November 2, 2010
Total Distance for today: 0
Total Distance for Trip: approx. 233 miles
LOCATION: Fowlerville, MI
STATUS: Briefly in Michigan for a meeting at the Mayor’s Office in Detroit about the Entrepreneurial Academy
I spent most of Tuesday working on the business plan for the academy again. I’ve discovered an interesting thing about creative endeavors: It is very tempting in any creative endeavor to be too picky about the creation as it’s on the way out of your mind. As humans, we are self-examining creatures, and we find the need to analyze, revise, and refine our work as we create it. This is a very bad thing to do, whey you’re first trying to get the idea out of your mind. Revising mid-creation is a perfect way to stop the creative flow dead in it’s tracks.
When we analyze our work, we put ourselves in an “holding onto” mindset, instead of a mindset of infinite flow, giving, and opportunity. The result might be a perfectly trimmed, written, and formatted creation, but the truth is, it’s value is very limited. It is in the inhibition-free moment of release that the most interesting, poignant, and striking ideas come. Sure, they may need some cleaning up at the end, but there will always be time to revise and perfect to no end later. If you would be a creator, you must learn to let go of perfection and simply give in to the ebb and flow of your creative energy. Once it’s out, you may revise to your heart’s content, but don’t be surprised if the original raw and unfettered product held somewhat deeper value than your overly-polished and glossy revision.