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8/27/2013 Karaoke Is Evil, Art Is Sexy - How To Free Yourself From Being An Imitator & Become A Functioning CreativeRead NowIn our everyday creative lives, we come into contact with video after video, song after song, graphic after graphic... you get the idea. Media is more available to us now that any previous point in history. This also means that there is a whole lot more of the stuff being thrown into our daily periphery, as well.
This can be a huge distraction from our creative lives, sure. But something almost more insidious begins to creep in. Unintentional imitation. Let's face it. We all do it to some extent. It could just be our influences working together to give a certain flavor to our work, or it might be an all out rip off (you know who you are). The point is, when creation becomes more like imitation, we aren't really talking about being creative anymore. We're talking karaoke masquerading as the original. So, assuming that we want to act as truly creative individuals, we need to find a way to free ourselves from our standards for ourself. Think about your standards for a completed work. Chances are, you developed those standards through one of two ways. One, you had a teacher who dictated to you what a completed work was and what it wasn't. Or two, the people that you admired when getting into your art somehow left an impression on you as to what a complete and quality piece of work really is. Either one is perfectly functional and useful in our work. But I want you to ask yourself, have you ever tried to create something without giving a thought to what other artists (teachers, inspirations, heroes) would have done? Have you ever let the work be true to it's self, let it speak in it's own voice and sing until the last note is finished? Have you let it have it's own inherent quirkiness and flaws? It takes skill to let a true work go from inspiration to creation. That's what the fundamentals are for. Then, forget everything. Let the idea sing. Go right when it says to go right. Hold the chord when everyone else might change it, because that's what the song says to do. Open your heart, your mind and your eyes to what is being presented to you in the form of inspiration. Then create that. You'll never need to "play karaoke" again.
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Today, I found myself complaining. Nothing serious. Very "First World Problem" type of complaining. The person on the other end, in this case my girlfriend, listened patiently. Sometimes, I don't know why she does it. The other times, I know very well. It's because I fu*king rock.
But rock as I might, today, I sucked. Why? Because complainers, as a rule, suck. This statement might piss some people off and I am happy to provide that stimuli for them. I am writing this for myself as well, to clear my own head and allow my higher self to give my lower self a talking to. This is schizophrenia as entertainment, so you might as well enjoy it while you can.. You Really Having NOTHING To Complain About Period. I know that you can think of all kinds of exceptions, but I'm including them too. When I was a cancer patient at the ripe old age of eleven, there was a young child who had gone blind due to a brain tumor. The list of the health complications that he had to endure was endless. The pain he was in on a daily basis was immense. Yet, as I lay next to him in our shared room at The Children's Hospital in Denver, I witnessed first hand that courage, compassion and positivity had absolutely nothing to do with your circumstances, but everything to do with your heart and your spirit. His laugh was infectious, his smile was something that everybody commented on. It was beautiful. And the real kicker is, as young as he was, this kid understood his situation medically was basically hopeless. It didn't phase him one bit. Here I was today, complaining about what? Friends acting silly? Come on. Everyone gets cranky now and again. That's fine and human. Accept it and don't take it for more than what it is. But it's when complaining becomes a way of life that it becomes slippery. Thinking that you are either a victim or too good for anything around you is a direct signal to the world and to your unconsciousness that you are not fit for the situation. My mentor mentioned a great method to use when you feel the need to complain. Here it is: 1) Frame the problem as if it was EXACTLY what was supposed to be happening to you at this exact moment to help you develop. 2) Ask what is perfect in the situation. (This might be really, really hard. You might have to think for awhile. But I bet that you will find SOMETHING good about the situation.) 3) Become thankful for the good and become eager for the future. This is such a powerful place to be. Not just on a metaphysical level, but in a very practical and psychological way. 4) Approach the situation for gratitude and optimism. Then ask, "How can we have fun and kick ass right now?" 5) Then do it. This is the complainer's cure. The antidote. Try to use it for a month and see what happens. Mark my word, the change will be miraculous. No matter what you do, no matter where you do it, you can count on one thing. There will always be haters. It doesn't mention it in the Bible, but God created them on Day 8.
I take that back, there is an exception: You won't have many haters if you do nothing at all. But, if you are reading this, you are obviously are someone who does something worthwhile (right?), so that exception won't apply to you. In martial arts, there is a principle that states that whenever you break your guard to throw strike, you open up a weakness where your opponent can hit you. So it is in life. When you extend yourself in any direction, you immediately open yourself up. So the question becomes how to handle them. The easy (and popular) answer is to tell you to ignore them and there are many good reasons to follow it..if you are going for only the superficial level. That level basically has you pretend that whatever you are doing is good enough, even in the face of massive proof that it isn't. Over 98% of our society lives in this world. It becomes a cycle of half assed work and everyone pretending that it's okay. For the other 2%, things are a bit different. They don't beat themselves up all the time. Instead, they have learned to drop the ego that is involved in maintaining their pride. Pride, if it exists (and it almost ALWAYS does), is based on the standards of learning and development that they hold themselves to. When someone is striving to be the best, like an Olympic athlete, the fake ego dies because they have suck more often than anyone. They know what it is to suck. The satisfaction comes from knowing that they are there, everyday, working to hit the level of excellence that they have achieved. In fact, they rarely see it as excellence, because they know how much farther they have to go. At that level, handling haters has more to do with ignoring the venom. But you have a reason to ignore it. It's distracting you from your goal. From being who you want to become. Really, you have no choice but to ignore it. How To Handle Haters? Focus on your path with such intensity that they become like a distant static to the strength of your signal. 12/11/2011 How A Drug Dealer Changed My Life (How To Become The Grand Strategist Of Your Existence)Read Now Let's get this handled right out of the gate: I do not condone drug dealing. I don't promote a life of crime, the drug trade, organized crime or brutal street violence. Cool? Cool. (No letters, please.)
In the winter of 2009, a strange set of coincidences led me to find an intense self development concept that I found to be very effective. The odd thing about this concept was that it came from Mr. American Gangster himself, Frank Lucas. At the time I was introduced to backtracking, I was in a slow ascent from a dark place. Recovering from an intense and mutually destructive relationship, I had yet to find my bearings. The philosophy I had been exposed to by my martial arts teacher helped a great deal in gaining a perspective on the situation, but somehow, the path to take from where I stood eluded me. It was in the moment I was the most lost that an answer came. Late one night, while watching the special features section of "American Gangster" DVD in my apartment, I heard Denzel Washington refer to Frank Lucas going on a "Backtracking" trip, where he would shut himself in a room with only a desk and a chair for weeks at a time. There, in silence, he would write down everything he could remember in his life, from the large events to the small. From that room, he was able to see long term patterns and tendencies that he had that had previously been hidden from him. It also allowed him to become a grand strategist for his life, planning movements and turns long before the opportunities would present themselves. It was interesting idea, so I jotted it down, thinking I would explore it later. The next day, while reading Robert Greene and 50 Cent's "The 50th Law", I came across a chapter about Lucas and backtracking. Taking the clear hint, I tried to research it a bit more before realizing there is very little information about it. The lack of information is probably because: A) Taking advice about life from a drug dealer is generally frowned upon (although I can't imagine why) B) Backtracking seems like a lot of work. Backtracking allows you to confront the unfolding story of your life head on. You will see behavioral patterns that might surprise you. You will mostly likely be interested to learn about strengths and/or weaknesses that you didn't even know you had. But in the end, after having to face down the angels and demons of your past, you will be left with something you can work with to create the life you really want. Backtracking is a great way to face the monster of our past, whatever it may be and conquer it. It is a bit of work, but it's worth the time you put into it. There is a method however. Here is exactly the concept I used before changing my career and starting my company, Iedima. (You will need a good amount of loose leaf paper, pens and a notebook.) Setting The Stage 1, Clear your calendar Just as you sit down at your desk to begin this project, you will inevitably have something or someone come in and disturb your time. It is almost cosmic in it's frequency. The only way around it is by totally and actively clearing the time you are going to commit to getting it done. You will need at least 3 to 4 hours. (Don't worry, there are bathroom breaks involved..) 2. Use paper and pen Put away the computer, the phone and the TV. I mean it. Put them AWAY. You will be very tempted to "just check something" and end up losing your focus. Don't allow them to be an option for you until your 4 hours are up. The best way to stay on task is to use paper and a pen, with no other reading material or distractions around. Why do you think Lucas only had two pieces of furniture in the room where he would backtrack? The answer is simple. He needed to FOCUS. 3. Draw the curtains Low light seems to work best for deep memory work. Candles and incense, as long as they aren't too powerful, provide an environment conducive to the project at hand. They also have been shown to increase decision making ability when combined with lower light in several tests. <Bathroom/Beverage Break> (See, I told you, didn't I?) The Process 4. Create A Yearly Timeline Write each year from the year you were born to the current one. Make sure to leave a decent amount of room between each one so can fill things in. 5. Fill in all the large events in your life by year, starting from beginning to present Just a quick description will do. Don't get detailed yet. This will, unless you are Jason Bourne, be easier than you think. Skip the mid-sized to small stuff for now. 6. Look For Patterns Now that you have something to work with, look for the way your life flows. Look at the way things earlier on led from one major event to another. Are there patterns? Has a particular thing happened more than once? Write all of these observations down in your notebook. 7. Go in closer and repeat Now, go back through the years and write down every mid-sized event of piece of information you can remember. Repeat the above steps, find patterns and then go smaller until you can barely remember anything. <Bathroom/Beverage Break> Grand Strategy 8. Find Your Vision Vision is an overused word. But in this case, it means "what do you want the various parts of your life to look like?" Close your eyes and breathe deeply for awhile. In your minds eye, imagine life as you would truly like it. Notice the details. After awhile and when you feel comfortable doing so, come out of that and write down what you have seen and what you wish to create. This is what you are going to work from going forward. 9. Review Your Findings Now that you have made a good amount of notes looking at the events of your life and the patterns that may have shown themselves, write them out simply. Put down the core essence of what it is. 10. Take responsibility Negative patterns and events in your life might not be your fault. But blaming anyone or anything for what has happened in your life, while possibly justified, is adverse to getting use out of a this sort of technique. At least for the moment, try to suspend your resentment and think of ways you have or can stop them from occurring in your life. How you respond is your responsibility. 11. Design your "Grand Strategy" based on your vision for the future while taking the information from the backtrack into account. As you commit to a plan to achieve what you what you have decided to go after, make sure that you take the way you have naturally behaved up to this point into account. For instance, if you have never worked out a day in your life, than don't plan to hit the gym everyday for four hours. Taking the time to slowly introduce habits really pays off. Besides, now that you can plan on a much larger scale than most other's do, you can add minor habits bit by bit until the entire lifestyle change happens without the usual dramatic (and high failure rate) mind based mega change. This technique, while almost obvious, is very powerful. Most people can't remember what they had for lunch yesterday, yet here you are, knowing the ebb and flow of your life. But not only that, but you have a plan to create the future that you wish to experience. Now go make it happen. P.S. In order to change some of the behavior, it might become necessary to change old, built in behaviors. In that case, I recommend NLP or, if you are the disciplined sort, Zen meditation. |
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