Do You Have a Creative Space?

What is your Creative Space?

I listened to a Podcast earlier today, one recommended by a new reader of this Blog.

It contained a number of interesting anecdotes, stories and practical advice.

The ‘star’ of the podcast was a Chief Executive Officer of some 25 years standing. His education credentials included two stints at Harvard and an MBA.

His track record is one to be admired, specialising in the repair or re-creation of Businesses that have lost their way.

He stepped out of CEO Land a few years ago when he was, in his own words, ‘sacked’ following a Board upheaval and the severe illness of the Chairperson.

Apart from being aware that he did not want to take on another CEO role (and many were offered) he really didn’t know what he wanted to do.

He started drawing, people mainly.

Well, to say he started drawing is not quite right because this was something he did through school and at one stage in his later years of secondary school wondered about pursuing this for a living.

He didn’t (obviously).

He has now built a business teaching Leadership skills, mentoring CEOs and others in Senior Executive roles and is an in-demand speaker. He has continued to draw.

His return to drawing has been enlightening and a question he poses in his consultations is “What is Your Creative Space”? It is a question he wishes he had asked himself 25 years ago.

 

He is not surprised that most have no answer.

 

He sees it as no surprise that those who do have an answer are also overtly successful and sites the story of one of Australian Sports most successful leaders who answered immediately, and had a thousand photos of his Creative Space to share.

So many of us, like the ex-CEO mentioned above, have a creative interest when we are young but the demands of adulthood see it forgotten or ignored.

It got me thinking about the number of people who played musical instruments up until leaving school and have never played since, and they loved it.

In an unrelated conversation a couple of weeks ago, I learned of a 45-year-old who has started writing poetry. They mentioned how much they enjoyed it at school and for some reason, while sitting in a Doctor’s waiting room, were prompted to pick up a pen and paper and write.

It could be anything, Indian cooking, quilting, drawing, playing canasta, carpentry; all are creative spaces that exercise a different part of our brain and help us be more complete. It can be anything.

However, I guess as with so many things, we need to overcome the fear of being judged by others for what we may ‘create’ and how good it is.

It really doesn’t matter, it is the having of a creative space that is important, not how good we are.

So, what is YOUR Creative Space?