Accidental Creative

I’ve been thinking a lot about the importance of "community" in the creative process. There is a dangerous stereotype of the artist as the loner - the depressive and socially awkward island - who labors away day after day without any need for interaction. If you look at the lives of many great artists, not only is this a false stereotype, it is dangerously opposed to the processes that will consistently bring about the best ideas.

When we neglect relationships in our lives, we are limiting ourselves to our own perspectives and opinions. We begin to see the world in only one way, which naturally limits our ability to interpret it for others.

As a natural interovert, I’ve struggled off and on with this. I’ve been through seasons in which I have a group of sharp, creative people to bounce ideas off of, and I’ve been through seasons in which I feel like Tom Hanks in the movie "Castaway" - trying to elicit opinion from the inanimate objects in my office.  I have several friends, (Sean, Joe, Jill, Steven, Jim, Rob, Richard), who each challenge me in different ways when we get together. I’m also a part of smaller groups of people who get together on an irregular basis to talk through life and ideas. These idea sessions have been the genesis of some of my more profound thoughts. Still, I find it a challenge to find the time to schedule these meetings even though (in retrospect) I’m always glad I did.

Finding the right group of people to generate creative synergy can be difficult. Here are a few success factors I have found:
1. They must have diverse experiences. It’s not good to sit around and chat about the same things from the same perspective. Try to find people who may see the same data and offer alternative solutions to your problems.
2. They must have connecting points. There must be some sense of commonality within the group or some similar basis for understanding. It’s a waste of time to be continually explaing the context for your conversations. It’s more important to spend your time on solutions and possibilities.
3. No one is holding the gun. It’s important that no one in the group has hire/fire/make-your-life-miserable power over the others. There must be a sense of freedom to express without consequence.
4. You must like them. Community will only be successful if you look forward to getting together.
5. No one monopolizes the time. This is community share/solve/dream time. If someone’s a drain, address it. If they persist, don’t invite them anymore.

I’d encourage you to spend some time thinking about who you need to connect with. Schedule an informal "dream time" to chat about possibilites and open yourself to new ways of thinking. You might discover parts of you are lying dormant that can only be brought to life by other people.