A few months ago, I was fortunate enough to do a guest post for Jessi Elliot over at The Elliot Review. I thought I would share the post on my blog as well. It is all about tapping into your creative - no matter what that may be for you. The post was titled: Why I Need To Write
I need to write because if I don’t, I might just short-circuit. Sound crazy? Let me explain. It is my belief that everyone needs a creative outlet to plug into. Does that mean everyone should write, or paint, or direct a movie? Absolutely not (unless you want to). Having a creative outlet, to me, means being able to do something that brings you joy and peace through your own actions; something that comes naturally to you, that helps you express what you’re thinking and feeling. An activity where, even if it takes time and a lot of effort, it never seems like a chore because it is a piece of you that is being expressed. It can be planting a garden, volunteering at your local animal shelter, organizing events for your child’s school, building a birdhouse, etc.
My daily routine consists of the following: I get up in the morning and I get to spend about 15 minutes with my beautiful wife and lovely daughter before I have to run for my train. My commute to Manhattan is about an hour. I then work about 8-10 hours for Corporate America before sitting on the train for another hour, headed home. On days where I get out on time, I only get to spend about 45 minutes with my daughter before she’s off to bed. After that: dinner with my wife, catching up with one another, and sometimes a little TV. If there is time, late evening, I’ll do some chores around the house so as not to deal with them on the weekends.
My time with my wife and daughter are truly precious to me and I live for it. But let us rewind to that whole Corporate America thing, shall we? Hey, we all need to make a living and pay the bills and I am fortunate enough where I get to work within a creative environment with incredibly talented people, and I even get to wear jeans and sneakers to work. Very cool, right? However, at the end of the day my job is not my life; it is just a job to me. I appreciate it in terms of financial support, and I give 100% while I’m there, but everything I work on has so many hands on it, by the time it is completely executed, none of it is truly mine. I’m not complaining, just explaining.
So, let’s recap: Spending time with family is amazing, but my job, although creative, and although I devote 100% of my efforts and energy to the work, in the end, the work is not 100% of me. That is, the work is done to appease other creators, art directors, clients, consumers, etc. So what of all of the ideas swirling around in my head? The yearning I feel when intuition screams to create something? This stuff has to come out somehow. I need to express myself and expel all of the things buzzing around in my mind. When most of my day is spent executing projects for someone else, be it creative or otherwise, I still feel like something is missing. Emotionally my wife, child, other family and friends fill me with joy and love. Mentally, however, I have so many ideas, creative images, and visual triggers, that I need a way to express that energy. For me, that form of expression is storytelling. When I sit on the train during my commute to and from work, I write. I write stories, I write my feelings on a particular subject, I’m writing this blog post right now…
The point is, everyone has creative expression inside of them. EVERYONE! Why keep it in? Even if you don’t decide to share it with anyone, do it for yourself. Scale that rock wall, paint that still-life, take that cooking class you’ve been meaning to take, and never let anyone or anything make you feel like you always have to play someone else’s music; compose your own. By day’s end, one very important question must be answered: “Did I get to be me today? When I write, whether people like my stories or not, the answer is always, “Yes!”
Find your creative outlet, plug into it, and you’ll run just fine.
Link to Blog Post on The Elliot Review
I need to write because if I don’t, I might just short-circuit. Sound crazy? Let me explain. It is my belief that everyone needs a creative outlet to plug into. Does that mean everyone should write, or paint, or direct a movie? Absolutely not (unless you want to). Having a creative outlet, to me, means being able to do something that brings you joy and peace through your own actions; something that comes naturally to you, that helps you express what you’re thinking and feeling. An activity where, even if it takes time and a lot of effort, it never seems like a chore because it is a piece of you that is being expressed. It can be planting a garden, volunteering at your local animal shelter, organizing events for your child’s school, building a birdhouse, etc.
My daily routine consists of the following: I get up in the morning and I get to spend about 15 minutes with my beautiful wife and lovely daughter before I have to run for my train. My commute to Manhattan is about an hour. I then work about 8-10 hours for Corporate America before sitting on the train for another hour, headed home. On days where I get out on time, I only get to spend about 45 minutes with my daughter before she’s off to bed. After that: dinner with my wife, catching up with one another, and sometimes a little TV. If there is time, late evening, I’ll do some chores around the house so as not to deal with them on the weekends.
My time with my wife and daughter are truly precious to me and I live for it. But let us rewind to that whole Corporate America thing, shall we? Hey, we all need to make a living and pay the bills and I am fortunate enough where I get to work within a creative environment with incredibly talented people, and I even get to wear jeans and sneakers to work. Very cool, right? However, at the end of the day my job is not my life; it is just a job to me. I appreciate it in terms of financial support, and I give 100% while I’m there, but everything I work on has so many hands on it, by the time it is completely executed, none of it is truly mine. I’m not complaining, just explaining.
So, let’s recap: Spending time with family is amazing, but my job, although creative, and although I devote 100% of my efforts and energy to the work, in the end, the work is not 100% of me. That is, the work is done to appease other creators, art directors, clients, consumers, etc. So what of all of the ideas swirling around in my head? The yearning I feel when intuition screams to create something? This stuff has to come out somehow. I need to express myself and expel all of the things buzzing around in my mind. When most of my day is spent executing projects for someone else, be it creative or otherwise, I still feel like something is missing. Emotionally my wife, child, other family and friends fill me with joy and love. Mentally, however, I have so many ideas, creative images, and visual triggers, that I need a way to express that energy. For me, that form of expression is storytelling. When I sit on the train during my commute to and from work, I write. I write stories, I write my feelings on a particular subject, I’m writing this blog post right now…
The point is, everyone has creative expression inside of them. EVERYONE! Why keep it in? Even if you don’t decide to share it with anyone, do it for yourself. Scale that rock wall, paint that still-life, take that cooking class you’ve been meaning to take, and never let anyone or anything make you feel like you always have to play someone else’s music; compose your own. By day’s end, one very important question must be answered: “Did I get to be me today? When I write, whether people like my stories or not, the answer is always, “Yes!”
Find your creative outlet, plug into it, and you’ll run just fine.
Link to Blog Post on The Elliot Review
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