I fear you. Like a lot. Like Steve Fuller fears lightning. But you may've just got bumped by these sword seals. These seem to travel in packs and practice their swordery on each other. One on one I think you'd still win. But a whole pack? You'd be bear kabob. Be careful out there. These slippery ninjas look mean.
bw
Dear Billionaires,
If you reading this letter I have an idea for you. You know how you buy stuff? Like rad stuff to make your millionaire friends jealous (boats that fly, laser pointers, etc). What if you built an aquarium and loaded it up with these sword seals? That'd make all your sucker friends/MCs with piranha aquariums feel foolish, wouldn't it? Build it on your flying boat and watch em battle each other after you've had a jetski. Actually, don't. They probably have a secret language that would summon their sea-pirate friends and it'd be sinkville for you. Keep em on dry land. You'll still be way rad.
For some reason I got a little nostalgic over Rocky Fork Lake last night. Hence the blog redesign. The legend is I was conceived there. Which might explain why it's my favorite place on earth. I spent a little time thinking about my earliest memories. My apologies because this is a very mastubatory post. But back in the 1980s, I remember...
-Getting carsick from all the hills but excited because it means you're getting close. -Pulling off the asphalt and onto the gravel road. -Seeing that proud A-frame sitting there same as always. -Opening the door and mixing the musty air with the fresh. -Turning hovering fireflies into shooting stars with those big, red, wiffleball bats. -Writing air poetry with sparklers. -Finding turtles and feeling like C.Darwin on the Galapagos. -Listening to the Reds on that scratchy AM station after dinner and having it be the only contact with the outside world. -Solving the world's problems before bed in our bunk beds. -Getting woke up and wavering on our decision from the night before to get up so early. -Walking down the path slicing thru spider webs with a trusty stick. -Puttering out into the empty lake thru the morning fog. -Waking up completely by the deceptively cold water. -Standing on the skis in between my dad's legs and calling it skiing. -Puttering back to the dock just as the heat and bugs start to wake up. -Turning off the engine and hearing nothing.
My mind was opened yesterday. I had a matrix experience and it happened watching the Vineyard Boy Band. I had heard a lot about this video since coming on staff. For some it's the flagship of Vineyard humor and for others it's the abomination. Isaac and I experienced it yesterday, and in that moment, everything made sense. The previous three-ish years kind of flashed before my eyes.
When I first came on staff, I heard A LOT about how funny the Vineyard was. People would tell me about the guy who had my position and all the funny, great stuff he did. The word "creative" and "funny" were synonymous. I would be introduced as the new creative director and people would joke around, "Oh, say something funny." They were kidding, but not really.
So after awhile, when people realized that my creativity didn't translate into "funny" videos, they'd say things like, "We used to do such funny videos, they were so effective, I miss those videos. We should do more funny videos." There was some serious disconnect between my style and the Vineyard's modus operandi.
Watching that Boy Band video made me realize the importance of expectations. I don't think I ever really understood how much of the vineyard vibe was goofy humor. Because it was such a part of the culture/vibe that people spent 20+ years creating, I was expected to maintain the vibe.
There are three options when dealing with folks' expectations. You can meet them, exceed them, or defy them. Before you can do any of those, however, you have to really understand the what and why behind their expectations. This is critical because it's impossible to meet or exceed expectations without true understanding.
And on the flipside, it's disrespectful to defy expectations if you haven't really heard them and took them into consideration. Defying expectations can translate into meeting or exceeding expectations if you're clear in your communications. When I first started at the Vineyard I was not clear. I didn't have an elevator speech that explained why I did things the way that I did them. When people shared that they missed the funny videos they were saying that their expectations weren't being met. I should've been able to articulate why in certain situations I'd rather do this video (the first thing I did at vcc) than something funny.
The bottom line is that we all have expectations laid upon us. We have to react to those in ways that we can live with. For example, I could've met the funny video expectation by producing their brand of funny. Those folks would've been satisfied but I wouldn't have been. I think lots of people are showing up to work every day and doing a "good" job meeting everyone's expectations but their own. We can figure out how to meet both, it just requires communication and understanding.
Realized today that I never posted this vid. We went and shot this at my new friend Michael's house in one of my favorite Cincinnati neighborhoods, Reading. All the houses are jammed together down there, close to the street, close to shops and factories. I like to imagine folks back in the day getting off work, walking to the bar, and then walking home for supper. Maybe singing songs together as they walked in step. Anyways, Nora the Singing Dog is one of Reading's hidden treasures. Michael says she's part sheep. He's broken many electric razors trying to trim her uber thick coat. Great pair these two. I'm lucky to call 'em friends.
In many ways, the creative process is all about combinations. You mix and mash stuff that already exists together to create something new. Maybe I'll elaborate on this topic down the road. But one thing I've found is that it's not always the logical combinations that produce extraordinary results. Logical combinations will usually produce what you expected, something not very unique or fresh. They make "work" but they won't stand out.
An example of this would be this next "Summer of Love" series we have coming up. The logical combination would be to use Woodstock hippie imagery. That would've been fine. But it's what you'd expect. By going a different direction with the carnival idea it has the potential (we'll see how it pans out) to be something fresh and unexpected.
And sometimes you combine things that you assume will connect with the masses and get you famous (tubas and a leather-jacketed dancing wolf) and it just doesn't happen. There's a lot of X factors that go into combinations.
So a practical example... yesterday, my brother-in-law, Justin, suggested that we should teach Miss Jackson to open the screen door. She's manic about going in and out. She's figured out how to let herself out. It's the getting back in that we have to do for her. It's very annoying. So teaching this old pup a new trick would be a win win.
Miss Jackson likes to chew and pull on various things. Plastic bottles are some of her favorites. So logically, you'd think if you attached a chewed up Perrier bottle to the door she would still enjoy chewing and pulling and easily figure out to open the door. Not so, my friends. She doesn't get it. Not even a little. She just gets all confused and hyper and can't figure out why we won't just let her inside. It's a logical combination, but it produces less than ordinary results.
This summer, we're doing a series on God's love. This song will be somewhat of a "theme song." When I heard it I saw old school carnival imagery. Ferris wheels, giant swing rides, strings of big bulb lights, warm, nostalgic, happy. Think Tim Burton's Big Fish. So if you know someone who owns a warehouse that old carnival rides go to die, please holla. And if the sound/feel of this song makes you think of anything, please share. I'm in the very beginning of tadpole season with this one. I'd love some help.
Remember choosing an instrument back in like 5th grade for band? I wonder how many dudes would choose the flute if they saw this. I can imagine showing up the first day of practice with Mr. Kesey, his tie tucked into his pants, and his surprise when I started fluteboxing.
Mr. Kesey would've told me to stop and made me promise to never do that again. So then I'd be stuck just fluting and getting made fun of like this.
Maintaining momentum is a pretty crucial part of the process for me. Tadpole-ideas are my crack. I could spend all day giving birth to them. I even stay pretty engaged when they start growing legs. But once the little buggers start becoming kind of real, I lose the original fervor I had when they were born. I'm often a deadbeat dad with ideas and perhaps you are too. The question is, Why?
Momentum Killer #1: Perfectionism
Maybe you have an idea for a blog, book, home-improvement project, diet, song, hobby, etc. but you know what the perfect version of that could/should look like. Because of this, you don't ever start or you've convinced yourself you need to wait for just the right moment when you have enough time, money, inspiration, etc. to get started. I think you have two options if you're facing this brand of perfection. 1. Give your idea up for adoption. If it really is a good idea, maybe someone else can take it and run. Or maybe you just need to walk away and stop beating yourself up for not starting/finishing it. 2. Quit being so damned silly. There's no such thing as enough time, money, inspiration, etc. There's no such thing as perfection. Waiting for those things would be like waiting at the Ford dealership for a flying car to go on sale. Maybe someday you'll be the luckiest person EVER and get that flying car. Until then, get in your used Corolla and drive. The lessons and experiences you'll gain are far better out on the road than they are in the parking lot.
Momentum Killer #2: The Joneses
When I start paying attention to what other people are doing and what other people are going to think I lose momentum. I have an unhealthy need to be different. So when I see that there are four million people out there who want to create or are in the process of creating the same thing I'm doing I get discouraged. It's not healthy for me to go to blogs where people are talking about how to get published, make movies, get savvy, etc. because those blogs make want to quit. I can also worry too much about too wide of an audience. First and foremost, I have to create things that I like. I'm my own worst critic so I don't need to worry about what you you all will think until later on in the process. Now, that said, I do need to know who my audience is and I need to have a desired outcome/objective. But that's the trigger mechanism for me. It's the numerous chefs in the kitchen thing. Know who you have to please (boss, wife, dog) and only think about them. If you worry what your step uncle is going to think you're going to lose focus which turns into lost momentum.
Momentum Killer #3: The Soothsayer
Trying to prognosticate the exact future of your project is worthless. You should have a goal/picture that you're working towards. But hold that loosely. When my bro-in-law, Justin, and I were adding onto my deck recently it was hard to picture the finished deck. We had holes and wood and tools. To get the deck finished we had to take each step as its own project that we needed to complete before moving on. That's the only way to get crap done. We all know this. But it's easy to get overwhelmed and jump ahead and worry about how it's going to come together, will it work, bla bla bla. Trust your initial idea and take each step. One after another.
With every good thing I've ever created I've had freakout moments where I don't know if it's going to work. I didn't know if The {RE} Gifter was going to work until after the first show. Focus on the steps in front of you. Trust the process and the Reds, Masters and Bouncers you've brought into to project. Just keep on dancing, the magic will happen.
