“Good ideas are a dime a dozen, bad ones are free.” ~ Doug Horton

If you’ve been around me any length of time, you’ve heard me say “you get what you pay for.” Investment of time, money and resources can make all the difference between a bad solution and a good one. If an idea is worth doing, it’s worth an investment. It may be hard. It may even seem impossible. Hard, impossible… and worth it. Every time.

The other thing you’ve likely heard me say is “if it was easy, everyone would do it.” Easy and free are usually only easy and free on the front-end. The back end of easy and free usually looks more like expensive and wrong.

Idea = work. Remember that equation. Don’t settle for a bad idea. Ever. Why not work on good ideas? You’re going to work – let it be productive work.

Pursue good ideas… it only costs a dime more to go first class.

“Good Idea: Giving your dog a bath. Bad Idea: Having your dog dry-cleaned.” ~ Animaniacs

Obvious, isn’t it? Behold the power of over-thinking something.

Poor execution will take your idea into outright stupidity, if you let yourself move to quickly. Don’t let yourself move too quickly. How you execute the idea is just as important as the idea itself. Take time to plan. Be patient. Do it right. Don’t get so excited about the idea that you lose the impact of it by rushing.

I’m sure you’ve heard the phrase, “God is in the details.” I believe that. The best way to do something usually takes time to discover, but it’s still the best way. Give your idea time to fully bake. A half-baked idea will make *you* look half-baked. Every time. Get all the puzzle pieces in the right place and all your resources lined-up, on-board and engaged.

I considered going into greater detail on this subject, but the quote contains all the visuals you need. A dry-cleaned dog, while indeed clean, is not the right solution. Ever.

Pay attention to the plan. Don’t rush it.

“I worry that the person who thought up Muzak may be thinking up something else.” ~ Lily Tomlin

Today’s bad idea: Take something good and squeeze the life out of it by doing it inexpensively and/or poorly. Then, make lots of money from your bad idea so everyone excuses it.

Elevator music… enough said.

“There are well-dressed foolish ideas, just as there are well-dressed fools.” ~ Sebastian Roch Nicolas Chamfort

Brainstorming is fun. Especially when there are brains involved in the practice.

Even still, assuming brains show up at the table, these kinds of “blue sky” sessions usually yield an abundance of ideas without passing judgment on the validity of any of the results. In order to really get somewhere with this “big thinking” business, there needs to be a next step in the process… refining.

It’s in the refining process that the good ideas can (and should) be separated from the bad ones. It’s a good idea to do the ideating and refining in separate meetings. Give the ideas a little while to “bake” or “not bake.”It’s also important that critical thinkers be present in the room during the refining. Use this time to think about the possible affects, good and bad, should the idea begin to gain momentum.

Refining is not the time to “sell” ideas. That door should already be closed. Pick, choose, tweak and by all means refine the ones that are viable. All others must go in either the “not now,” “not here” or “no way” files. Once filed away, don’t re-visit them.

Whatever you do, make sure that bad ideas don’t get dressed up in impressive clothes. They are sneaky, those bad ideas.

Don’t be fooled… well-dressed foolish ideas are still foolish ideas.

“Everything worthwhile is a good idea, but did you ever notice there is more bad ideas that will work than there is good ones?” ~ Will Rogers

Ideas are central to creativity and innovation. However, just because you have an idea doesn’t make it a good one. The idea person must be able to discern which ones should be used and which ones shouldn’t. Great ideas are building blocks of creativity, while bad ideas beget “less than stellar” results.

Here’s the problem… both kinds of ideas will work. Yep, I said it – bad ideas sometimes work. Just because they work, it doesn’t make them good ideas. Just because a bad idea makes money, doesn’t make it a good idea.

The end goal of creativity and innovation is change. It’s about your work being memorable in a good way. Being memorable (but not good) is a telltale sign of a bad idea that “worked.” William Hung should have never gotten famous as a “singer,” but he did. We all thought the joke was on him, but really the joke was on us. This was a bad idea that *lots* of people paid money to hear. Memorable, but not good.

There is usually at least one local advertising campaign that is memorable for the wrong reasons. To protect the guilty, I won’t name the ones in Dallas/Ft. Worth… but I could name them. I’m sure you could name the ones in your area, too. We won’t name them, however, because it just isn’t a good idea.

Ideas are powerful. The bad ones are at least equally as powerful as the good ones. We must be discerning and discriminating with our own ideas. All of my ideas aren’t good ones. I know that, so I must self-edit. I must not let myself become so infatuated that I can’t tell myself the truth. I need to be the gatekeeper on my ideas, and only let the good ones out. I need to chalk the others (bad ones) up to mental exercise and purging.

The point of a good idea is to change the world for the better, to be memorable *and* good. That’s what I want. To be remembered for good ideas. I think we all want that. Don’t we?

It’s better…
“… to fail in originality than to succeed in imitation.”

“… to be hated for what you are than to be loved for something you are not.”

The challenge here is you can’t separate the artist from their art. Criticize my art, criticize me. That’s not an artist acting like a baby, it’s just an artist’s reality. The “you factor” in art requires confidence, or at least courage. Presenting who you are to the world is a daunting task, especially if you take stock in their opinion. Since you can’t really separate creator and creation, the only defense an artist has is to either develop a thick skin or start hiding and imitating something or someone people like. Bad news either way.

Imitation is said to be “sincerest form of flattery.” It may be true, but art is not about flattering someone you admire, it’s about expressing yourself. Hopefully, it’s expressing yourself in a way that inspires people – a personal expression.

Your personal expressions will probably, intentionally or not, carry a nod or a tip of the hat to those who have inspired you along the way. I don’t think that’s necessarily bad, and I’m not even sure it can be avoided. Things that connect with people and inspire them are usually somewhat familiar, yet new and original.

You would have a difficult time separating me from my influences because they have become a part of my expression. It’s true of anyone who creates. It becomes a problem only in purposeful intention, trying to be like someone else or trying to hide yourself in the imitation.

If you want to be original, the “you factor” is the essential ingredient. When I listen to a music artist, I can sometimes tell their influences and those who made an impression on them. Not necessarily a bad thing, unless I can’t tell the difference between them and their influences. Cloning or copying is, at best, second best.

I’m calling for what I call “’honest art.” I may not like all of it or connect to all of it, but I will appreciate your honest expression. Give me passion. Energy. Life. In your art, show me who you really are and I’ll respect you for it. Hide it from me and I’ll likely write you off. Just being honest.

Be original. Be you. It’s better that way.

Warning: creative sacred cow #423 is wearing a bullseye. If it’s your excuse for being unoriginal, beware.

3,2,1… kicking

“History merely repeats itself. It has all been done before. Nothing under the sun is truly new. Sometimes people say, “Here is something new!” But actually it is old; nothing is ever truly new.” Ecclesiastes 1:9-10 NLT

Convenient. Compelling.

It’s really convenient to take a scripture (especially out of context) and use it as a banner for your belief system. “Nothing new under the sun” is a compelling argument for being uninspired and unmotivated, but I don’t buy it. Not today. Not tomorrow or the next day either.

Yes, it IS in the bible, which I hold to be the truth. However, in context it’s a statement on history repeating itself because we fail to take note of the past and learn from it. Behold the very next verse (1:11):

“We don’t remember what happened in the past, and in future generations, no one will remember what we are doing now.”

Even if you decide to take “nothing new under the sun” at face value, it is not an excuse to intentionally copy. Stealing is the lazy man’s creativity. It lacks imagination. It smacks of mediocrity.

I will concede this one point: we are the sum total of our influences, experiences and sources of inspiration. In that sense, there is probably nothing completely new. However, there’s one more thing you need to consider in this equation… the “you factor”. This “you factor” is something new. There’s never been a you on earth.

No excuses. Use your imagination. Leverage the “you factor” in everything you do, and don’t underestimate it.

The world is hungry to see something original. Are you up for the challenge?

What if we, the creative community, agreed to all adopt a philosophy? What if we all made a quality decision to live and work under the banner “No Hand-Me-Downs?” What would a “No Hand-Me-Downs” (creative) society look like? How would it transform our ideas?

Any of us who have ever been the “proud” recipient of hand-me-downs will understand. Getting your older siblings clothes is never cool. I mean, it’s nice to have clothes and everything (beats not having clothes), but it’s always better to wear something you choose. Everyone likes something new, especially if you have a choice.

You have a choice.

 “What about thrift store shoppers? Some prefer that to Express, Urban Outfitters or Neimans.”

Exactly my point – you have a choice. Thrift shopping IS usually creative, because you are doing something new with something old. Making a statement. That isn’t recycling. That’s original.

Even the auto industry has caught on. You can’t buy a “used” car anymore, they are all “pre-owned”. If you want to get really fancy it’s certified pre-owned. It’s still the same thing, but camouflaged. The auto industry gets it that “used” sounds negative. Why don’t we get it?

For the creative community, we can’t disguise it like that. Call it what you want, but used = recycled = pre-owned. Who wants to present a certified pre-owned idea anyway?

You have a choice.

Nobody is forcing you to present hand-me-down concepts. It may feel that way at times, but ultimately it’s your choice. It’s always easier to recycle “Hand-Me-Downs”, but creating is not about easy or hard. It’s about being unique. It’s about pushing some envelope, finding a new way, or saying it different. It’s about personality. Your personality. Not someone else’s.

Will you join me? Will you draw a line in the sand and make a quality decision on this?

Let’s choose to be a “No Hand-Me-Downs” creative society.

This is the first in a series of discussions on “Recycled Art.” I hope they stir you. I hope they inspire you. I hope they make you mad. I hope they make us want to change.

Don’t get me wrong, recycling is good when you are talking about paper, plastic, glass, etc. Not so good when it comes to creativity.

When I use the term “Recycled Art” I’m not referring to eco-friendly art projects (those are actually cool). I’m referring to a phenomenon that we see all too much in our culture, especially in the church – duplicating something we’ve seen, heard and experienced already.

Real artists and creatives always appreciate inspiration, at least until they figure out it was someone else’s inspiration. Nothing says “phony” to a creative person like looking at a copy… or copy of a copy… or copy of a copy of a copy. You get the point. At least I hope you do. Most of us don’t.

The further you get from the source of originality, the more benign your “creativity” becomes.

That stage set-up was amazing when it first appeared on the U2 tour. Not as much when it appeared in Cool Church.” Even less when 10 other “Cool Church” wannbes used it.

It irks me when I hear Christian radio – Christian artists re-making top-40 pop hits? The song was great when it was done ORGINALLY with a budget 20 times larger. Could the recyclers not at least change the arrangement, instrumentation or key? Why not just listen to the original? I don’t get it.

I hear it church worship, too. Why are most church worship teams trying to be Hillsong United? Not knocking United at all – I appreciate them as the originators of that sound. Here’s what I want to know… what is YOUR sound?

The common theme here is origin. There is a spark in original creativity. It’s hot. It speaks.

I want to create unique things that have impact. I don’t want to be a recycler. How about you?

Discuss and leave feedback – especially if you disagree.