In the 2007 movie, “You Kill Me.” Ben Kingsley stars as a Polish alcoholic hitman from Buffalo whose drinking causes his mob boss to send him to San Francisco to dry out, with interesting consequences for everyone.
In the opening scene, it is winter in Buffalo (i.e. snow up to your …) and Kingsley’s character, Frank, is in his kitchen drinking from a bottle of vodka that he puts down long enough to put on a coat and hat. He picks the bottle up, opens his front door, steps outside, takes a swig or two from the bottle, caps it, looks carefully, and then tosses the capped bottle down the steps into the snow. Of course, the bottle doesn’t break because there is so much snow.
Frank shovels down the steps until he gets to the bottle, picks it up, uncaps it and takes a few more swigs, caps the bottle, and then tosses it farther along the walk. He shovels more snow until he once again arrives at the bottle and then repeats the process all over again.
Frank obviously understands the power of motivation—a necessity for creative entrepreneurs.
A writer friend once commented on how much fun it is to come up with the idea and storyline for a novel, but how much work it is to sit down and actually write the story. Yes, it can be backbreaking. I have to be willing to dig in and pick up shovelful after shovelful of words. Then I can drink in (don’t moan, it’s a good pun) the feeling of achievement and success.
But how badly do I—do you—want it? If you want to create that project, book, event or product then you have to passionately desire it enough to do the work.
As in that scene, though, it is also a good idea to reward ourselves along the way. Creative projects sometimes require weeks, months, or even years before completion. Treating ourselves along the way to some of the things that nourish our creativity can keep us going. You know—like dark chocolate, a hot bath, reading a good book, watching a witty movie like “You Kill Me,” going for a walk—little rewards, little sips here and there, to keep us going, to keep us shoveling.
One way to reward yourself is to take time for a creative retreat—some time and space, some silence and solitude for connecting with your Muse. If you’d like to reward yourself and also learn how to tap into the creative power of your dreams then register for my fall retreat, Enter the Temple of Your Muse.