Creativity isn’t the domain of the “talented” or a gift reserved for the lucky few. It’s an acumen. Just as there is business acumen, there is creative acumen. Creativity is a reality—a terrain, a living landscape.Whether you’re making films, drawing, composing, designing, or writing, you’re moving across that landscape every day.
And we charge across the creative wilds full of homespun ideas and fearless abandon. And that’s a great thing.
Then we lose our way, face big obstacles, get lost and stumble into ravines. Then we lose heart. We make dumb decisions or abandon the path entirely—not because we aren’t “talented,” but because we don’t understand the climb.
People buy endless books to understand diet and exercise. We subscribe to book clubs that send us the latest and greatest books on business or leadership. Yet, we don’t buy books to understand creativity.
It’s no wonder so many people have an aspiration to pursue a creative art form but never see it materialize into anything.
We are unprepared for creative endeavor.
How do I know?
Because I’ve seen it in the professionals I’ve directed.
I’ve heard it in their voices, seen it in their choices, read it in their posture.
I’ve seen it in students and aspiring artists—flashes of raw talent, tangled in hesitation and doubt.
I’ve seen it in the portfolios they present.
I’ve seen it in my own four kids.
And I’ve seen it in myself.
I’ve seen it in my first youthful efforts.
I’ve seen it in my first creative job.
I’ve seen it throughout my professional life.
If I had understood the creative landscape earlier—I would have saved myself years of anxiety, costly mistakes, and wasted energy.
I might have been on a different creative field than what I spent 30 years in.
Knowing creativity will release you from crippling cycles of doubt. It will free you from fear and guard you from unnecessary struggle.
The Truth About Creative Struggle
Most of our creative problems aren’t skill problems. They’re mindset problems.
• Emotional: We hate failing. We hate being judged. Silence can feel worse than criticism.
• Comparative: We scroll through Instagram, see mile-90 work, and despair that our mile-2 work doesn’t measure up.
• Impatient: We want to run the marathon without training for it. We want the victory without the miles.
Here’s the truth: no one skips the miles. You don’t jump from mile 2 to mile 90 without running through the teens, twenties, forties, and eighties. To skip that journey would be to warp time.
When creativity is treated like a black box labeled talent, it tricks us into believing in magic beans. If the beans don’t sprout, we assume we never had what it takes. We give up.
But creativity isn’t magic. It’s not a stalk that grows overnight. It’s a road. A climb. A series of miles you have to walk, run, and sometimes crawl through.
And the good news? With guidance—with a map—you can travel that road with far less wasted motion, with more confidence, and with the peace of knowing you’re exactly where you need to be.
Creativity isn’t just something you “do.” It’s something you study. Because the more you understand the terrain, the better you’ll navigate it. And the further you’ll go.
If you’re interesting in joining my 4 week Creativity Crash Course you can join the wait list at Creativity Underground by clicking this button, or going to creativityunderground.com
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