Few words will propel you to do something immediately… unless it’s “Quick, get out, your house is on fire,” or “I am standing outside your door with a hundred dollars. Come and get it.” (I will not offer this due to overall creepiness and a lack of funds.)
You know that creative project you’ve wanted to start but haven’t done it yet? Your idea for a blog, your interest in outdoor photography, your desire to start painting again, that book you wanted to write? Even if you’re not of the honorable, self-pronounced “creative-types,” isn’t there something that’s been on your creative to-do list for months?
Chances are…you’re waiting for the right time to start. Here it is: The timing will NEVER be right.
“Feeling good about it first” is the preemptive killer of your idea. In his book, The War on Art, Steven Pressfield writes, “The most pernicious aspect of procrastination is that it can become a habit. We don’t just put off our lives today; we put them off till our deathbed.”
A photographer I really admire out of Nashville/L.A. named Jeremy Cowart recently journeyed to Haiti to document what is going on there since the devastating earthquake of 2010. Some of the photos he took with his DSLR were displayed in the White House to raise awareness and funding for relief efforts. But Jeremy experimented—he also used the camera from his iPhone (iPhoneography) to shoot a photo essay viewable at http://jeremycowart.com/galleries/iphone/. He discovered that the iPhone gave him better access to his surroundings.
Use what you have. Even something as small as a camera on a phone can be used creatively. Pen and paper is still my favorite tool for note taking and writing. The point is to get started. In the words of Hasbro, if you do not pass GO, you will not collect two hundred dollars.
So here’s to doing a free write when you’re done reading this. Here’s to taking pictures on your next hike. Here’s to keeping more recorded collection of your “doodles.” You will quickly see that it’s a gift to yourself and others to get your ideas out of lockdown!
(Plus, I’ll give you a hundred dollars—I’m standing right outside!)
Jeff Venable
©Jeff Venable 2011