Dare To Be Stupid
(Image available here for purchase)
Last time, I introduced you to one of my "3 Rules for Creating" - Show Up and Work!
Today, let me introduce you to my next rule...
#2 Dare To Be Stupid
Yes my friends, Weird Al Yankovic had it correct back in 1985 when he released a song by this very title. He's been doing stupid for a really long time. With no signs of slowing down. As a matter of fact he's in the height of his career with having nabbed the number one slot for a comedy album on the Billboard charts. Now before you click some other link to leave this page, hear me out...
This rule is about loosing you inhibitions. Every time you sit down to create something, you start hearing "those" voices. You know the ones.
"You can't do it that way. You'll look foolish".
"What on Earth are you thinking? No one is going to {buy, read, watch} that. You'll just prove to others that you really aren't that good and don't have a clue what you are doing."
By adopting Rule number 3, you kick those voices in the teeth and actually do something "stupid" just to spite them. It's not just for stupidity's sake. But it's in doing something stupid that we experience the sense of PLAY. And that my friends, is where the good stuff is.
Last week, I decided to try something stupid. Instead of using a paintbrush, I used a stick. Yes, from my backyard. And I made a video Instagram post of me using it. Stupid. But you know what? It was also freeing and playful. And I really like the results. Results, I might add, that I would never had come upon if I had not dared to be stupid.
What stupidity should you be chasing? Odds are you know. It's that thing that the "voice of reason" is trying to stifle right now.
What are you waiting for? Go for it. You never know what breakthrough might be just beyond stupid. Take Al's advice. Watch his video if you like, then muster up all the stupid you can find and have FUN!
...Get your mojo working now I'll show you how You can dare to be stupid...
...Come on and dare to be stupid It's so easy to do Dare to be stupid We're all waiting for you Let's go...
...You can be a coffee achiever You can sit around the house and watch Leave It To Beaver The future's up to you So what you gonna do...
Dare to be stupid
~ Weird Al Yankovic, "Dare To Be Stupid"
http://youtu.be/SMhwddNQSWQ
If the 80's style is a bit much for your sensibilities, try this one on for size.
The "H" Word
Hobby.
It's become a dirty word.
"I'm not a professional, or even an amateur. I'm a hobbiest."
I don't know about you, but growing up the word hobby always had a "lesser than" connotation. People would say things like "Oh it's great you like to do that. It makes a great hobby. But what are you going to do for a career? To make money". It was all very patronizing. And then the strong internal sense of responsibility comes along and puts hobby in a stranglehold. Because really, who has time for a hobby? There's too much to do. Too much to accomplish. There are bills to pay.
The problem with this thinking is that you end up eliminating something that feeds your soul. Something that make you feel alive. And in turn, that effects your work life, relationships - the whole of your life.
I think sometimes Art is put into this lesser than category by well intentioned adults when speaking to kids. After all, the world doesn't need any more "starving artists". Perhaps art should be kept as a hobby. (Which there's nothing wrong with, as not everyone should become an artist as a career). I know far too many people who like to create art in some way, but it got sequestered to the back burner of hobby only to no longer see the light of day. Perhaps, once in the proverbial blue moon, it comes out and is met with comments like "You know, I really should start doing this again. Perhaps someday..."
I love the way Austin Kleon describes a hobby it in his book "Steal Like an Artist":
It’s so important to have a hobby. A hobby is something creative that’s just for you. You don’t try to make money or get famous off it, you just do it because it makes you happy. A hobby is something that gives but doesn’t take.
Kleon, Austin (2012-02-28). Steal Like an Artist: 10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative (Kindle Locations 334-336). Workman Publishing Company. Kindle Edition.
Even though I'm a "professional" artist, there are some art forms for me that I consider hobbies. And I have learned the art of doing them just for me. And I'm much better for it.
What about you? Do you have a hobby (or hobbies) that you keep up with regularly? What makes you feel alive?