Work
Now we come to the final stage of sharing which means getting your work out to the world. There are so many ways to share what you have created, but the important thing is that you do it!
Don’t let your art sit in a drawer, on a hard drive, folded up in a closet, or even in your head. Share it and get it out to the world! By sharing I don’t mean that you give it away; sharing includes selling it and getting paid for your creation, which I’m sure you’ll agree is tremendously satisfying. In today’s world of social media where “likes” are seen as a reward, there’s really no better result than sharing your work with someone who has paid you and is truly happy with your product. But “getting paid” isn’t just with money, there are many other ways to bring about an interchange for your work with a happy “customer” who may happen to be a friend, co-worker, or family.
Now that we’ve covered the full cycle of creativity and its parts you can see that your ability to visualize connects with each part of the cycle; your vision is the common thread connecting all steps. Additionally, each part of the cycle interacts with the others in the natural course of creativity.
By understanding each of the stages of the cycle of creativity, you will be in control of the whole process and able to apply these to any part of your life, making art an everyday experience. We’ll be taking up each of the stages in detail in the coming chapters, but before we go on, answer these questions.
1.What does creativity mean to you?
2.Describe a time you used your power to visualize and then carried it out.
3.What are some examples of tools you have used for creativity?
4.What’s an example of a time let your creativity flow when you were working your craft?
5.List out three excuses you’ve used for not completing a creative project.
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1.What area of your life would you like to bring more creativity to?
2.Write down your vision for it.
3.What are the tools you’ll need to use to bring about your vision?
4.What excuses have you used for not getting into action in that area?
5.List three steps you will take this week to get into action. (Check off when done.)
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6. Now look it over and do any editing or refining of that project.
7. Share your work with someone you feel comfortable with.
Creative Conversation with Chris Burkard
Chris Burkard is an accomplished explorer, photographer, creative director, speaker, and author. His visionary perspective has earned him opportunities to work on global, prominent campaigns with Fortune 500 clients, speak on the TED stage, design product lin es, educate, and publish a growing collection of books. Through social media, Chris strives to share his vision of wild places with millions of people, and to inspire them to explore for themselves. At the age of thirty-two, Burkard has established himself as a global presence and influencer. And he has a managed to navigate his dynamic career while also raising a family.
I’ve known Chris for ten years. His first book The California Surf Project caught my eye because it was so fresh and alive. I then invited him on Advancing Your Photography, my YouTube show, and found his artistic advice and his ability to capture moments were spot on. It’s no wonder he has over three million followers on Instagram, it seems we can’t get enough of him.
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When did you first flip the switch to having a fully creative life?
I made the choice when I was nineteen and I quit my job and quit school to pursue photography. At the time it wasn’t really about creativity. It was just more about making a living, doing something that I loved, and I think the concept of embracing some sort of career path that would lead me to interesting places and interesting people and an understanding of the world was really my draw.
I think that inadvertently it led me to a place where creativity kind of reigned supreme. It led me to a place where I could foster creativity; that’s always been my biggest takeaway. Creativity is not something you just have all the time, you have to set parameters, you have to create barriers or walls or guidelines for yourself to live with so that you could foster a creative life or foster a creative environment.
That’s really the key component. I think for me over time things have become more and more creative or I’ve been able to operate in a more and more creative capacity because I’ve done that.
What were the biggest barriers you had to overcome to make that happen?
A big one was just mainly dealing with my own self-worth and self-validation. When you submit your work and you never have any type of positive feedback, it can be really challenging. That’s a really hard thing to do. I think the first and biggest struggle people deal with is self-worth. You have to come to—“my work is valuable.” That’s a conclusion you have to come to on your own. And that’s a really hard one to just figure out.
How did you come to that conclusion?
I didn’t. I decided slowly over time, like dew forming: it’s super slow, you can’t even watch it, there’s no turning point. People always ask me, “When did they just click?” And there’s no such thing as when things click. If you want to talk about overnight success, it took twelve years of overnight success. The reality is I chose not to think about that. I just put my head down and did my work and there were small successes along the way. There were a lot of failures for the most part. I think that what you find is that even if you do receive great praise from one of your heroes, that’s only going to take you so far.
At a certain point, you have to realize that all that validation, all of that earning a paycheck, collecting stamps in your passport—is not going to mean anything to you unless you find a purpose greater than those things, a purpose that creates passion. Passion alone is not creative. Nobody ever said, “I’m passionate about what I do because somebody said so.” Or “I’m passionate about what I do because it pays the bills.” That’s not true. That’s totally the opposite.
So I think it’s key to understand that at a certain point you have to figure out what you’re passionate about and you have to foster that. Usually that requires some introspection and some time for reflection—a spirit quest, whatever you want to call it, to understand what makes you you and what drives you. For me
