It’s ironic, really.
The more an artist demands originality from others, the more likely they are to be a living cliché.
Starving – and proud of it – as they pour themselves into their work with little return.
Or if they’re a successful auteur, they wallow in their suffering. They hype up their anxiety, depression, addictions and eccentricity, believing this makes them better artists.
Maybe they’re right.
But I wouldn’t want anyone I care about to choose that path.
It’s possible to create meaningful and fulfilling things – from books to recipes to paintings to courses to workplace procedures – that require a creative spark, without it extinguishing your health and happiness.
In fact, five out of the six styles in Every Creative Way use their creativity without it consuming them.
As for the sixth?
They can learn to channel their pain and torment into something beautiful, true or useful… but in a healthier way. Sure, you might lose some of the prestige that comes from saying you bawled and screamed from start to finish – that it took years off your life to make this – but, hey, you’ll just have to live with that.
And live you likely will.
Either way, you can create more, be more original, influence more and enjoy the process more by reading and following along with Every Creative Way: