John Lennon had Yoko. Fitzgerald had Zelda. Picasso had his women. And while these are all romantic connections, sometimes the artist gets inspiration from a friend, like Springsteen and Steven Van Zandt.
Our culture has a tendency to see creative geniuses as solo artists. It may well be the artists who have the name and the driving talent, but they don’t do it in a vacuum. Creativity is a collaboration, whether it is through supportive works or a collaborative spark.
In the corporate world, it’s nearly always a team effort. Creative Directors depend on their designers and writers—and programmers—to put into motion a vision. There is a collaboration in any creative act because there are supporting actors influencing the original idea. The influencers open up creativity and breathe life into it.
David Burkus, the author of The Myths of Creativity: The Truth About How Innovative Companies and People Generate Great Ideas advises the formation of a ‘Creative Anonymous’ support group to help fuel creativity. He points to the Inklings, a group of British writers, which included these two guys you might know: J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis. The group would grab a beer at at pub to discuss their influences, read one another’s work, and just be there to support each other. Sidetone: there’s even a story that C.S. Lewis actually persuaded Tolkien that his manuscript was indeed good enough to be published. That manuscript? Yeah. The Lord of the Rings.
It’s easy to get inside your head with an idea and create a solo dialogue. You can flesh out your novel, song, poem, article idea or marketing plan inside the safe walls of your skull, and the sad and hard truth is it’s probably less brilliant than you think it is. If you share the idea with someone you trust or admire, listen to their response. Even if you disagree with what they say, you may learn something—further inspiration may strike.
Creativity is inside us all. My dogs are creative. No lie. You should see where they bury things in our house–and what they bury. And now that I think about it, they, no doubt, inspire each other.
Audacious Ink 