2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44
Once a Hungarian psychology professor wrote letters to several famous creative people asking them to be interviewed for a book he was working on. The most remarkable thing about this story is the number of people who refused him. However, in fact, it was an experiment, the purpose of which was to find out how creative individuals know how to say "no".
Peter Drucker, a well-known management theorist who has written more than one book, replied:
I don't believe in creativity, but I believe in productivity. And one of her secrets is to have a HUGE wastepaper basket and put ALL invitations like yours in it. Productivity is not doing absolutely anything that helps other people in their work, but devote all your time to the work that you have been rewarded with by higher powers. And you need to do this business well.
Writer's secretary Saul Bellow:
Mr. Bellow says that despite his age, he still remains creative, in part by not allowing himself to be part of other people's research.
Photographer Richard Avedon:
Sorry, I have too little time left.
Secretary of the composer Gyorgy Ligeti:
He is a creative person, and therefore is very busy with work. Thus, the reason why you want to interview him is also the reason why he cannot help you in this matter. He also adds that he cannot answer this letter in person, as he is desperately trying to finish the Violin Concerto, which will premiere in the fall.
The professor wrote to 275 creative people. One third of them answered “no”, explaining the refusal by the lack of time. Another third simply did not answer. Perhaps they also did not have time to help the professor, or maybe they simply did not have a personal secretary to write an answer.
Time is what is most important for creative activity. Forget about the myths that have grown over your creativity. It will ultimately boil down to the fact that you just have to work: work to become an expert in both theory and practice; work to find solutions to problems, as well as the problems that your solutions will lead to; work to go through a path of trial and error; work to reflect and improve, and, of course, work on your creation.
The creative process is exhausting you today, and tomorrow everything will be repeated again. He knows no weekend or vacation. You can't be creative only when you feel inspired. It's a habit, a compulsion, an obsession, and a calling. This is what dictates to all creators how to spend their time. Don't believe what you are told and what you read. The truth is one - all creative people spend all their time on their work.
The ability to say "no" means much more to a creative person than ideas, views and talent combined. "No" protects the time it takes to create.
The math of time is simple: you have less time than you think, and you need more than you think.
We weren't taught to say no. Refusal is rude. “No” is a rebuff, a denial, in a way an act of verbal violence. “No” should be said to drugs and strangers who want to treat you to candy.
Creative people often ask the question: “If I don't say no, what will I lose? Sketch? A stanza? Paragraph? Ten lines of code? The answer is always the same: either way, you will steal time from your creation.
There are products to buy; there is a family that needs your love and support; there is daily work to be done.
People for whom creativity is a matter of life know this. They know the world is full of strangers who want to treat them to candy. They know how to say "no" and at the same time understand that their refusal can hurt another person.
Here is what he wrote, refusing a friend's offer to see him:
“It will only take half an hour”, “give me some time after lunch”, “it’s only for one evening” - people tell me this over and over again, but they don’t know how difficult it is sometimes to force yourself to devote even five minutes to each of them. They do not suspect how much one can worry from the mere thought that he promised someone a meeting. Anyone who once decided to devote his life to art must completely surrender to it, art must be compensation for everything. I am upset that you suspect me of unwillingness to see you, but I can’t help myself - this is my path, and I must follow it to the end.
If you say no, people may find you indifferent, boring, impolite, angry, selfish, antisocial, lonely, indifferent. The arsenal of insults directed at you can be inexhaustible. But the word no is that magic button that helps you keep doing your creativity.
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