Image from Wikimedia Commons
When Nathaniel Lee, the 17th century English dramatist, was confined to Bedlam – the original mental asylum, in London – he is reported to have uttered these words:
They called me mad, and I called them mad, and damn them, they outvoted me.
I think a lot of creative people can relate to this, even if we haven’t been sectioned in a mental asylum.
By definition, creative ideas are new, they haven’t been tried and tested before – and we have a natural fear of being ridiculed or ‘outvoted’ by people who don’t share our conviction that this is a Truly Brilliant Idea. So it often takes persistence and a thick skin to succeed.
I was quite good at [long distance running], not because I was physically good, but because I had more determination. I learned determination from it.
Those are the words of inventor James Dyson, whose innovative bagless vacuum cleaner was rejected by all the major manufacturers and distributors. But he was too determined to give up, and launched his own factory to built the Dyson cleaner – which went on to become a huge success.
Examiner.com’s list of 30 famous authors whose works were (repeatedly and rudely) rejected includes Vladimire Nabokov, John Grisham, Sylvia Plath, Rudyard Kipling, Jack Kerouac, Ursula Le Guin, William Faulkner, George Orwell, Stephen King, Marcel Proust and D.H. Lawrence. Imagine how much poorer the literary world would have been if they hadn’t persisted.
Leonardo’s notebooks are full of weird and wonderful creations, including several flying machines that would never have got off the ground. But according to a Channel 4 documentary, not all of the designs were flawed.
And we can all be grateful that the proponents of ‘talkies’ persisted in spite of this withering put-down from H.M. Warner – one of the legendary Warner Brothers:
Who the hell wants to hear actors talk?
In my own career, I took a leap of faith when I added a blog to my website five years ago, and started giving away my ideas and advice for free, ignoring my concerned friends and colleagues who told me I “should be charging for that stuff”.
It took another leap of faith to start delivering coaching via the internet and invest time in creating e-learning programs as well as live workshops. Plenty of people told me it was practically impossible to make a living on the web because “people expect everything to be free online”. But it’s working out very nicely now.
Of course, it’s easy to say ‘I told you so’ with the benefit of hindsight. But it’s also true that plenty of doubters are proved right – as many ‘brilliant’ ideas turn out to be futile.
So how can you decide whether your idea is worth pursuing, in the face of your own doubts and others’ scepticism?
Sadly, there’s no way to be sure, but here are a couple of questions I ask myself when weighing up a new idea:
- Have I seen something like it in work in another context? Extrapolation is more reliable than creating something out of thin air. E.g. Dyson got the idea for using cyclones instead of a bag in his vacuum cleaner when he saw a sawmill using cyclones to expel waste.
- What’s my gut feeling? Sometimes I just know it’s going to work – even if it takes a lot of adjustment and determination along the way.
Another really important thing I do is hang around with people who ‘get it’. When I saw some of my ‘offline’ friends were sceptical about the potential of blogging and online entrepreneurship, I stopped talking about it to them. Instead, I made friends with other bloggers, coaches and entrepreneurs who were on a similar journey, and we provide each other with encouragement and support along the way.
How about You?
Do you ever worry that your latest great idea may in fact be futile?
How do you decide whether to persist with an idea or give up on it?
Have you had an experience of persisting in spite of the doubts – and doubters – and being proved right?
About the Author: Mark McGuinness is a Coach for Artists, Creatives and Entrepreneurs. For a free 25-week guide to success as a creative professional, sign up for Mark’s course The Creative Pathfinder.
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« Previous 1 2I love reading Lateral Action and the comments from everyone. Very encouraging and awesome advice.
Your last paragraph, "hanging around people who get it .. to offer encouragement and support" is an absolute truth and a necessity. A lesson learned and grateful for the realization in moving forward.
I'm in complete harmony with you on this Mark. I'll go with gut feeling every time. If it feels right, I just know I can make it happen... complete conviction is great fuel! I think you are absolutely right about seeing something similar in another context as well.
This is an amazing article Mark. Two years ago I decided to do professional photography and videography as a profession. I got plenty of negative feed back from a few people. Some said I was starting off late. Also when I told people I would learn the skill by shooting every day and through online tutorials plenty people laughed, Told me i needed school and that online training was a sham.
These same people are not laughing any more some have become paid clients. It's a great feeling when some of the very people that doubted you are the ones that hire you for paid gigs.
When I was a child a few adults that I looked up to and respected told me I could not do certain things. I listened to them and life just didn't seem to get any easier. These days I am determined and focused on my goals and i'm a happier person. No matter how much respect I have for a person I will never let them discourage me or deter me from my goals.
Mark thanks so much for your wonderful blog. I have been a loyal reader for a few years now and It always peps me up. I feel like the people that respond on your blog are people like me. Some times I don't respond to posts because another reader has covered my thoughts so eloquently theres no need for me to comment.
About a week ago super model Jade Cole from Americas Top Model called my cell after seeing some of my images online. We spoke for about 1 hour and she agreed to work on a pet project of mine while she is in New York for fashion week
this month.
wow! amazing story.
Thanks Elliott, some times I can't believe it my self :-)
Kudos to you Glenn! Hope your shoot goes great!
I agree that you shouldn't listen to nay-sayers. In fact when someone tells me I can't do something it just makes me even more determined :)
Thanks WildCherry with Marks permission I would like to share my images from the shoot once
I'm done shooting and editing. I totally know what you mean I block those negative people out.
Hi Mark,
Another insightful post, thanks. (And I have really appreciated your excellent "Creative Pathfinder" series, just had to insert that ...)
I was pondering your post my and "guiding quotation" for this year pushed its way front and center, and I think it may be relevant. It's a quote from Spanish poet Antonio Machado; “Travelers, there is no path, paths are made by walking.”
I've spent the last several years - on my own sites, and on those of my clients - testing, measuring, surveying, and attempting to scientifically "predict" what would succeed.
And the Gods have had a merry time!
More than few of the most spectacular duds were a guaranteed lock, if one were to trust the "numbers."
Looking back, the biggest successes have often been complete surprises, seemingly coming out of nowhere.
But they didn't come from "nowhere." Each of those wins came from another path "walked:" After dismantling one project that Science had told us would work (and didn't), from the ashes arose the most unexpected, brilliantly simple new product that would not have existed without the crash and burn. And, I might add: our original survey data would have never supported the development of the new product.
Just goes to show you.
So, in addition to your suggestions of context, gut feeling, and masterminding, I'd add another:
path walking. (Kind of a variation of Michael Masterson's "Ready, Fire, Aim?") This year, I'm trusting my gut more, I'm acting with more bravery and just stepping onto that uncertain path. I'll listen, watch, and adjust as I walk. It just feels more "organic," for lack of a better word.
Hope that makes sense!
Thanks for the inspiration, as always.
Keith
That's both interesting and encouraging, Keith! A salutory reminder that we can't always assume that what is going to work is what's worked before or we'd never break new ground. I'll keep walking ;)