Even If You Aren't a Genius, You Have a Genius
My book Artists: Prosper! Make Peace With Your Brain and Money + Joy With Your Art is out! It's available on Amazon. I’ll try not to be too obnoxious about this, but it is exciting, right? One of the reasons I wrote the book: Your genius
Not that you ARE a genius. But that you HAVE a genius.
You're the steward, not the owner
The difference between being a genius and having a genius are explained with verve, humor and some pathos in a TED talk by Elizabeth Gilbert here. The gist is that if you view your creativity as something you are a steward of (separate from yourself, so not totally under your control), instead of something you are (thus intrinsic to your identity, then 100% your responsibility), it removes a lot of pressure.
When you HAVE a genius, you do your best to nurture it, give it time and space to create, help it manifest in the world. But you aren’t responsible for the final product. That’s on the genius.
Or like Julia Cameron says in The Artist's Way: you are responsible for the footwork. God/your genius/the universe is responsible for the results.
You still have to get off the couch
It doesn’t get you off the hook. It won’t work to watch soap operas and eat bonbons waiting for your genius to show up and tell you what to do. You have to do your part; make the time, hone your skills, do the work, get feedback, improve, get your work out there so people can see it. In essence, to do your best to serve your genius.
Why I wrote Artists: Prosper!
I wrote Artists: Prosper! to help you with this. To help you start making a working relationship with your genius. To begin a dialogue with it, to find out what it needs help with to do its work in the world. In the book, I show you how to start talking to your genius. I call it “Having a Conversation with Your Creativity.”
You can buy the book(!) to learn how, but while you're waiting for it to arrive, have a conversation. Open a new document or get paper and pen and ask your genius these questions:
1. What do you want me to know?
2. How can I best help you express yourself in the world?
3. Anything else you want me to know now?