Brainwashed!

Here's the link to the Bainwashed article by Seth Godin

The way of the lizard is within all of us! Well, at least the "lizard brain" is within all of us. The lizard brain? Well that's the small inner part of our brains that worries solely about the safety of our social being.

Sometimes you run across someone who just really doesn't care about what people think, and maybe there's a few times when you just can't be around them because they are so damn embarrassing! Well, those people are weird, yes, but they have learned to ignore the 'resistance' of the lizard brain.

Viva la Resistance?

You might abide by this resistance in most situations, but when we want to be creative, all of the sudden the common 'resistance' creates this barrier that we really really wanna get past. We know we are capable of creating beautiful and thought provoking things, it just takes some balls.

The best artists jump off cliffs on a regular basis. Not literally, but they take the risk that they will be laughed at, or even ostracized in some cultures. But as Seth Godin puts it, it's taking these risks that leads us to get rewarded.

If this all hasn't hit home yet, take with you the quote that will stay with me for a while. Seth Godin states "that the act of genius required to produce something original and important is crippled by the resistance, and ignoring the voice of skepticism is critical in doing the work."

Don't feel like you are creating for others, or the general population or culture as a whole. Create for yourself, you know deep down you can make rad stuff.

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From the same article, I decided to take a look at the "Ship" excerpt. Basically from the same scheme as the lizard brain, "Ship" says that ignoring the gecko is just not enough, kid. You need to DELIVER. And then after that.... YOU NEED TO DELIVER AGAIN. Timely, accordingly, efficiently. Many people and companies are easily capable to take risks in creating product, and they might be damn good, but do they really close the sale and make a difference? Do they become an indispensable contact?

In "Ship", Seth Godin says that shipping is affected by the lizard brain as well. Even after you jump off the cliff with your new masterpiece, will you ship it? Are you still afraid you might fail miserably if people experience it? It's scary; you're held accountable for the decisions made, what if things go wrong?

Seth Godin: Don't give a flying rats butt! You are there to deliver. You are there because you are the linchpin, the ones we can't live without. You and your organization are the ones that can get things done and close the sale, ship the product and make the difference.

So first we have "The Lizard Brain", the element that has kept me from creating things for years. And now we have "Ship"!!! Combined, this has given me so much more comfort about my creativity blog. Now, I can create how I want to create, what I vision. And then after that, I post it here, for the world to see. My parents, my teacher, my friends, my colleagues, people that hardly know me and people that will never know me.... I think I'm a new man.