You Do Not Need to be a Good Creative

we're not even sure that exists

When we think of a “good creative,” we have this image in our heads of a disciplined artsy person with a rigorous work ethic. We have preconceived notions of the way they dress, what kind of things they say (pedantic? elitist? open-minded?), what kind of activities they enjoy, and how they behave.

Turns out, like most preconceived notions, these stereotypes are untrue and even harmful. Harmful because they’re wrong. And because they’re keeping us from being who we are. 

Tell us you don’t imagine a dude in an ascot staring wistfully out a window…

Take, for example, renowned poet Mary Oliver. She brings us to tears with those honking geese and the depth of emotion in her poems. Imagine what she must have been like to have written such profound words.

Perhaps a lady wandering through the woods, notebook in hand, hair curled – or at least in place. Perhaps she wore pressed khaki pants and a cable knit sweater. Or a blazer with elbow patches. A New England aesthetic and sensibility.

Turns out, that’s not even close to what Mary Oliver was like.

Krista Tippett said when she interviewed Oliver for On Being, the poet was wearing a New York Knicks sweatshirt and chain-smoking cigarettes.

We have this idea of what a poet is (or should be) like and we are wrong.

To quote Oliver, “You do not have to be good.”

You do not have to be a Good Creative.

There isn’t a right way to look or act or be in order to pursue your Dream Project. Carrying it out doesn’t require a self-improvement project or that you start donning cable-knit sweaters and collared shirts.

Annie Dillard was rumored to have been playing second base in a softball game when she got the call that she’d won the Pulitzer. 

You do not have to be a Good Creative.

Your Dream Project needs you to be you.

Play your softball games. Wear the Knicks sweatshirt. Don’t try to play the part of a Good Creative.

Be you.