Stick-to-it-ness and lightning bolts

There's a fine balance to success. One really must be steadfast and committed; you gotta see it through. But one must also be open and willing to change, to adapt, to roll with the punches.

For me, tenacity can easily become stubbornness. And once it does, I have to wait it out, until I have that hit-over-the-head, lightning-bolt idea that breaks it all wide open. And I think it's this way for most of us, creatives and business folk alike.

In our weekly yoga class yesterday, our instructor relayed the idea of Shakti, or the divine creative force of the universe - think Star Wars - in a way I'd not heard before. She said, "when you're born, Shakti is breathed into your body, and it is breathed out when you die. So every breath you take feeds your Shakti."

Breath is persistent. You can't just stop doing it. (Duh.)

But we all have a tendency to breathe lightly, shallowly, not fully and deeply. We slump over our computer keyboards, squint into emails, rising from our desks only to grab a soda or gossip at the water fountain. We tend to unconsciously avoid feeding our own little piece of Shakti, our own creative life force. And we wonder why a particular project, venture or idea isn't succeeding.

It has to be fed. You have to buckle down, breathe deeply, stir up your Shakti and run with those lightning-bolt ideas it brings. You have to cultivate your stick-to-it-ness in order to reap the benefits adaptation brings.

Ryan McGinness, a very modern and graphic American painter, said this:

I think there is something to be said for ‘stick-to-it-ness.’ You have got to be in it to win it. ... When you realize that you just have to do what you do and not worry about whether or not it fits the mold or a model of what art is, then you’re truly making innovative or breatkthrough — and at the very least honest — work.

I think this is the secret not only to creativity, but to innovations and successes in all realms. And it hit me yesterday after yoga, this is what Function: strives to do every day, with every initiative for every client. We certainly don't fit any mold or model. We take it all in, swish it around, and come out with the good stuff. We dig out creative solutions by any means necessary. We keep ourselves open to inspiration while our noses are firmly to the grindstone. We seek balance as well as success.

So take a deep breath, settle into yourself and make something awesome.

angela mitchell
art director
FUNCTION:we’re into building things through marketing, design and public relations