The Context
It’s about gaining complete clarity about who we are, refusing to be anybody else other than ourselves, embracing our natural inclinations in every situation and doing the only thing that feels right to us. Focus isn’t about hammering one nail all our lives; it’s about hammering lots of nails, one way, all our lives. It doesn’t matter how many different things we do, it matters that we’re the same person when we do them. In fact, tracing back the etymology of the word focus, it has the same derivative as the word fireplace, the definition of which means, “a point of convergence and a center of activity and energy.” Translation, focus is about putting our fire at the center of everything we do.
The Tool
Identity Based Creation
IDENTITY BASED CREATION -- Tapping into your native endowments channeling them in the service of making your ideas happen.
Focus isn’t about activity, it’s about identity. Approaching the creative process in this way provides us with a stronger anchor and gives us permission to experience our entire spectrum of human ability. And as long as the basic ingredients are still the same, as long as we’re staying true to our native wiring, the creative possibilities are endless. Your identity is your vector. That there’s an undeniable direct link between who you are and what you make. Thoreau famously said the mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation. But let’s not forget the other problem of leading a life of crowded misidentification. Charging through the world at such a volume and velocity that we never take the time to slow down and get in touch with the deeper currents of ourselves.
Scott's Take
When I decided to go on summer sabbatical, I went in search of the next stone on my professional path and discern the future horizon of my work. Eventually, I made the decision to stay true my entrepreneurial spirit, while still enlarging my concept of work itself. I ended up taking a full time job that allowed me to continue to expand my journey by day, while holding onto my own unique brand, business and artistic endeavors by night. This couldn’t have been a healthier path for me. Embracing the best of both worlds, holding down a day job, but also keeping all my passions in play by investing in multiple containers of meaning, was wildly satisfying. Because even though I changed my narrative to connote a different meaning, it was still one that remained true to reality.
The Rest
Sure, not everybody reflects. Introspection and contemplation aren’t second nature to a lot of us. But they’re still part of our nature. Establishing a sense of identity is a central task in human development. In fact, that’s what separates us from the other primates. The ability to figure out who the hell we are. Especially as creators and communicators. The artist’s journey, ultimately is a journey of revealing to ourselves what we love and who we are. So if you want to keep production going, keep your fingers on the pulse of your individuality.
The Benefits
Reduced self-doubt
Keep creative production going
Develop an understanding of creative timing
Find out where your creativity feels most at home.