You
Haven't Got A Creative Bone In Your Body
I
held up my newly sewn dress up against me and looked in the
mirror. It was beautifully constructed but the blue fabric
I'd chosen looked better suited to a baby blanket and the soft
A-lines of the dress only accentuated the soft, untoned curves
of my body. My heart sank. I'd done it again.
I
took it to show my mom, holding it up against me again for
her to see. My mom had a good eye and I hoped she'd find some
redeeming quality in it to boost my spirits. Instead, she laughed
sympathetically and said, "Oh honey, you haven't got a creative
bone in your body". Exactly what I thought.
I
was a teenager then, but those words echoed in my mind and,
for over 20 years more, kept me from seeing myself as the kind
of person I hungered to be - an artistically creative person - and
in fact, always was.
During
most of that time, I stayed safely on the left brain side of
things, so to speak. As an Ad Agency Account Executive, I stayed
on the client service side of the business, the analytical,
strategic side of things. The "suits" as we were known, and
the "creatives" weren't known to mix much. However, was in
awe of creative talent and spent a lot of time ooohing and
ahhhing over their shoulders. If only I'd had the creative
genes they had..
Ultimately,
the day came when I was confronted, head on, with my creative
fears. I was embarking on my own as a marketing consultant
where I would have the freedom to execute my own concepts.
I knew in my head what I wanted - the feel, the tone, the emotion
- but interpreting that concept onto paper, well that gave
vent to a lot of anxiety. To make matters worse, the internet
had arrived and to keep current, I wanted to know how to design
websites.
I
registered for a 3 month, full-time web-design course and then
the anxiety really set in. How the hell did I think I was going
to be able to design websites when I didn't have a creative
bone in my body? I could come up with many good components
but lay it out with an attractive graphic design? Me? I had
no ability to visualize whatsoever!
And
then - doo doo doo - I met Lekha at a media schmoozefest.
My
first visit to her was as much out of curiosity as anything
else. Just the same, the issue of my creative handicap came
to the surface. Tracing my mental block back to that moment
of "truth" with my Mother, Lekha did her thing to rid the memory
of its hold over me.
Later,
having paid her for a two hour session, I drove out her driveway
thinking I'd probably just flushed a whole bunch of money down
the toilet. The exercises she did, I thought to myself, were
really pretty goofy. I certainly didn't feel any more creative
than when I'd arrived.
It's
hard to say when, exactly, I realized that that was some of
the best time and money I'd ever spent. I loved the graphic
design component of my web design course and turned out some
pretty good looking stuff. I would say it was a gradual evolution
as creativity isn't simply an innate ability, it's also very
much a skill learned and I hadn't put mine to much practice.
The difference was, I think, that I apparently stopped being
afraid to try and listen to this:
Today,
about six years later, my creativity is earning me both a substantial
hourly rate and a reputation that I'm mighty proud of. My clients
and friends think I'm as creative as hell. And do you know
what? I know I am! In 2 hours or less, Lekha accomplished what
years of talk therapy could never touch. Banish any doubt you
may have about her not-so-mainstream techniques - she knows
what she's doing and she's darn good at doing it. Go for it!
Marney
Mutch,
Marketing Strategist, Victoria
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