Make art – “Because you must.” In The Icarus Deception Seth Godin urges us to make art, step out of our comfort zones – commit “to do work that is personal, that requires guts, and that has the potential to change everything.” “Art is the unique work of a human being, work that touches another.” Not for the faint of heart. According to Seth “If it doesn’t ship, it’s not art.” No; “it’s not art until a human connection is made.”
Seth created a series of Krypton College Courses – the first of which was based on his work, and exposed me to “The ShipIt Journal.” What a great find! – the perfect tool to use as a Charter and project outline when I wanted to strike out and try something new and cutting edge at work.
“The ShipIt Journal” asks: “When was the last time you did something new for the first time?”
Think about it! When did you step out and do something so totally new that it kinda freaked you out? Something you were absolutely NOT expert, or even moderately good at? Something that could maybe make you look like a complete and total goober? When? My blog launched September 2014 – BIG risk for me. And last month I started drawing cartoons. SHIPPED BOTH! Talk about nervous and shaky and vulnerable! Whoa-buddy. But what a rush. That would be two for me recently.
Hands-down “ShipIt” champion is my friend Diletha! Clever woman created a list of things she’d never done, and set out to do them. She called it her “A to Z Living List” – and shared with friends and family adventures that included a cruise, helicopter ride, kayaking, line dancing and zonkey sighting (who knew)! She did it! How is that for some crazy, cool kind of art! While she says she won’t go skydiving or snorkeling … I’m unconvinced; I say we shall see.
Stepping out; stepping up and taking on new challenges is the best thing we can do to stay young, vibrant and mentally healthy. In their book Super Brain, Deepak Chopra and Rudolph Tanzi, Ph.D. explain that exposing ourselves to new experiences promotes neuroplasticity in our brains. “Neuroplasticity is better than mind over matter. It’s mind turning into matter as your thoughts create new neural growth.” – “Even better is to deliberately set out to learn new skills.”
Dr. Tanzi heads the Alzheimer’s Genome Project. He co-discovered the first Alzheimer’s disease gene and continues the search for a cure. Research shows neuroplasticity and neurogenesis contribute to our brain’s health, and shows promise to effectively treat Alzheimer’s and other brain traumas. My great grandmother had Alzheimer’s. I saw a strong, courageous, loving woman disappear. Scary stuff. By stepping out of my snuggly, safe world I’m more likely to stay sharp and engaged. Who wouldn’t want to give that a try?
Yes, it’s time to go and SHIP MY ART!
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As revealed by Tom Rath’s “StrengthFinder 2.0” – here is my graphic of my personal strengths:
“Fear doesn’t go away. The warrior and the artist live by the same code of necessity, which dictates that the battle must be fought anew every day.” – Steven Pressfield
Tim O’Reilly’s interview in 99U’s Make Your Mark series is sticking with me. He talks of a conference he attended on the future of the US economy where the focus was on the decline of the middle class. Too many conversations are about “How are we going to preserve our place in the ecosystem?” . . . Stop. “Nobody cares about that. That’s the wrong question. The right question is, ‘What does the world need? What do my customers need? What can I do?’” O’Reilly says preserving the middle class will be a byproduct of doing something that the world needs.
