October 20, 2004
power is never given. power is taken.
More thoughts on “How To Be Creative”:
28. Power is never given. Power is taken.
People who are “ready” give off a different vibe than people who aren’t. Animals can smell fear; maybe that’s it.
The minute you become ready is the the minute you stop dreaming. Suddenly it’s no longer about “becoming”. Suddenly it’s about “doing”.
You don’t get the dream job because you walk into the editor’s office for the first time and go, “Hi, I would really love to be a sports writer one day, please.“
You get the job because you walk into the editor’s office and go, “Hi, I’m the best frickin’ sports writer on the planet.” And somehow the editor can tell you aren’t lying, either.
You didn’t go in there, asking the editor to give you power. You went in there and politely informed the editor that you already have the power. That’s what being “ready” means. That’s what “taking power” means.
Not needing anything from another person in order to be the best in the world.
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But do you really need power to be creative? Or is it just another “prop”.
And in any case how do you know if you’re “ready”? Even if you do think you’re ready you’re probably mistaken — http://www.apa.org/journals/psp/psp7761121.html
This “take the power” thing sounds more like brash overconfidence to me which in my opinion would be a bad thing for any creative person.
You “took power” when you decided to work on this thing, come hell or high water. Having done this for a very long time, you are now skilled in it, and ready.
The point isn’t that we should “fake” being ready.
Rather, the point is that there’s no shortcut. You are ready when you have taken power. You take power by actually doing the thing.
At some point, you decide: “This is what I am going to do, this is what I am going to be. No matter what happens, I will continue to work for this thing.” At that point, you are beginning to take power. Over years, you take little bits from here and there, until, after a long time, you’ve actually got that power.
This is how I interpret this passage.