We all have dreams, things that we want to accomplish in our lives, but many of us give up too soon. We don't commit to achieving our dreams. To be a creative leader in a world where you have a 9 - 5 job to pay the bills requires commitment. You have to get up earlier than everyone else or go to bed later than everyone else in your family. You have to steal minutes wherever you can to write, draw, paint, or dance.
Sometimes we create in isolation, without contact with other creative souls. We force ourselves to write even when our body and mind is searching for ways to procrastinate. Many of us don't have people who are encouraging. Instead, we have people telling us to get a real job. We have to be our own coach and cheerleader. We have to be willing to do what unsuccessful people are not willing to do. Have you the commitment to be a creative leader?
Discipline is one of the keys to being a creative leader. People often say: "I create when I am inspired." If you wait until you are inspired, you will be waiting a long time. If you work whether you are inspired or not, you will find that soon inspiration will become a constant companion. Creative work opens up the spirit and the inspiration flows. So my message is simple: create every day even if it is for only 15 minutes.
Success comes from work. Create when you are sad. Create when you are happy. Create when you don't feel like it. Create when you want to go to a movie. Our minds are very good at finding excuses for not working. "I have to do the dishes." "I have to wash the clothes." And the list goes on. Creative work takes discipline and willpower.
Since you have no boss but yourself, you have to hold yourself accountable. Schedule your hours when you are most creative and stick to your schedule. Maybe you write between 5 am and 6 am. Or if you have the luxury, schedule your work hours from 8 am to 5 pm with an hour off for lunch. Some writers write in the morning and do their research and marketing in the afternoon. You have to find the schedule that best fits your temperament.
Creative leaders sometimes struggle with discipline. They procrastinate. They know they should pick up the pen and write or pick up the paint brush and paint, but they find excuses. When you find yourself procrastinating, remember what you want. What is your dream? What is it you want to accomplish? Why are you here? Focus on your goals and you will have the discipline to do what you need to do.
We all have dreams and goals but many of us never achieve them because we have not mastered the art of self-discipline. I define self-discipline as sacrificing short-term pleasure for the achievement of long-term goals. If you want to be a novelist but you never seem to find the time to write, you will never write your novel. If you want to be a painter but spend your time partying with friends and not painting, you may never produce any great paintings. The creative arts require a lot of self-discipline. We need to be able to sacrifice the pleasure of the moment for the achievement of long-term success.
What are you willing to sacrifice for your creative work? What are you willing to give up? Life is never easy. There are many days when you will take one step forward and three backward. Do you have the stubbornness to keep going even when you see very little light at the end of the tunnel?
The creative arts are not for the weak of will. The creative arts require commitment, persistence, and self-discipline in the face of cold-hearted rejection. Do you have the self-discipline to stay focused when the world is screaming that you should quit and find a normal job? Do you have the strength to keep going when you have received 250 rejection letters? How long are you willing to wait for success? Two years? Five years? Twenty-five years?
Listen to Wilma’s story.
Wilma’s Story
Wilma was born in 1940 in the hills of Tennessee. She was four months premature and weighed only 4.5 pounds. Her left leg was shorter than the right.
When Wilma was four years old, she contracted double pneumonia and scarlet fever. She was paralyzed and unable to walk. Her parents were told that the only way that she might be able to walk again was if she received physical therapy every week and if someone would massage her legs daily.
Every week her parents drove her 65 miles one way to make sure she received her therapy. And every night her mother would massage her legs and sing to her. She told her that she was someone special and that God loved her.
When Wilma was eight years old, she was fitted with a leg brace and was able to walk. And because she could walk, she could attend school. And the kids quickly nicknamed her Limpy.
Limpy took an interest in sports and every day after school she could be found outside shooting baskets with one of her 19 brothers and sisters. Because of all the exercise Limply received, her leg grew stronger. And when Wilma was eleven, she removed the leg brace.
In high school, Wilma made the basketball team. During her junior year, she averaged 32 points a game. As a senior, she ran in the state 50, 75, and 100-yard dashes and won all three events.
At the age of 16, Wilma ran in the 400-meter relay race on the U.S. Olympic team and earned a bronze medal. Four years later in 1960, she participated in the Olympics in Rome. She became the first American woman to win three gold medals in track and field.
When she stood on the platform receiving her first gold medal, Wilma said to herself: “Mama, you are right. God loves me and I am someone special.
In 1960 and 1961, Wilma Rudolph was named the Female Athlete of the Year.