My goals have never been to keep up with the Jones’ but rather the Jones’ keep up with me. My true art isn’t what you find on a blizzard white canvas or in a reservation of words displayed in radio commercials and books but rather the thought process that evolves into my reality. I don’t know if it’s my Montana upbringing or fear of failure…there’s almost never a peaceful beginning, middle and end to an Arroe day.
One of the most difficult tasks faced is trying to understand a passerby’s lack of performance—the vision is there, the passion to succeed is more vibrant than cheap flea market perfume, missing is the loyalty required to accept the bad with the good, the mids with the highs and failures without hope of locating anything more than a new door to be tossed out of.
Olympic gold medalist Sean White is a great example of there being no end to the horizons we chase. Like the great sailor and visionary Christopher Columbus, Sean stretches his ability toward the walls that protect inability and like a true warrior the word “No” is nothing more than fence requiring a better understanding so that in time, with practice and through unmeasured amounts of soul sweat…the vision people once laughed at becomes your best step taken forward.
One of the main reasons why people stop dreaming is denial.
Author Lou Solomon presented this statement to a panel of normal everyday Joe’s and Rhonda’s: There’s no reason to look for ways of doing things differently.
The number one response, “I would but I honestly don’t have the time.”
Bosses, coworker’s and spouse’s constantly spout, “If it ain’t broken don’t fix it…it’s my way or the highway?” As much as I want to cheer on the human mammal for its ability to travel farther in the past 100 years than any other time of existence—I feel as if I should hang my head in shame for thinking we were all built the same.
A lot of us locate peace in Lou’s second biggest response, “Let’s start from scratch and build something better.”
We take a dream, ambition, desire and or spur of the moment reaction to an invisible line in the sand and drop it. Turn our backs and walk away with a new hobby. I’m extremely guilty of this mid-dream crisis! It felt incredible to have art featured in seven different galleries including a really cool joint in New Orleans. What my ego didn’t recognize were the walls of our nation’s worst recession since the depression. 2009 was the year art passed away…galleries sold only well known artists or closed completely which meant raw starving artists dried up making way for extremely boring living rooms and bedrooms with nothing more than a drab approach to preserving worn out rainbows.
I stopped painting because gallery managers and owners became mean. They took on the face of a fourth grade English teacher with a bright red pen aimed at brightly identifying everything that’s wrong without ever inspiring something that appeared new. When you shame an artist you’ve invited silence to the future.
Most would say I’ve got the problem not the gallery—it’s a fear of criticism. Lou Solomon covered that too by asking everyday Joe’s and Brenda’s to respond to this statement: I fear that by trying something new I will be judged by others.
Top reaction, “I will try something new if there’s not much at stake.”
How many times a week do you hop onboard that ship? It’s that brilliant moment when being on the web becomes boring, you’ve seen every movie in Red Box and Net-flix, the house can’t get any cleaner and lord knows the neighbors are nice people but entertaining them again and again is out of the question—so you slip your ten toes and fingers into a suit of armor and courageous step into a pile of discovery.
Number two reaction: Our fear of criticism is heightened by the way people respond—most of us would agree that incredible energy is located when positive feedback is received. Silence destroys but not as fast as a friend or family member who offers their opinion. Julia Cameron’s golden rule is to stay 100% away from their efforts of helping you build the perfect performance.
Inviting someone close like family or best friend to your creation is asking for trouble. You will be hurt. You will become damaged. You will set the dream aside and may never return to its origin. This is why I don’t party with the people I work with. My performance at work is the actor. The image in the mirror is the true self and I’ve yet to come up with a plan that’ll convince him to step away from that sheet of ice and play out here in the real world.
I'll never forget how comedian Pam Stone reacted when I told her that I celebrated my birthday with real friends. I didn't mean for the comment to invite pain. We all have protective circles and the one of the worst to be in is at work.
I've gotten to known the man in the mirror. I ask a question, he asks a question. I move my right hand he moves his right hand. If you stare long enough into the eyes of the image you’ll begin to hear words, “Do it…if you fall I’ll be here to catch you. If you win, you’ll have no time for me because you’ll be celebrating with your friends. Either way…I’ll be here to help you see what others are missing...the real you.”
Denial and fear of criticism…what if you started to believe in yourself again? Learn to be the champion you are by getting to know everything you are. That's where simple thoughts become your reality.
arroecollins@clearchannel.com
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