What the "creative" know...

"It is a mistake to think that the practice of my art has become easy to me. I assure you, dear friend, no one has given so much care to the study of composition as I. There is scarcely a famous master in music whose works I have not frequently and diligently studied."

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

"...but talent is a dreadfully cheap commodity, cheaper than table salt. What separates the talented individual from the successful one is a lot of hard work and study; a constant process of honing. Talent is a dull knife that will cut nothing unless it is wielded with great force..."

Stephen King, Danse Macabre


Societally we are crippled by the idea that creativity is a talent, to be possessed or not at birth. This debilitating belief stagnates the masses and allows mediocrity. Creativity is not itself a talent, it is a style, a method, a way of using one’s talents. It is not a gift of nature, but one of nurture. If you are not creative, you may only blame yourself for not employing your curiosity, and for being a coward.

Talent is what comes naturally, but can only be excellent when paired with creativity, passion and devotion. I have seen numbers, both in taxes and time-sheets, and I am under no delusions; numbers and creativity are not mutually exclusive. Every person possesses talent. It is high time we stop lamenting the talents that we do not have, and start exploring those that we do. In this day and age, if you are not happy with your lot in life it’s your own damned fault.

Be curious, and be proud of your talent. Learn what you can, and employ it as you may. Fail and fail again. And be grateful, again to fail. You have that freedom. That is creativity. --AW