“For the Creative Soul” is a free service presented by Creative Soul in Nashville, TN, meant to enrich and inspire creative Christians in the church or in any form of ministry that uses the arts.
The Ones Who Will
“Where there is a will, there is a way. If there is a chance in a million that you can do something, anything, to keep what you want from ending, do it. Pry the door open or, if need be, wedge your foot in that door and keep it open.” – Pauline Kael
Whether it’s with artists, creators (composers, songwriters, authors, etc), clients of any kind, those finishing degrees, or volunteers at churches and other places in music, I see the same thing. There are ones who will (do their creative thing with a passion and focus as I do), and those who…might.
Here’s a few examples:
The Happy Volunteer Creative
These are people who help at church or other places, give of their time because they can play an instrument or sing, and are happy doing only that. They have no delusions of grandeur, or are smart enough to know better. They enjoy playing or singing as a part-time hobby, and enjoy being part of a group. These could be anything from worship band members to a few doctors and lawyers who get together to jam in a garage. They do it because it’s fun, they love it, and don’t expect much more from it besides the occasional gig or Sunday service. I have no problem with this and actually depend on people like this every week.
The “Oh That Would Cool” Creative
This person honestly thinks a life as a creative would be very cool. Perhaps their parents or spouse are nudging them to find something, anything to do with their lives and this person has shown interest in being creative, or have been creative. These folks go through the motions in school, or at church, or in life looking at creative degrees, or creative possibilities. It seems…fun, I guess. But eventually it is no more than a temporary pursuit. Maybe they do pursue a job or degree in a creative area, but eventually it gets hard to find work, and they just get a real job doing something else because it pays and they move on.
The Creative Who Dabbles
I’ve written a whole post on this one. This is the true creative who in their spare time works on a creative thing. They write some songs, or draw, or paint, or act, or dance. They have the talent to do well, but they either do a little of everything and never focus their energies on anything serious, or they just dabble when the mood strikes. There’s no harm in this, but it really never leads to anything.
The Creative With No Proof
I often I meet people who say they are singers, songwriters, authors, photographers, or other types of creatives. They tell me how they long to sing, get published, get work, and live a creative life. Then I ask: Do you have any recordings or a portfolio I could hear or see? No. Are you singing or performing anywhere or else wise doing anything related to your creative craft that I could see? No. Do you have a website, or is your work on Instagram, YouTube, or at least Facebook? No. Then how exactly is the world supposed to know you have this creative talent, buy your art, experience what you are doing?
The True Creative Who Would If…
These are creatives who work hard on a daily or weekly basis on their craft. They may have sung any gig that came along, or written a few to a hundred songs, or painted or wrote stories, but it’s always been about “if”. If the right person heard them they would put all their energies into it. If someone came along and funded them they could really take off. If someone would finally recognize their genius they could and would really focus on their craft.
“The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing.” – Walt Disney
The True Creative Who WILL
These are the people who are like me. And to be honest, at some point they (and I) have been one or more of the people above. But the ones who will are the ones who DO. They don’t just happily volunteer only. They don’t think it would be cool and give it a try halfheartedly because someone prods them to at least do something. They don’t just dabble when the mood strikes. They get a Facebook, Instagram, and/or YouTube and start putting work up immediately to get feedback and build an audience. They don’t wait for the money, or the time, or to be told they can.
The true creatives, the ones who WILL be seen/heard, and WILL find an audience…these people get out there and get it going. They continually focus and point themselves in a direction to get their life’s work seen and/or heard. They seek out like-minded partners, mentors, consultants, producers, musicians, and people who they can work with to get where they want to go. And they never, ever quit. Repeat: They don’t quit…because for reasons beyond their control or knowledge, they just can’t stop!
Some creatives WILL by pursuing a music degree that can set them up to teach, or build relationships for future performance or composition opportunity. Some creatives WILL by finding that person who can help them reach the next level in whatever creative industry or audience they are focusing their art towards. Some creatives WILL by making their own brand and working it with nothing but YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram.
But true creatives who find success simple WILL where other’s won’t.
Will you?
“Do not wait; the time will never be ‘just right.’ Start where you stand, and work with whatever tools you may have at your command, and better tools will be found as you go along.” – George Herbert
Have a great week!
EC
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Eric Copeland is a full-time creator who creates his own work and WILL get every composition, idea, and project in his head out to the public in his lifetime. He is also available to help any creative who WILL through his Cre8iv Entertainment Companies like Creative Soul Records, Positive Spin Songs, and other brands. Contact us here!
In listening to a recent podcast I heard someone mentioned “the tension of time”. We know we only have so much time (in our life, in our week, in our day) to accomplish all that we want to. With all the things we MUST do for work, for family, for church, for health, we often don’t take the all important time for ourselves. And for creatives that means taking time to create.
