Skip to content

So you want to be creative? Excitement is the missing ingredient

David Sherry
2 min read
So you want to be creative? Excitement is the missing ingredient

If I'm not excited or energized, I can't do something.

You can call it a flaw, something I need to work through or work on, something I should get past, but I'm not sure I can.

And yes, I've read Pressfield's "The War of Art."  

"Excitement is for amateurs." "You just sit down and write."

I agree with Steven Pressfield, there is resistance we face when trying to be creative. Major resistance. And I agree that we shouldn't wait for inspiration.

Yet, many times we DO feel stuck. So what can we do?

And, with so much of our society and cultural structures pushing against our innate creative spark, we get stuck in patterns and hierarchies where we're not rewarded for being an artist.

We get stuck being cogs in a bigger wheel, and that loss of agency is the root of a lot of sadness for artists and creatives.

Because we don't like being put into a box.

The trick out of the box is simple, instant, and yet incredibly difficult if we're out of practice: The trick is to find what you're excited about and use that natural energy to create from.

It's a form of letting go of what you believe to be an obligation, opening up to a wider perspective.

It's a choosing to, not "needing" to.

How can you go from one minute feeling stuck, to the next feeling energized and inspired again?

Stuck wanting to post, but don't know what to post on social media?

Connect more with what your excited about, not what you think you should post.

Share that.

Stuck on a client who you think is boring, and think you should fire them?

Instead, figure out what you're excited about, is there learning? Opportunity? Something new to test out? Lean into that.

A client of mine made a simple change, resulting in a much higher % close rate in sales: He took an hour before meetings to *genuinely get excited* about his potential customers.

Stuck and unable to close clients in sales conversations?

Figure out what you're excited about as it relates to your potential customer and share that with them.

When we connect with our excitement, we connect the fuel source directly to our desires.

No fuel, no energy, no movement.

There's a famous advertising saying, I think Don Draper told me once.

"If you don't like the conversation... change the conversation."

The same is true for our work.

As always, let me know what questions you have and how I can be of help,

xx David

Creative Lessons