My imagination has never just been in my head… it has always been active. I was the kid that would wet the bed after hearing of the bad guys my dad’s bedtime stories brought to life. As I got older, I used my active imagination to fuel my creativity in writing a short story at eight-years-old that was published in The Rising Star, a Texas state magazine for young writers. I went on to pursue music, recording Taylor Swift-inspired, angsty teenage songs when I got to high school. Coming into college, I decided to pursue a major that capitalized on my “on-set” creativity.
Unfortunately, with age, I have found my creativity harder and harder to hone in on, activate and use to my advantage. My to-do list motivates me more than the idea of finishing that last chapter of the latest thriller I’m reading (and no, I no longer wet the bed).
I find that I mesh better with my team at Morris+Mitchell by being the administrator, the planner and the task master. I am confident in my ability to get things done and get them done well; but when it comes to taglines, slogans and the creative process of advertising, I hide. I shiver. I fear. I’m not sure when I began to shy away from the innovative process, but it has become crippling to put myself out there.
What I tend to forget is that everyone is creative. That term tends to exclusively describe artists, designers and copywriters, but in advertising everyone on board has a creative spirit in their heart. It’s why they’re in the business that creates something out of nothing.
“If you’re alive, you’re a creative person,” says author Elizabeth Gilbert in her book, Big Magic. To be creative means to have a good imagination, original ideas or produce artistic work. It doesn’t require having “Creative Director” on your resume. It may mean you’re good at working on teams that reach a seemingly impossible end goal, strategizing your day with your planner and to-do list, rebranding a company from the ground up or simply brushing your teeth with your non-dominant hand. Being creative is an innate gift in every single human, desiring to be manifested from the inside out. I may pursue a career as an account coordinator/manager/director, but that won’t stop me from playing with the "creatives." I hope it doesn’t stop you, either.