makers
"There is only one real happiness in life, and that is the happiness of creating."
~ Frederick Delius
Last week, my friends over at Stash had an open-house at their factory, where they not only made their bags, but featured many other makers as well.
I've been to Stash's factory a few times before, and every time I'm there, I feel energized. There's something about being in the presence of creativity, isn't there? I was reminded that the best moments that I've had in my career were those times that I was creating something. Even as an attorney, when I think about the times that I had the most fun, it was when I was creating a presentation, or a writing a standards manual or even drafting a huge multimillion-dollar deal. The truth is that doing those particular things gave me a very similar thrill to what I experience when, in my current life, I'm putting together a project for a client or a gallery of work or even an in-person workshop.
We often think of "creating" or "creative people" involving specifically arts, or crafts, or photography -- but it seems to me that this might be some pretty narrow thinking. Perhaps the key to a fullfilling professional life (and admittedly, this theory isn't fully-formed yet) is figuring out how to harness our own creativity -- in whatever form we find it -- and infusing it into our day-to-day lives with it. The trick, of course, is figuring out how to do that. But I think ultimately, we're wired to create.
I think maybe it takes thinking of ourselves as "makers" -- regardless of how we make a living.
I'll be thinking about this a lot in coming months.
There's just one spot left in the LimeLight Sessions this coming fall -- and I'd love for it to be you. We're going to be spending a lot of time talking about how to make makers out of all of us. Will you join us?