Wednesday, May 18, 2016

Creator's Corner: The Joy Is in the Story Journey (or Mission Impossible)

NOTE: Creator's Corner is now being published on Wordpress, so you can access and read all of the columns (past and future) easily at one location. Click Here.

ONE OF MY FAVORITE TELEVISION SERIES OF ALL TIME IS Mission Impossible that is also a successful film franchise starring Tom Cruise. If you're unfamiliar with it, basically, it revolves around a team of special covert agents who are given an extremely dangerous mission to accomplish within a tight time frame.

WHAT REALLY KEPT ME ON THE EDGE OF MY SEAT WASN'T the mission getting accomplished or the end (though I was happy to get the payoff): it was everything that occurred prior to actually accomplishing it.  In effect, the joy for me was in the journey--that was the story! Or as David Byrne of Talking Heads sings in the song, Once In A Lifetime: Well, how did I get here?




David Byrnes of Talking Heads

 

WELL, HOW DID I GET HERE?

 
THE MISSION IMPOSSIBLE TEAM WERE MASTERS OF CREATIVITY serving a practical purpose; who were constantly aware, alert, mindful, paying intensive attention, and had to be extremely close to perfect timing, synchronicity in order to make the impossible possible. How about you and I? Aren't we all in the same or similar story in one way or another?

Things are only impossible until they are not. --Jean Luc Picard of Star Trek: The Next Generation

ARE WE OPEN-MINDED ENOUGH TO EXPERIMENT WITH NEW ways to create art, content, ideas, marketing strategy, content strategy through mindfulness, intuitive knowing, spiritual synchronicity, or some channel we can't fully comprehend or explain as part of our story?

I WAS HIRED TO DESIGN THE ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE NEW YORK STATE BAR ASSOCIATION, and was researching legal images, symbols, colors, sounds, words; and had two rough compositions based upon them to share at my first meeting. In the course of that week, I had been noticing windows over and over again. They kept drawing my attention. Why?  
 
John Steinbeck & His Children

THE NEXT TIME I SAT DOWN TO WORK, I DREW WINDOWS AND EXPLORED HOW WE USE THEM and what they represent. They allow those of us on the outside to look at what is occurring on the inside. Eyes have been described as windows to the soul. There's an intimacy associated with looking in on the activity of others. Windows are related to opportunities.

SO, I CREATED ONE MORE COMPOSITION WITH WINDOWS FLOATING AROUND a central window in which a man is having an intimate conversation with a young boy. The floating windows were colorful (like Microsoft Windows), and the central window was framed with legal columns. I decided to trust what was being visually communicated to me.

Spirituality means stepping back and clearing that channel you believe in. --Gabby Bernstein

I PRESENTED THE THREE COMPOSITIONS TO THE DECISION-MAKERS (THREE OF THEM), who immediately chose the one with the windows while exclaiming how well it fit the message content of and intention for that year's report: it focused on all the pro bono work they do (immigrants, domestic violence, child abuse, etc.), and they needed to attract lawyers to participate in their pro bono program (offering them opportunities to be of service). We had not conversed before the meeting about the theme of the annual report. It truly caused me to pause and begin opening up to more of these experiences.

WOW, WHAT STORIES WE HAVE TO TELL WHEN OUR EXPERIMENTS LEAD TO SUCCESS (the happy ending). No success? Sure there is in that we have opened ourselves up to more possibilities that may lead to more opportunities for something extraordinary to occur through that channel in which you may come to believe and experience the impossible as possible.


1) Content Inspiration: 3 Unthinkable Behaviors Behind Content Marketing

2) Content Inspiration: Creativity As Devotion

3) Content Inspiration: John Steinbeck on Writing, The Crucible of Creativity, and The Mobilizing Power of the Impossible

MAY YOU DISCOVER MORE CREATIVE ideas and spiritual support now (and in the future) by exploring the Creativity & Spirituality Magazine, and previous Creator's Corner columns: Creator's Corner: How To Work (And Play) Well With "The Others" To SucceedBest Visual Content = Storytelling Solutions via A&E ProfessionalsLies & Storytelling: Strange Bedfellows in Shades of Gray; Best Storytelling Has Sensory Empathy (or It's Important to Engage the Senses)Get Up To Speed On Quality Do-It-Yourself Storytelling: On a Low BudgetBest Storytelling is Copied, Stolen Content? (or The Lighter Shade of Led Zeppellin)The Joy is in the Story Journey (or Mission Impossible)Best Story Content Grounded In Our Past & Current LifeConflict Has Creative Value, Learn How To Use ItCard Decks & the Mystic or Visionary PersonaHere Comes Play-Doh, and Sacred Geometry–Visual Storytelling Content: One Of Top Four Creative Trends 2016.

Dare to shine, be generous, and love this life.

Valerie







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CREATOR'S CORNER is dedicated to sharing ideas that come to mind after reading and selecting articles for The Creativity & Spirituality Magazine (as the editor) that may be useful in a professional or personal capacity. Interest in creativity and spirituality as content for usage in arts & entertainment, media communications, marketing and advertising, and as lifestyle choices for businesses, projects and services (groups that have a way of life that may or may not be included in their brand identity), can be relevant to anyone anywhere in the world covering a variety of professions.
“What if we consider the possibility that a primary way we can experience the revelation of God’s mystery is through the process of our own creative expression?” - See more at: http://candler.emory.edu/news/blog/2016/05/creativity-as-devotion.html#sthash.EItCwnzQ.dpuf
“What if we consider the possibility that a primary way we can experience the revelation of God’s mystery is through the process of our own creative expression?” - See more at: http://candler.emory.edu/news/blog/2016/05/creativity-as-devotion.html#sthash.EItCwnzQ.dpuf
“What if we consider the possibility that a primary way we can experience the revelation of God’s mystery is through the process of our own creative expression?” - See more at: http://candler.emory.edu/news/blog/2016/05/creativity-as-devotion.html#sthash.EItCwnzQ.dpuf

What if we consider the possibility that a primary way we can experience the revelation of God’s mystery is through the process of our own creative expression?” - See more at: http://candler.emory.edu/news/blog/2016/05/creativity-as-devotion.html#sthash.EItCwnzQ.dpuf
What if we consider the possibility that a primary way we can experience the revelation of God’s mystery is through the process of our own creative expression?” - See more at: http://candler.emory.edu/news/blog/2016/05/creativity-as-devotion.html#sthash.EItCwnzQ.dpuf
What if we consider the possibility that a primary way we can experience the revelation of God’s mystery is through the process of our own creative expression?” - See more at: http://candler.emory.edu/news/blog/2016/05/creativity-as-devotion.html#sthash.EItCwnzQ.dpuf
What if we consider the possibility that a primary way we can experience the revelation of God’s mystery is through the process of our own creative expression?” - See more at: http://candler.emory.edu/news/blog/2016/05/creativity-as-devotion.html#sthash.EItCwnzQ.dpuf
What if we consider the possibility that a primary way we can experience the revelation of God’s mystery is through the process of our own creative expression?” - See more at: http://candler.emory.edu/news/blog/2016/05/creativity-as-devotion.html#sthash.EItCwnzQ.dpuf

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