Steve Martin is a comedy legend. Ranked number six on Comedy Central’s all-time greatest comics, Martin has appeared in over fifty films, most notably The Jerk, LA Story, and Roxanne. He has written several plays, and produced over ten Comedy and Bluegrass albums. Martin is the winner of one Emmy Award, four Critics Circle Awards, five Grammy’s, and in 2013 was given an Honorary Oscar. Steven Martin is not only a comedy legend, he is probably the closest thing our culture has to a true renaissance man and one of the greatest performing artists of our day.

Seeing where Martin is now, it’s interesting, and almost shocking to hear how he describes a younger, eighteen-year-old version of himself…

“…I had absolutely no gifts. I could not sing or dance, and the only acting I did was really just shouting. Luckily, persistence is a great substitute for talent.”

In other words, talent, or natural ability, is a great tool. But just because you have top-of-the-line Craftsman equipment doesn’t mean the shed is going to build itself. Chances are, you feel more like you only have a hammer and a few rusty nails in your tool box. That’s fine, because where many people would see limitations; artists like Steve Martin see an opportunity to create.

There are hundreds of top players in hundred of industries who lacked the natural ability to succeed in their craft. No one wanted to see Bob Fosse dance classical ballet. His body proportions we completely wrong. So, much like Steve Martin, Fosse created his own style. Now he tells ballerinas how bad their alignment is.

The choice is yours. You can either see your lack of talent as a roadblock, or you can see it as an opportunity to create a new road that’s all your own.

Be warned, this won’t just happen. Remember, persistence is your substitute for talent, and persistence is hard. It’s a daily choice to show up, try, fail, learn, and try again. It is a life made up of many little steps and few large leaps. If you’re willing to do the work though, you just might do something great. More importantly, you might create something new.

Taking your heart of out the box…

As an actor, it’s expected that I bring a strong sense of humanity to work everyday. Now, my current role in Mamma Mia! might not be Hamlet or Oedipus, but imagine if I showed up on stage each night and simply went through the motions. Saying the lines, doing the moves, but with absolutely no heart behind any of it. No truth. No passion. Very few audience members would be satisfied paying top dollar for a performance like that. Not to mention that my fellow performers on stage would quickly become annoyed and grow tired of working with me.

Here is my question.

Why is your job as a teacher, a salesman, a store clerk, a dad, or a wife any different?

Millions of people wake up every day to live their lives and do their jobs with absolutely no heart. You know how I know this? Because it catches me off guard when the guy at the barista goes out of his way to make an actual human connection with me. It catches all of us off guard. It’s kind of strange when he asks us how our day has been. It’s weird that he’s memorized our order.

Here’s the problem.

Bringing our bodies to work and leaving our humanity at home does no one any good. If you do your job like a machine, simply doing what you have to do, then chances are a machine will soon replace you. Look no further than assembly lines for proof. If factory workers can be replaced, then so can the mindless, uninspired, script reading sales representative. So can you.

Here’s the solution.

Take your heart out of the box. A machine cannot ask questions. A machine cannot challenge convention. A machine cannot create something new. What separates us from a machine is our humanity. Bringing your heart out into the world is a scary thing. It requires vulnerability, which opens you up to the possibility of failure and rejection. Not everyone in line is as thankful for the personable barista guy as I am. His humanity makes some people very annoyed. That’s bound to happen. Some people will be annoyed. It’s probably because they’re threatened. This is no reason to put your heart back in the box. Our ability to feel, to question, to dream, these things are not weaknesses in the workplace. They are actually powerful and essential tools for creating something new and valuable.

When you leave for work, or school, or wherever you’re going today, do yourself and your community a favor: take your heart out of the box and bring it with you.

For a long time, my relationship with social media was very uneasy. I had a love/hate relationship with my Facebook, barely posted any pictures to Instagram, and simply couldn’t grasp what a tweet was supposed to accomplish. From my perspective, it all just looked like a bunch of shameless self-promotion and narcissism. Perhaps this is how many people still view social media, and rightfully so because this is also how many people still use social media. “Especially all those crazy young people” said the older generation.

We love to describe the millennial generation as being full of narcissism, but posting a selfie to Instagram and hashtagging to get more followers does not necessarily mean you’re self-obsessed. When looking at our social lives, whether online or off, the important question to ask is, “What is your bottom line?” What is the purpose?

In the most famous sermon ever given, Jesus says to the crowd gathered in Matthew 5, “You are the light of the world…people don’t light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on a stand.” Regardless of your beliefs about Jesus as a deity, it’s easy to see that this is pretty solid teaching.

What are you passionate about?  Better education? Renewable energy sources? Affordable yet stylish fashion design? Every single one of us has “light” to shine, gifts to share, and a message that we believe will make the world a better place. This, in my opinion, needs to be our bottom line, the driving force behind each and every post, conversation, and friend request.

Now, this doesn’t mean that every last tweet needs to blatantly push the message of your bottom line. That would be annoying, and wildly uncreative. Being in a musical on Broadway, I do a lot of posts about the show on all different forms of media. Is this just because I want people to come see the show and applaud for me? No. I’d be happy if they bought a ticket, but I don’t do it for that. I do it because I know that with every follower I gain, that’s one more person who might be led to this blog and inspired to use their creative gifts to spark positive change and glorify God. That is my bottom line. That is my light, and each day I do my best to place that light on a stand, both on and offline. It’s not self-promotion; it’s inspiration, generosity, and connection.

If you are your own bottom line, then I’m not much interested in what you have to say and, my guess is, neither is anyone else. But if your bottom line is a message, cause, or mission that will bring hope, love, healing, or inspiration, then shine bright for everyone to see. Don’t put your light under a bowl, put it on a stand. 

I love stand up comedy. Not for the laughter. I like to laugh, but that’s not what keeps me watching Jerry Seinfeld, Brian Regan, and Sarah Silverman over and over again. I watch for the stories. To watch a great stand up comedian is to watch a master storyteller at work.

Most of us probably think that a comedian’s life must be incredibly interesting for them to have all these hilarious stories, but I’m not sure if that’s actually the case. I don’t think a comedian’s life is any more interesting than the average person. The difference is, the comedian allows her life to inform her work. The comedian knows that hiding within the mundane interactions of everyday life is the inspiration needed to create art and move people.

Picture this: you're on an airplane, sitting in coach. The first class curtain hasn't been closed yet, and you see a man in a suit giving the flight attendant a hard time about having to turn off his Blackberry before take off.  Where the average person sees just another passenger being rude to a flight attendant, the comedian sees an opportunity for a joke about people who fly first class. When the restaurant manager sitting behind the comedian sees how well the flight attendant handles the situation, she sees an opportunity to teach her staff a lesson in dealing with troublesome tables. The retired widow at the back of the plane sees an opportunity to encourage the young flight attendant on a job well done, and even write a letter to the head of the airline endorsing this flight attendants excellent service.

We each live hundreds of stories every day. Within each of these stories is an opportunity to create art that encourages, inspires and brings joy to others. We just need to open our eyes and look at our circumstances from the right perspective.

Take a cue from the stand up comedian today and search for the creative potential in the seemingly mundane moments. You just might find some.

I am a Christian. I believe in the grace of God given through Jesus. Each day I try to allow my faith to shape every aspect of my life. Despite this fact, I struggle when having conversations with “non-believers” about my faith. You know the conversations I’m talking about. The ones our Pastors encourage us to have by quoting The Great Commission at the end of Sunday’s service. Engaging in conversation about Jesus at work or school is basically the eleventh commandment in our culture.

If I’m totally honest though, when I’m engaged in conversations like this, so often I find myself downplaying my faith. “Yeah, I’m a Christian, but I’m not that type of Christian.” I fear that if I declare my faith too strongly, I’ll automatically be placed in a category with the gay-haters and Planned Parenthood picketers, therefore losing any real possibility of planting the seeds of relationship.

This isn’t limited to my faith either. I consistently find myself down playing almost every part of my identity for fear of the assumptions and stereotypes that go along with them. “I’m not that type of writer, artist, actor, boyfriend, health nut.” Take your pick.

“Tribes” is a word Seth Godin uses to describe these groups we place ourselves in. A tribe is any community of people, connected by a common interest. Grateful Dead fans, Starbuck drinkers, actors, Buddhist Warlords, you name it. We’re all part of a tribe. In fact, we’re all part of several tribes. The problem is, many of our tribes are so filled with black sheep that we’re actually ashamed to admit our membership for fear being associated or even equated with that person. The first thing people think of when they hear stockbroker today is Jordan Belfort. Not every stockbroker is Jordan Belfort. In fact, very few are. Unfortunately for them, this is the current image their tribe is synonymous with.

So here is my plea. It comes in two parts:

First, no matter what tribe you identify with, conduct yourself in such a way that the other members of your tribe would be proud to claim you. Representing your tribe well is the fastest way to create a better future for it.

Second, don’t be like me. Wear your faith, your artistry, or your job title with pride. Don’t let the fear of the assumptions of others stop you from proclaiming what you believe, think, or are inspired to do. Others may assume things about you. That’s fine. If they don’t stick around long enough to actually get to know you then they weren’t worth your time anyway, and if they do, then you might just prove their assumption wrong and change their worldview.

Don’t let shame shrink you. It doesn’t do you, others, or the world any good. I’m now dedicated to leaving shame behind, stepping out with boldness, and creating change for the future. Will you join me?

It may be surprising for some of you to hear me say this, but not all creativity is good. By that, I mean that not all creativity is helpful. If creativity is the act of putting something into existence that has not yet been, then it is possible to create something that’s not worthwhile. Lying is creative. Lying is basically creating a past, present, or future that has never actually existed. Liars are insanely creative, but that doesn’t mean they’re helpful or worthwhile.

The Bible has a perfect example of this. In Genesis 1 the serpent is described as the most “crafty” of all the creatures. He’s the original liar. The serpent is highly creative in the way he woos Eve toward the apple, but we’d be fools to think that what he’s doing is helpful or worthwhile.

So from here on out, whether it be on this blog, in a book or in an article, whenever I write about the importance of creativity, I’m speaking specifically about vital creativity. Vital creativity is done with generosity and the hopes of creating positive change in others. The girl in the office who remembers everyone’s birthday and makes sure that each one is celebrated in a unique way is vitally creative. The waiter that gives each of his tables a unique experience instead of reciting a script is vitally creative.

There is nothing vitally creative about the serpent. There was nothing generous about what the serpent was doing. As there usually is with hurtful creativity, there was an illusion of generosity. He tells Eve he’s giving her a chance to understand anything and everything, things that God doesn’t want her to know. It sounds really generous, but it’s really a lie, and it certainly did not lead to a positive change for human beings in the biblical narrative. (At least not right away)

Creatives have a choice to use their power for good or evil. Much like superheroes. The main difference between Superman and General Zod is one made the choice to use his powers to help instead of hurt. We have that same choice every time we create. Will you create something vital, or hurtful?

In a world where everyone scrolls through hundreds of tweets, emails, and advertisements per minute, it’s hard to know how to really grab people’s attention and get them talking about your project.

It used to be okay to just make a lot of noise, because only the big projects with big money could afford to have a voice via television or radio advertising. With the rise of the Internet and social media though, now everybody has a voice. Anyone can be loud. In order to gain the attention of your audience now, you have to be better than loud.

You have to be unique.
You have to invite people into an experience.

As much as I love writing and blogging, my real job (if I can even call it that) is being an actor. The theatre is a perfect example of uniqueness and experience. Live theatre has been telling stories for thousands of years, dating all the way back to Ancient Greece. Today, even with the development of television, movies, and millions of other ways for audiences to take in stories, live theatre is still well attended all over the globe. Why? Because in live theatre you don’t just witness a story happening on the screen, you’re a part of it. There is audible laughter and applause, a give and take between actor and audience. You’re invited into the story that is happening right there, enacted by real people, and the performance you watch that night is unique to any other that will ever be viewed again.

Companies like Improv Everywhere have taken this to the next level. This group of pranksters travel around the country performing what they call “missions.” These missions are basically guerilla theatre, or surprise performance art. You may have seen them on YouTube doing the “Food Court Musical” or “No Pants Subway Ride.”

“An experience is something you find yourself in the middle of. You aren’t simply witnessing something—you’re a part of it.” – Charlie Todd (Founder of Improv Everywhere)

This is what makes Improv Everywhere so successful. They use their gifts as a team to create performances that are utterly unique and experiential. The performance literally happens all around you, and surprisingly, you find yourself in the middle of it. When it’s over, you want to know who these people are because you have to tell your friends about them. This has led to Improv Everywhere gaining a gigantic following.

Creating in today’s culture means so much more than just making noise or doing what people expect. Creativity means grabbing people’s attention by inviting them into a unique experience. In order to create something vital and ultimately get people’s attention, you must ask these two questions…

1)         What makes me, my team, my project unique?
2)        How do I/we give people an experience through our art?

Do this, and you might just create something special that people will want to follow.

I absolutely love this painting by Ed Heck. It’s wonderfully silly, and at the same time expresses a sobering truth.

Even the best of us need a little help if we’re going to fly.

A few years before I helped launch The Anima Series I started a similar artsy-Christian-video venture called “Creators for the Creator.” Never heard of “Creators for the Creator?” I’m not surprised. That’s probably because it failed. Just a few months after it’s launch, Creators for the Creator ceased to exist. There were many factors that contributed to its downfall, but I think the biggest reason was that I was trying to do it alone. I had big dreams for the project, but I was trying to fly without any help.

“I can do it by myself. I don’t need any help.” Those are not the words of an artist. Those are the words of a three year old learning to use the bathroom. If you want to create art, it's time to drop the "lone wolf" mentality. If you think that collaboration is a sign of weakness or lack of talent, then you’re believing a lie. The fact is, every artist collaborates in some way, every single one. Behind the leader of every major movement, behind ever CEO, behind every award-winning artist there is a team of highly talented individuals (agents, publishers, designers, marketers, grounds crew, ect.) who work day in and day out to keep the project in the air.

Airlines don’t just hire pilots. Every pilot has a co-pilot, and every pilot duo has an entire crew of flight attendants, and every flight has grounds people, air traffic control specialists, baggage carriers, the list goes on and on.  Without everybody doing their job, the plane doesn't stay in the air very long.

With Creators for the Creator, I was one pilot trying to manage an entire airline. Now, with The Anima Series, I not only have a close team of people with whom I collaborate with on a daily basis, I have an even larger community of audience members that are just as important to everything we do as a company. Without this team, The Anima Series would have never gotten off the ground.

It’s not just about you and your gifts. It’s about what your gifts can accomplish in collaboration with others.

“I’m not creative,” said the average person, “I’m just not clever enough.”

Replace clever with any word you want, smart, funny, insightful, artistic, weird, damaged. The word will be different for everyone, but every one is a lie.

Every single person has the potential to be immensely creative and imaginative. It’s woven into the very framework of our being. God created creative beings, so whatever you feel you don’t have “enough” of is a lie. Being creative is not rocket science. Rocket science requires creativity. So do writing, parenting, teaching, buying, selling, even developing foot cream. Creative people are highly valued in every single one of these industries. The only pre-requisite for creativity is curiosity.

Creative people are not any smarter than the average person, but they’re ten times more curious. They aren’t afraid to ask questions, to ponder ridiculous solutions, and to risk looking silly. Creative people don’t have to be naturally gifted; they just have to drop their inhibitions.

Creativity does not mean having answers, it means asking questions.
Creativity does not mean being clever, it means being curious.
Creativity does not mean being an expert, it means performing experiments.

Trust me, if there were a class that gave you the proper qualifications to “be creative,” people would be taking it. But there isn’t. That’s why creative people who use their powers for good are so highly valued in our culture. You too can be an employee, a father, a wife, a friend, or a partner of high value. In order to do so though, you must get creative. Which is just another way of saying you must get curious.

John Lasseter is the Chief Creative Officer at Disney’s Pixar. But John wasn’t always one of Disney’s most prized possessions. Lasseter was actually fired from his original internship at Disney for taking “too many uncalculated risks” in regard to animation. In between this firing and his eventual start-up of Pixar, Lasseter went to work for Star Wars director George Lucas. While there, he joined a creative team made up of members with mainly scientific backgrounds. It was on this team that Lasseter’s propensity for risk taking was transformed into a core value. It was here that he finally gained permission to fail.

Scientists deal mainly in the realm of experimentation. In science, failure is always part of the process. In fact, it’s often a bigger part of the process than success. A scientist might run an experiment one hundred times. Out of those one hundred, ninety-nine of those experiments will probably fail, but without the first ninety-nine failures, he would never reach the one success.

Every innovator wants to make the next big thing. We all want to create the next big app, the next best seller or next hit product. Successes like these rarely, if ever, come on the first try though. In the process of innovation and making art that counts, we must take on a spirit of experimentation. Giving yourself permission to try and to fail is the fastest way to gain lasting success.

The best part about permission to fail: it’s totally contagious. In doing this for ourselves, we also give the same permission to those around us. If a member of your team knows that she will be supported, encouraged, and helped up if she falls, she’s much more likely to take a big risk. And if she takes a big risk, you all might benefit from the even bigger reward.

Without risk though, there is no reward. Without failure, we rarely experience success. So in whatever you do, do yourself a favor and give yourself permission to fail.