Youve heard the expression: Nothing is new under the sun, havent you? I believe, for the most part, its true. There are very few things that are completely original, and so what? As one of my graduate school professors said, we all stand on the shoulders of those who have come before us. This is a happy thing, because who wants to reinvent the wheel, every day? Recently, in a London courtroom, a lawsuit asserted the story line of the DaVinci Code is strikingly similar to a work that preceded it. The response of the defendant, in so many words, was of course! Were all influenced by what weve read, seen, and heard! I think the idea that something has to be truly original to be meritorious is foolish and it introduces an impossible standard into the realm of creativity. Can you think of a theme that hasnt been the basis of a novel or a motion picture in the last 100 years? It would be very difficult to imagine one, and even if you did, theres no guarantee that its mere originality will make it appealing to an audience. What every creative person has to be willing to say, to the assertion that his product isnt original or new, is this: Everything has been done, but mine is better! Nearly every artist paints a tree, but have you seen Van Goghs? Theyre unbelievable, yet trees have been done before. To insist that he or any artist find something utterly new to paint would be absurd. Approach a company or a school with an idea for a seminar, and hear them say, Weve done that before. If you take them at their word, youre both mistaken. They HAVENT done IT before, because they havent done YOURS. You should have the gumption to say, even if the content, pricing, and other details are exactly the same, youll be offering the program at a different time, and my style is unique. The creative person says heres my take on this theme, my spin, how I view it, and even if my work is a slight alteration from the commonplace, it is a difference that makes all of the difference, in quality! |
