Chris Orwig - The Creative Fight: Create Your Best Work and Live the Life You Imagine

CREATE YOUR BEST WORK AND LIVE THE LIFE YOU IMAGINE

CHRIS ORWIG

THE CREATIVE FIGHT:
CREATE YOUR BEST WORK AND LIVE THE LIFE YOU IMAGINE

Chris Orwig

Peachpit Press
www.peachpit.com

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Peachpit Press is a division of Pearson Education.

Copyright 2016 by Chris Orwig
All images copyright 2016 by Chris Orwig
Project Editor: Valerie Witte
Production Editor: David Van Ness
Copy Editor: Scout Festa
Proofreader: Liz Welch
Composition: Kim Scott, Bumpy Design
Indexer: James Minkin
Cover Image: John Kelsey / Chris Orwig
Cover Design: Cybele Grandjean
Interior Design: Cybele Grandjean

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ISBN-13: 978-0-134-07848-9
ISBN-10: 0-134-07848-9

9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Printed and bound in the United States of America

For my father ,
who taught me how to fight the good fight
and live for a higher ideal.

I am writing this book because we are all going to die. Jack Kerouac. I suppose thats why all books are written. Books, whether the study of seashells or Shakespearean verse, help us to live. Books deepen our appreciation, awaken our senses, and strengthen our resolve to live in a meaningful way. This book is my attempt.

All creative acts, especially books, begin with uncertainty and risk. The lack of certainty provides a clearing for the creative impulse to grow. Free from the restraint of self-assured confidence, curiosity kicks in and we begin to wonder What if? and Why? Its here that the creative spirit revs up and asks, What can I do? and How can I make the most with what I have?

Such questions help us grow. And the best part of writing this book is how it has shaped who I am. By narrowing my own focus on creativity it has enriched my life and clarified who I want to become. Thats what creativity does and thats my hope for youthat it enlivens your soul and inspires you to live the life for which you are designed.

We are all born with natural capacities to create, and we all have creative potential of which we are unaware. Everyone, including you, has untapped potential that is patiently waiting inside. Yet the creative spark can easily get snuffed out. It must be tended to like a campfire on a cold and rainy day. Neglect it and it will quietly dwindle, dissipate, and die. Keep it alive and you will thrive. This book will point the way.

For starters, creativity isnt something we passively receive. You have to go after it to claim its prize. Creativity requires fight. When we were young we were willing to take the risk and put in the time. Unfettered by self-doubt we created on demand. Now older, weve lost what we once had, unless we make the choice to change. It begins with deciding to stop waiting for inspiration and start taking action ourselves. When we begin the fight its like steel striking flint, and it deeply affects what we create, how we see, and who we are. And when we begin pursuing living life as if it were a work of art, our creativity swells.

At first glance, riding this swell seems simple, easy, and fun. But this thinking falls shortthe creative spark is a much more complex and unpredictable force. And the pursuit of creativity is a much more interesting and adventurous ride. To become more creative we need to unlearn old ideaslike the idea that creativity is a gift for an elite few or the myth that inspiration comes while we sit around. And we need to be reminded of what we easily forget, like the idea that creativity requires guts, confidence, and hard work and that creativity isnt a gift but a life force that courses through our veins.

Creativity fuels a drive to live the life for which we were designed. It despises those who live half-hearted and half-lived lives. Creativity reaches for good, provokes change, and calls us to strive, stretch, and try. Yet such creative efforts require risk. Afraid of failure and uncertain how to move ahead, most of us have forgotten what to do. We want to become more creative, but we dont know where to begin. Or worse, when inspired we dont know how to keep the spark alive. This book can help.

This book will show you that becoming more creative isnt just about thinking happy thoughts or using colorful crayons; the path to creativity is a much wider trail. As Plutarch wrote in the first century, Music, to create harmony, must investigate discord. And to help you become more creative, this book will investigate a range of topics, from climbing ladders to tenacity, grit, and death. The goal is to find melody amidst discord and to rekindle your fire for creating your best work and making the most of your time.

As nice as that sounds, this isnt a book about thinking your way to happiness or wishing your way to a more fulfilled life. It is about effort and fight. The secrets to becoming more creative are always accompanied by habit, practice, and work. As Theodore Roosevelt, an exemplar of the creative fight, once said, I may be an average man but by George I work harder at it than the average man. Average to excellent is up to you and its less about talent and more about drive.

So this book is written for those of us who are driven to live a better life. And its a guide for igniting and sustaining the spark no matter what you do or who you are. Yet this book cant do anything by itself. It relies on you to take the lead. To give you a nudge, at the end of each chapter youll find exercises that provide reflection questions and practical steps. Use these questions as a springboard to create your own. Think of these as small sparks that can be used to ignite big flames.

Most importantly, this book will work only if you take action and respond. Read passively and the book will diminish to an interesting collection of stories and ideas. Overanalyze and youll miss the point. Creativity is not a problem to be solved but a practice to be enjoyed. Like a good travel book, it will become better when you take the journey yourself. The book invites you to join in.