Creative courage isn’t something anyone is born with. Maybe some of us are blessed with creative responsibility, but hardly anyone is blessed with creative courage.
Creative courage is what we do when the call of creative responsibility can no longer be ignored. And that only comes about after we’ve been spectators in our own lives, witnesses of our own march towards meaninglessness and oblivion, without having even dared to as much as scratch the surface of meaning.
That means that we suffer the dread of creative responsibility until the prospect of living our purpose becomes less painful than doing anything we can (and you know what I mean) to not live our purpose. Some of us only take a few months to figure this out and I can never comprehend such resolve, but most of us take years. Years.
So from one self-satisfied procrastinator to another, perform a simple task that lives in the realm of your art. Not something around it, like a writer sharpening 100 perfect pencils before he confronts the empty page, but an action that lands you right in the bouillabaisse of your destiny. Because, and this is my experience, you will find yourself happily swimming.
Today of all days, I stumbled upon this post. Earlier today I finally took a BIG step toward my creative courage and had it not been for my reading this post, I wouldn’t have fully realized how big the step was that I had just made. Thanks for the encouraging words! I’ll make these part of my arsenal of motivation from now on.
Rod,
It’s my pleasure…you might also look into Steven Pressfield’s book called The War of Art…and don’t know if you’re in town in a month or so, but he’ll be speaking at The Acting Corps…let us know and we’ll send you an invite…
Cheers,
Eugene
Hi Eugene, thanks for the wise words. My name is Thomas, a former student at The Acting Corps (which is an awesome place!) and I love The War of Art, how can I get an invite?
Thanks
Thomas
Thanks, Eugene! I’m going to look up the book. As for being around in a month or so… I signed up for the Actor’s Boot Camp and begin class on Sunday, May 1st. So hopefully his speaking event will be sometime during that month. I live in Burbank so am always in the area.
I’m looking forward to joining your crew and getting into the mix. Thanks again for the motivation and for your response!
Cheers,
Rod
Call the office, Thomas, see if there is still a spot…look forward to seeing you..
Eugene
You’ve confirmed what I’ve decided to do. Thank you.
You’ve confirmed my confirmation.
Hey there, You have done a great job. I¡¦ll definitely digg it and personally recommend to my friends. I am sure they’ll be benefited from this site.
After coming back into Australia after doing the Bootcamp one I had to make difficult decisions about my creative courage and future your posts have been encouraging for me to walk in the direction of my dreams and not procrastinate how ever difficult it is going to be for me. Thank you for your posts they are very helpful.