Comments on: put the hours in

By: santosh

santosh — Wed, 10 Nov 2004 20:00:04 +0000

how do u get my ideas?

By: brown

brown — Mon, 20 Sep 2004 23:39:29 +0000

thanks for the inspiration. can stamina be gained or learned?

By: Chaplain Carolynn Patterson

Chaplain Carolynn Patterson — Sat, 18 Sep 2004 06:30:12 +0000

Longivity =’s Stamina
Like Eternity/Eternal =’s Quality of Life
or like Everlasting =’s Quantity of Life
and like the song 100 years by Five Fighting may mean the moment of life may mean 100 years of life.

By: scottcooper

scottcooper — Fri, 20 Aug 2004 05:06:38 +0000

>>But please don’t mix hard work with creativity. Working hard is something, and being creative is something else. Totally different.<<
I disagree completely. You can’t guarantee creativity with hard work, but you’ll never find creativity without it, particularly after your first few good ideas are over and done with. The mystical theory that creative ideas come from nowhere undermines the genuine effort that goes into so many great creative works.
Perhaps it’s a problem of defining terms: “hard work” doesn’t have to mean sweat, labor, or even a large amount of time, even if those things are usually part of it. I think it means figuring out what needs to be done next and doing it.

By: john g

john g — Tue, 17 Aug 2004 08:11:51 +0000

Regarding “knowing the right people”: I’ve been told that in Hollywood, children of the film industry elite can get acting auditions when the average unknown actor is ignored. But they have to prove themselves at the audition, just like every other actor. Contacts and connections can get your foot in the door, but you have to be able to walk once you’re inside the room.
Regarding “putting the time in”: I completed a CD of original music in about 1 & 1/2 years of spare time; mostly 1-2 hours each evening and about 10 hours each weekend. I kept my day job. I wish I had the major label marketing budget to push my music to radio stations and magazine reviewers, but at the very least I am experiencing true creativitity on my terms.

By: Katherine

Katherine — Sun, 15 Aug 2004 05:05:29 +0000

>> Creativity is something that not everybody can experience. Only the few lucky ones. It is not your choice to be creative.<
Bullshit.
Creativity is as necessary for human survival as breathing.
Not everyone can (or wants to) Make Art, but I’ve never known an uncreative person in my life.

By: Jon

Jon — Sat, 14 Aug 2004 14:07:52 +0000

This is fab! Well done, congrats etc etc etc. Now where’s my pencil?
Jon
http://www.julieburchill.org.uk
http://www.jonsimmons.com

By: sameer borate

sameer borate — Sat, 14 Aug 2004 01:14:29 +0000

Right on target man! A really simple & elegant solution.

By: Hisham

Hisham — Mon, 09 Aug 2004 19:16:52 +0000

The advice is sensible. But please don’t mix hard work with creativity. Working hard is something, and being creative is something else. Totally different. Creativity is something that not everybody can experience. Only the few lucky ones. It is not your choice to be creative. Yet, hard work is your choice. You can sit back and watch stupid sitcoms and eat fatty food for hours, or grab a book and read for an hour or two something extra about your work, life, or anything beneficial for that matter. It’s your choice.

By: jtunger

jtunger — Sun, 08 Aug 2004 17:32:36 +0000

dongelfrei wrote: “You need to know the right people. That’s all.”
I used to think that, and in fact, there’s some truth to it. Knowing the right people helps. But the question you have to ask yourself next is: “who are the right people?” Once you know who the right people are, introduce yourself. If you have put the hours in, chances are pretty good they will talk to you. If you spent the last few years not bothering to move forward because you didn’t know the right people, well… what will you have to talk about when you meet them?
More clearly, “the right people” cannot help you make things. They help you promote them, or sell them, or exhibit them. But making them is initially up to you.

By: Colleen

Colleen — Fri, 06 Aug 2004 22:41:42 +0000

Man oh man…I think you’ve got to add “have a sense of humor about the proceedings” to your main how-to list. It’s so clear that you do, and it’s so refreshing. I’m starting to think sense of humor is tied to ease or sense of proportion, so perhaps it’s an adjunct of (to?) “don’t quit your day job”. But you rock, sir, on many levels.

By: jag

jag — Fri, 06 Aug 2004 08:53:19 +0000

For some, creativity cannot be part-timed or done off hours. They may find working a waste of time. Dont quit the day job only holds true if the cost of supporting unemployment is too high. If you can get someone to support you (parents, spouse, friends?) then leave the day job and see how it goes. Day job must be borne out of necessity and care must be taken that it doesnt become a funder for one’s consumerist aims.

By: Wendy

Wendy — Fri, 06 Aug 2004 07:46:47 +0000

I went back to college in a very competitive program. I knew I could outlast much of the compitition by doing two things, being patient and doing the work. As an older student, I knew the kind of people you want on your project are the ones who work hard and are reliable. The more you work, the better jobs come your way. As the years went by, I saw friendships crash and burn as kids screwed around with their commitments. I basically waited out the impatient brats.
Oh, the tie-in to creativity, this was film school.

By: Sharon

Sharon — Wed, 04 Aug 2004 15:12:36 +0000

It’s definitely the time you put in that counts. Most small businesses close up in the first few years not because of cash flow problems or lack of business knowledge or the bottom falling out of their market etc. They close because the owner is not willing to put in the hours required to run a successful business.

By: Audrey

Audrey — Wed, 04 Aug 2004 11:50:06 +0000

Hmmm – Stamina and pacing yourself. Putting the time in day after day, but not too much in one day.
Well, I think you’ve got it. (Of course you already know that)
One of the things stopping me from getting to work on my beloved creative project was thinking I should put in big chunks of time at it. The kind of effort you do when a deadline looms. Well, under non-deadline circumstances I didn’t even want to get started because I was afraid that I might exhaust myself.
I FINALY figured out that I should limit it to 3 hours per day absolute tops!! And only one hour at a time too. All of a sudden I was motivated to get to work – no problem. I know that with one hour at a time, I won’t exhaust myself.
So, I guess this is the pacing part.