isn’t a road filled with applause. It’s a road that is desperate for travelers who are resilient.

2% people subscribe to the following:

• Obstacles are opportunities in disguise.
• Showing up is 99% of the equation to achieving.
• Getting up again is more important than how many times you get knocked down.
• Longevity is the new sexy.
• Excuses are weak; results earn respect.
• Keep coming back.
• Keep showing up.
• Understand that achieving the goal is as much about perspiration as it is about inspiration.
• Fight distractions.
• Refuse the seduction of the “new” new.
• We have to stay and when we get weak, stay longer.
• Remember the goal and don’t be consumed by the circumstances that surround them.
• Respond before others react.
• Commit to marathons…even when they are sprints.
• Know that hustling is about a mentality, not a work ethic

Be present. Today. Now. Tomorrow. Stop worrying about what is going to happen in 18 months. Be sure you are showing up and giving your best ideas. Commit to being a 2%er. If you can’t make that commitment where you are right now, find that place so you can start building your longevity.

Do you feel you are part of the 2% or the 98%?

What are you convictions?

An interesting article has emerged via CNN about the necessity of
conviction in the creative process. Creativity without conviction
rarely is successful. As a creative class, we are full of ideas and
wonder. We love the challenge of creating. But, how much conviction do
we feel about seeing our ideas come to life? Is the problem in our
organization a lack of ideas or a lack of people willing to make their
ideas reality?

The Harvard Business School recently performed a study of 238
executives that uncovered what most creative people have known for a
long time – projects without passion rarely produce our best work. We
love projects that make progress towards meaningful. These type of
projects make us get up and come to work excited. As creative
professionals, we should always be looking to connect through our work
with this concept. People who do not find this type of connection to
their work will never have the conviction necessary to see their ideas
succeed.

We want to share their vision for our ideas, not just produce from a
checklist. We all desire to be involved in something bigger than
ourselves. We desire to work on stuff that matters and to work inside
of a system that celebrates our diversity, rather than penalize us for
being unique. These are the type of scenarios that breed environments
where creative people passionately can have conviction about their
work.

Without conviction our ideas…our creativity…never will force
change or development. Conviction powers ideas to execution. We have
all gone through seasons where the pressure and pace of our lives,
jobs, and responsibilities have sucked some of the conviction out of
our effort. Fear also attempts to prey on our conviction. What if it
does not work? What if we make a mistake? What if our plan fails and
costs us time and momentum? All of these fears could come to fruition.
But, what if our idea is the next game changer? What if we change
church culture with our next idea? What if having the courage and
conviction to fight for our creative idea is just what our
organization needs to go to the next level? When we have conviction
behind a great idea, there is only one rule that matters – don’t
abandon it.

Unfortunately, we sometimes end up in situations where the conviction
we once felt for what we do and what we create has left us. When we
realize we are in this space, we need to be willing to do the
necessary and difficult task of either refueling our convictions or
moving on. We will never succeed if we’re unable to pair conviction
with our ideas. There are just too many ideas fighting for a small
window of space, time, and resources. Conviction is mandatory for our
most important ideas.

Do you have conviction for your ideas?
Have you allowed your creativity to become stale?
Are you are ready to infuse your ideas with conviction to see them take life?

Be Open.

Every Sunday, people are coming and looking for a connection. In order
to make that connection, we have to be open.

Open to differences.
Open to people who don’t think like us.
Open to people who don’t look like us.
Open to people who don’t sound like us.
Open to a great day.
Open to setting up, breaking down, and trying something new.
Open to making adjustments if things aren’t working like we thought.
Open to a tough day.
Open to things that might scare us a little.
Open to changing things.
Open to walking in someone else’s shoes.
Open to looking at our church or service through the eyes of someone
else – someone who may never have been in our world before.
Open to grace.
Open to mercy.
Open to whatever happens.

Being open allows us to welcome, love, try, change, and adjust. Being
open provides an atmosphere where grace excels, status quo starves,
and creativity thrives.

Being closed is the equivalent to maxing out. If we stay closed, we
will soon be closed for good.

Stay open.

In his book “The Accidental Creative”, Todd Henry is quoted as saying:
“The Love Of Comfort Is Frequently The Enemy Of Greatness.” I could not
agree more. Comfort allows us to get lazy. When we are comfortable, it makes
it very hard for us to find that hunger that once drove us. A major part
of our inspiration to do amazing work is the drive and hunger to
accomplish or achieve our goals. What are some signs we are getting
comfortable?

1. We start to believe we have arrived. Comfort makes us believe we
have made it to some type of level or finish line. When we get comfortable
we stop hustling and take for granted the success we have been blessed with.
2. We stop believing there is more we can accomplish.* Comfortable
removes the challenge. When we were hungry, we were challenged by our jobs
and opportunities. The minute we stop having vision, we have embraced a
posture
of comfort.
3. We forget there is someone who is better than us. Being
comfortable breeds arrogance.
4. We stop being teachable. There is always more we can learn,
uncover, develop, and be taught. When we stop being teachable, we start
regressing – both creatively and as a leader.
5. We forget there is someone who wants what we are taking for granted. When
we are hungry, we are hunters. We are chasing opportunity and challenge. We
look for things to accomplish. When we become comfortable, we become the
hunted. We position ourselves in a place where we stop chasing and start
being chased.
6. We lose sight of the fact that we are responsible to steward our
resources, leadership, and talents. When we stop stewarding, we start
grazing. Leadership and creativity are a gift. We are responsible for them
and when we stop doing what it takes to manage them, we start to lose the
equity we have built.
7. We lose intensity. This one is scary. When we lose intensity, we
don’t have the ambition to make adjustments, fight, and enhance our
worlds. Intensity makes us get up excited in the morning to come face
the challenges because we have vision for what we get to accomplish. A loss
of intensity often can be traced back to a loss of clarity of vision
or expectation. Intensity is something we get to control. So we have to make
sure we are keeping it high.
8. *Rather than creating, we remix stuff we have already created.* Simple
as that. We start mailing it in and get a little lazy. We trade
the excitement of creating for the comfort of completing.

Greatness is special. Greatness makes people leave talking about the things
we create. We have the ability to create really great things if we are
willing to do the work required to push for excellence in the last 10%.
Everyone starts well, but greatness happens when we plan, execute,
and finish with the same passion that we start.

Have you ever noticed yourself falling in love with comfort?
If so, what do you do to break out of that posture?

Working in creative environments is a lot like doing improv. The best improv artists have the ability to adapt, morph and work the curves that are thrown at them everyday. In her book, Bossy Pants, Tina Fey talks about the 4 rules of improv. It is amazing how much these same rules apply to our creative teams.

RULE 1. Start with yes. Starting with yes is the rule of engagement. Saying yes opens opportunity. It is popular to say no or have a no list, but no removes options that deserve a chance to be uncovered. We can always say no later but the rule of yes is a rule that opens options for our teams and organizations. Yes allows us to experience, learn, and uncover new things. The rule of yes also forces us to respect other people’s positions and their creations. People who lead with no are often full of fear and unwilling to experiment. No people also have a propensity for excuses. Saying no shuts the door on opportunity before we have given it a chance. Say yes first knowing we can always say no later.

RULE 2. Yes and –. “Yes and” forces us to move from listeners to contributors. Contributing is a gift and an honor. When we contribute we are adding to the equation something of our own…and a small piece of our DNA is inserted into the collective creation. We should not be afraid to contribute. God has created us in his image…to be creative like the Creator. It is our responsibility to use the unique gifts and perspectives that God has bestowed upon us in order to make art and history everyday.

RULE 3. Make Statements. Obviously questions are a fantastic way of uncovering data but once the questions have been asked leaders understand the power of making statements. If we desire to be part of the solution we have to be willing to make statements. Often the make more of a statement than any word we could ever say. How we hustle speaks volumes to our teams. We set our own personal tone that will set the tone for those around us. Just being part of the process and helping the process develop is a statement. Unfortunately, often times we sometimes fear making statements because we know that statements force us into a position. Making a statement may not make us right but it identifies us as willing to do what it takes to lead and be our best.

RULE 4. There are no mistakes, only opportunities. Opportunities surround us daily. When we are trying to do things that are going to break the status quo we have to understand failure is part of the equation. When we miss step, or things get messy, we create opportunities to fail, retry and recover. Amazing does not happen without the occasional failure. Sometimes these opportunities may hurt but without them we will never make the mark we know we have been created to make. Further, we need to look at our obstacles or constraints as opportunities as well. Anything that is keeping us from achieving our goals should be considered an opportunity to learn, adapt, or overcome.

Creative teams must battle entitlement and falling into the trap that they are consistently being abused. As creative professionals we work in fluid environments. The only consistency we should count on is inconsistency. The rules of improv can help us learn to be more flexible and adjustable. Our job is not to always be right but to daily make the departments and communicators around us better. Creative teams are service departments first. We get the opportunity to support and serve and in doing those things we influence and impact our organization. When we understand that flexibility and service create more space for us than being stubborn, hard to work with, unreliable, and divas, we will have more voice and influence in our organizations than we could ever imagine. Flexibility opens the door for other departments to engage our gifts of creativity and use them to be better than they could on their own.

How can you apply the rules of improv to your team?

There is one question that we – as creative and communication teams – should be obsessed with: “WHY?”

Why do we do what we do?
Why have we always done things this way?
Why have we not tried doing things different?
Why not?

Why?

A simple four character question that changes everything. Why is challenging and inquisitive. Why initiates action. Unlike its sisters How and When, Why begs us to start and change things. Why allows people to understand the purpose behind what we do, not just the how. Why is a chance to cast vision. Why motivates and energizes people to want to be involved.

In our field, we should be asking Why with obsession. We need to understand why we are communicating a message, why we are using these methods to communicate, why this is important, and why people want to know about the idea in the first place.

When we see that our departments are not creating enough momentum – when we are not executing at our best – we have to start by asking Why. Why have we lost vision. Why have we ended up behind the 8 ball? Why are we not delivering our best work?

Understand the power of Why, but never abuse this powerful question just to deflect your responsibilities. Asking why can create direction, but should never be a shield.

Are you asking “Why?” enough? Why not?