Page 238 - THE DO-IT-YOURSELF LOBOTOMY Open Your Mind to Greater Creative Thinking

Proceed with Passion 229

It’s why athletes go above and beyond for the team.
It’s how creative thinkers can pull out of the gravitational field of
conventional thinking and dare to consider new ideas.

As we discussed earlier, new ideas don’t always make a lot of sense.
New ideas are often the targets for all kinds of flak. So you better have
a great deal of passion in your effort to find new ideas and defend
them. You’re going to need it.
How do you gain and maintain the passion? Louis Armstrong,
when asked by a Parisian reporter to explain American jazz, is reputed
to have said, “If you gotta ask, you ain’t never gonna’ know.”
Some people might say you either have passion or you don’t.
Well, I believe everyone has a certain amount of enthusiasm for
new ideas. I also believe it’s easy to lose touch with that fire at the core.
Our educational and societal programming has dulled much of our
eagerness in this area, as has the judgment of superiors and peers and
the pressure to be “right” in business.
Here are some tips to help you keep the flame burning.
Surround yourself with people who have passion for creative pursuits.
Become a student of creativeness. It is, after all, the stuff that accom-
plishment is made of. When my wife drags me to a ballet (sorry,
Honey), I applaud the creativeness of the choreographer more than
the talent of the dancers. When watching a football game, I wonder
why the coach called this or that play. I don’t just sit there and accept
everything.
Celebrate your own successes in creative pursuits. Don’t sit around waiting
for the approval of others. If you have a new idea that you’re excited
about, don’t hold back your enthusiasm. And don’t listen to the naysay-
ers. What do they know? They’re the ones stuck in the old ways of think-
ing and attached to the old ideas.
What if Einstein had listened to the scientific community of his
time? He would have thought their way and not a whole new way.
What if Elvis had listened to the musical establishment, those people
burning his records and calling him evil? Where would contemporary
music be today?
Study, study, study. I recommend that you read about creativity and
creative accomplishment as much as you can. Read books about cre-
ativity, and read as much as you can about high-achieving people.
Because achievement is creativity in action.
Play in greener pastures. I heard an expression years ago. I don’t know
who originally said it. “If you’re green, you’re growing. If you’re ripe,