Dream It, Begin It!

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe was a busy dude. During his 82 years on the planet (1749-1832) he fully committed to his creativity as poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, artist and critic. And he wrote some very cool and helpful words including this shining couplet:

"Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it. 

Boldness has genius, power and magic in it!”

So here’s the question. When will you begin to turn your creative dreams into reality? 

When it comes to beginning creative projects a lot of people seem to be in a perpetual state of waiting. Waiting for the right time, the right inspiration, the right weather, the right whatever that will finally propel them into action so they can begin creating what they have always wanted to create. For far too many their creative now is constantly postponed because they never own their power to seize the moment and begin.

Do you have a memoir you want to write, a garden to create, a fitness routine to implement, a relationship to transform? Do you want to learn the guitar, design an app, restore a vintage car, learn the skills to cook amazing vegetarian meals or relate more effectively to your kids, plunge into a new career or a completely new life? 

Whatever your creative dream it has the potential to become a reality but only if you stop waiting and begin making it a reality by taking action in the now.

German writer Goethe really got his creativity on!

Why do we resist starting a creative project we feel passionate about? A project that could bring us joy and satisfaction in the process of creating it. I think a big part of our hesitancy is the awareness that when we begin we open up the possibility of failure at some future point. And the fear of failure is a primitive force that tells us lies.

Creating carries existential risks our pre-historic reptile brain warns us. Start your short story and you might one day publish it only to have it cruelly mocked by some brutal critic, and then what…rejection, exile, expulsion from the tribe followed by a gory death, ripped asunder by a sabre-tooth tiger, that’s what!

Here’s another scenario. You begin writing the song you’ve been thinking about for years. It sounds clunky at first but you persist and then you get into flow and feel exhilarated as the elements start to come together. You play the song to a friend who loves it and encourages you to publish it on Spotify where it finds an appreciative audience.

The point is we don’t know what will happen when we create. I personally have had the experience of being ripped asunder by the words of critics and at the time I would have much preferred the fangs of the aforementioned sabre-tooth. I've also been lifted high by the generous applause of audiences who have connected to my creations and wanted to express their gratitude.

One thing we do know is that if we don’t begin then nothing will happen because nothing can be created. 

So when would now be the right time to create? Go on. You have gifts you need to give. So write the first sentence, do the first downward dog, make the first brush stroke, plant the first sapling, strum the first chord, tell the first joke, make the call, lift the weight, take the class, start the conversation.

 Dream, be bold, commit to bringing your personal magic into the world, begin!

 Creatively Yours, Anthony

 Anthony Ackroyd, CEO Creative Call

P.S. Leave me a comment if you have decided to begin working on something you want to create. I’d love to hear about what you are creating!

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©Anthony Ackroyd 2022