Isaac Asimov wrote and published hundreds of books. J.D. Salinger six. Woody Allen makes a movie every year. Terrence Malick took a twenty year break between Days of Heaven and The Thin Red Line. Who is more important? Why? No comment on who is qualitatively better. My assumption is that these are all amazing, iconic artists whose work matters. My comment is on those that would use quantity of fantastic work as a measure of validation. Translation: for those of you blog every day with tremendous insight, tweet all the time, update your Facebook status regularly, go to “networking” events several times per week and still manage to provide terrific service to your clients (potential and actual), you are no better than those that do none of these things save for producing fantastic work and providing a wonderful experience for their clients (potential and actual).
I am all for doing whatever it takes to help your creative business succeed, so long as it is true to all that you are. My children have become huge fans of the old Jetsons and Scooby-Doo (I mean, who isn’t? and, yes, I know I let them watch too much TV). When I watch with them, I notice immediately how much slower the pacing is, how much longer it takes for the story to unfold and how specific the underlying plot formula is compared to today’s shows for young children (i.e., anything on NickJr). I try to imagine how viewers of those generations would perceive today’s media. I suspect they would be completely overwhelmed and just want things to slow down so they can savor the story. And sometimes I feel like there are those creative business owners that belong in earlier generations (no matter their actual age), yet feel like they have to produce at today’s pace. So they go about doing all of the work to keep up and maybe even do it all well. But the personal price is huge.
Just because the idea is a good one, does not mean it is right for you. I went over a business idea with one of my clients and her answer was, “great idea and I can see how it will help me grow my business and my brand, but it is just not for me. I would rather focus on design than managing people.” It is why she is one of my favorite clients. She is not afraid of letting a good, even great idea go if it will cost her the opportunity to focus on what she loves most. Let someone else have it, she will just do what she does.
Everything you do has a price – to you, your family, even to those you do not serve. If you are willing to sacrifice everything for your creative business, you need to do so consciously and only after giving yourself time, real time not just lip service, to determine that it is the path you wish to take. A day job with design on the side is as admirable as making it your livelihood, provided you believe in what you do during the day. We are all multi-faceted.
The message is everywhere – make it happen, do whatever it takes, be unreasonable. But much less often do we hear, “will this work for you?” Short term sacrifices are always necessary. They are a fact of life. We all have to do what we have to do, even what we may not love. Long term though, we have to do what we love in the context of all that we love. The fluidity of great work has to be relative to life stage and what is right for only us. The point is to do great work at our own pace. You will not be left behind.
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Thank you for this post, it was just what I needed to read right now. With the pressure to generate creative content almost constantly in order to build a presence, I found myself compromising so many things, from my aesthetic to my well-being and ability to perform well in my personal and professional (“day job”) life.
Your words, simply stated, are eloquent and far-reaching.
Reading your example about the Jetsons and Scooby do I’m reminded of my grandma. When she listens to hip hop music she simply cannot keep up with the pacing of the words. The bass in the beats and the melody connect for her though. In this way, I find that so many generations take what is considered “normal” for granted.
My grandmother can listen to a jazz arrangement and pick out each musician effortlessly. From afar it seems like “magic” but I’m coming to realize her generation was trained to listen differently. This skill set is normal to her but AMAZING to me.
Do you envision the pace of children’s programming increasing even faster than what’s being produced now?
Thank you for this post, its almost like you were sitting in my office today. Very good message & I will be saying No to refocusing some things this week!
This post prompted me to do some writing about “The business of LIFE!” No, I can’t do everything; nor should I. Slowing down and figuring out what works for me frees me up to try new things; to expand. But I don’t need to expand and expand and expand as the price, as you articulate, is too high. Thank you, Sean.
In response to Parris’ question regarding the increased paced of children’s programming . . . I believe it will speed up, speed up and speed up, as the pace will in other life arenas. I also believe that whether you’re a believer in metaphysics or physics the answer to Parris’ question can be found in the same territory–for every action there is a reaction; for every positive charge, a negative; for every high a low. Balance is always achieved. A correction is always delivered, though maybe not on our terms or when “we” want it.