Unlocking Your Creative Self

I typically stay away from self-help books. All of them seem too rigid for my taste. Happiness is not found through ’10 Simple Steps’. There is no concrete way to get rid of anxiety or become confident.

We cannot shortcut our dreams and become a sensation overnight. But, certain things can fuel our confidence and creative process. This book by Rod Judkins is one of them.

Rod Judkins inspired me to create this blog. I’ve always had an extensive imagination and love for writing, but rarely did I share my inner world with others. He showed me that if I don’t begin now, I never will.

Throughout this book are dozens of quotes by famous writers, poets, philosophers, and musicians. His work is backed up with the struggles these people have overcome to get to where they are today.

Give Up the Day Job

What stuck out to me on this page was the quote Judkins provided by Albert Camus: “On the ridge where the great artist moves forward, every step is an adventure, an extreme risk. In that risk, however, and only there, lays the freedom of art.” Life shouldn’t be mundane and structured, it should be something you look forward to. Look forward to experience anything and everything you’ve ever wanted.

Looking back and thinking, should have, could have or might have, is the saddest thing of all.

Rod Judkins

Create Meaning Not Product

The most viewed film of all time, John F. Kennedy’ assassination, is not beautifully made. The camera’s shaky and it’s constantly going in and out of focus. People view it not for its cinematography but because it’s fascinating. Don’t focus so much on the technicalities of creating but the content you’re sharing.

Create Yourself

“The German artist Joseph Beuys viewed his life as an artwork, as if it were a drawing or a sculpture to be imaginatively developed. He asked himself who he wanted to be. He then set about turning himself into that person.”

The only work of art which succeeds is that which fails.

Jean Cocteau

Be Proud To Be Different

It’s good to be different. Original people question the standards society has placed. This leads a different way of thinking. If we all conformed, everything that’s been invented or created wouldn’t exist. People like The Beatles, J.D Salinger, and Picasso produced something unique and extraordinary without the fear of going against the grain. They were fueled by emotion and desire.

If people never did silly things, nothing intelligent would ever get done.

Ludwig Wittgenstein

Do What You Like

“If you do something because you think it is what you ought to do, or because it is the clever or sensible thing to do, you will ultimately lose interest and become dissatisfied. You’ll turn into a cog in someone else’s machine. There is a perception in society that work is a chore that you must not enjoy. It is something to get through. If it isn’t rewarding, your life isn’t rewarding. Don’t let people make you feel bad about doing something you enjoy. They are the one’s who are wasting their lives.”

This page really spoke to me. I’m going to college this fall to pursue a degree in English and Journalism and my father doesn’t want me to go because it’s not practical. Everyday he asks me, ‘why don’t you be (insert occupation)?’, which are all things that make the most money. Never live for someone else.

Don’t See Barriers That Aren’t There

“Many limitations and constraints are ones we have imagined for ourselves. Our thinking is inhibited because we unconsciously assume there are boundaries when there aren’t any. Don’t work out what is possible. It is too limiting. If the correct course of action is impossible, set out to do the impossible. Decide on the correct course of action before you decide what’s possible. Gifted people live in obscurity because of timidity. Creativity is not so much about talent as bravado.”

From a real antagonist one gains boundless courage.

Franz Kafka

Be Critical Of Critics and Don’t Become Locked On A Project

Everyone needs feedback on their work. Don’t ask for feedback for praise, use it to find weaknesses in your work to improve. When looking for feedback stay away from colleagues, parents, or friends. Often times they are venting their own frustrations or jealousies. ‘You need an honest opinion, not an opinion.’

If something isn’t working, let go of it. “You become emotionally attached to a project you have invested a lot of effort in. It becomes precious. It becomes like a baby that you have nurtured. But the more you try to save a project, the more overworked and labored it becomes.”

To be different and have success in life, you need to do different things, to do the opposite of everyone else.

Rod Judkins

Don’t Leave Ideas In Your Head

“Weak ink lasts longer than a memory. Inspiration fades quickly from the mind. The creative put ideas on paper the moment they have them. Take a sketchbook everywhere you go. Become addicted to it. Think of it as an idea store that keeps your mind free of clutter. It’s not until you record your ideas that you realize how many good ideas you have.”

Plug Yourself Into An Energy Supply

“A relationship is either nurturing or harmful. Some people can suffocate you. Creatively frustrated people are like the drowning; they try to drag others down with them. Creativity is like oxygen and they are starved of it. It is painful for them to others expressing themselves. Some people can make you feel energized and enlightened, while others make you feel tired, drained or irritated. They are toxic. Learn to identify them. Then keep away from them.”

I think the artist has to be something like a whale, swimming with its mouth open, absorbing everything until it has what it needs.

Romare Bearden

I borrowed Change Your Mind by Rod Judkins from a friend and I never expected it to have the impact it had on me. It made me feel better about myself, confident in the things I enjoy, and assured me that nothing is impossible. Everyday I’m working to be my best self; I hope you do the same and live your best life. xoxo