Into the gap
Posted on | July 24, 2009 | No Comments
From a creative standpoint, there is great value in letting go, dropping preconceptions and leaping into the unknown. This is usually done only under duress, but when we do let go the results are usually more innovative, effective and appropriate than if we hang on to a preconceived idea of what should be happening.
This was brought home in a personal way recently, when I was forced to drop a business name I had been using for years and find a new one. By letting go of what has worked in the past, dropping preconceptions and opening myself to all possibilities, I was able to one-up myself and find a better name for the enterprise that I am in the process of starting up.
The old name had great sentimental value, and it was beautiful enough to become coveted… and through a series of errors in judgment I allowed it to slip out of my hands. The name was unusual, exotic, slightly perfumed. It also had great sentimental value, my having thought of it at a time when I felt very little hope. It had given me the courage to dream big—to dream of the enterprise that I’m currently developing, in fact. After years of use, it was also very familiar, and comfortable. But it was too late, a fact that was rather abruptly brought home to me recently.
Shit hits fans only whilst in flight, which happens when things are on the move. Of course when things are on the move there are deadlines and pressures, which is when you don’t want shit and fan to meet headlong. In the case of this startup, an identity system has to be developed, a website launched, marketing material developed… wrong time, right?
Wrong, apparently—seems it was the right time.
Within an hour of letting go of the beautiful name and starting to brainstorm, I found a new one that’s more appropriate for the task at hand. It’s still exotic and unusual, but it’s much stronger, more vital and flexible, and with European undertones it’s a more familiar-feeling word. In debating the choice to my new business partners, I realized that this name also lends itself to marketing our products in a way that the old one never could. In all, it’s a much better choice.
I could have dragged the old name into court or forced some sort of compromise to keep it, but by letting it go and starting fresh I found something better. Yes, it had to be forced upon me, as letting go completely often does, but because I was able to let go, my new business is starting from a much stronger position than before.
Warning: the technique of letting go of preconceptions and leaping into the unknown does not imply a complete lack of technique once you are in the hurly-burly of creativity. There are many maps that can be used, depending on circumstances. One of these is “First thought best thought” which I’ll go into a bit in the next post on creative thinking.
Comments
author w/big dots
